There are still many companies that do not check the quality of an influencer's Followers before collaborating with them. Most of them only look at the number of followers, less often at the reactions - the likes and comments (and also their quality) under the publications. Buying Followers has become a widespread practice mainly among influencers, but also celebrities or even brand profiles. The numbers are high, business is good. But some people think that a large number of Followers = popularity, but also credibility of a given profile on Instagram.
And so honest influencers are at a disadvantage, because many influencer marketing agencies will not check if the 60,000 Followers are not Indians or Pakistanis, and those who are credible and do good work will not be considered for campaigns. It's sad, but that's how it generally works in today's world.
For many individuals and businesses, Instagram is a service to generate income. Due to the ever-increasing number of accounts and changes to Instagram, it is not easy to stand out on this platform. Moreover, this application is very popular and therefore the competition is higher.
How do influencers earn money? They receive money for publishing sponsored posts, Insta Stories or Reels, but also, for example, for live stories of an event. The rates are often very high, so it is a very interesting way to earn money for many people. Unfortunately, a large number of Followers is always one of the decisive factors for being noticed by various brands with a budget. For this reason, many influencers opt for less than honest ways to gain popularity, such as buying Followers or using bots (which are against the rules of the Instagram application).
Sites offering to sell Followers
There are many sites that sell likes and followers. Prices for the services offered start at a few euros, depending on the activity or the number of additional followers on the profile. The cheapest options are the purchase of bots, which can be recognised by names such as marie1234, the absence of profile pictures and posts (e.g. Insta Stories) on the profile. By buying these types of subscribers, you only gain empty accounts that do not contribute anything. But the fame is there, isn't it? Suddenly, 200 Followers turn into 100,000.
Accounts that look a bit more credible (with profile pictures and posts) are slightly more expensive. They are presented as real users, and can sometimes leave one or two word comments or emoticons, which are often inappropriate for the type of publication. For those unfamiliar with these practices, it may appear that the publication has been commented on by a real person, but for most it is easy to detect.
The most expensive option is to pay a one-off fee or a fixed monthly subscription. Firstly, account details and details of the target audience and hashtags must be provided. Then the agency (or, more accurately - bot) that the person is addressing will then like, follow and comment on their behalf. However, in practice, this simply means more spam on the profile. Not to mention the fact that giving someone your credentials is dangerous and, in the worst case scenario, you can lose your Instagram account this way.
Why isn't it worth buying Followers?
Although buying Followers is easy and quite cheap, it involves high costs, which are not only financial. In general, such an action does not bring any benefit. So why is it not worth buying "empty" Followers?
First of all, this is not allowed on Instagram. When such a profile is detected, it can be deleted or the fake accounts that follow it can be eliminated. In this way, Instagram wants to increase the authenticity of the platform. Thus, trust and reputation can quickly be lost, which takes much longer to rebuild.
Furthermore, a profile that buys "Followers" will not gain much. This does not work in business, as fake followers will not buy products or promote a brand. The fact that an account has several thousand followers does not mean that it is worth working with.
HOW TO CHECK IF SOMEONE HAS BOUGHT FOLLOWERS?
Verifying the credibility of Followers is very easy. Influencer marketing is growing, and because of this, brands have more and more tools and opportunities to distinguish fake accounts from real ones. One such site is Socialblade. However, many times such an account looks dubious at first glance. If the profile has few photos and activities, but a large number of Followers, this is a red flag. Or when a large number of followers does not correspond to an activity on the profile, for example when the account has 30,000 followers and the posts have 100-200 likes.
Engagement is essential
When it comes to the 'Explore' tab, Instagram pays the most attention to engagement on the profile. With high engagement, some accounts start to become popular and the content they post goes viral - especially Reels, which are currently the most promoted on Instagram. This is why it is better to have a small but engaged and active community than a huge group of pseudo-subscribers who will never interact or buy your products.
Buying Followers may seem interesting, but in reality, this practice has more disadvantages than advantages. It is more effective to use Instagram to create authentic relationships with the public and focus on growing your popularity organically. In the case of a business account, it is good to show the behind-the-scenes of the production process, the so-called backstage, in order to bring followers closer to the process of creating a given product. Instead of buying Followers, it is better to create quality and valuable content that attracts people who will actually want to follow your profile and, in the future, buy the product you offer. There are no shortcuts here.
The public and brands are very demanding. Captivating posts with good captions that follow Instagram trends become popular. Indeed, it is better to buy an ad on Instagram than fake Followers. It is certainly a more effective way to gain new followers. Even though the Instagram application, unlike Facebook or TikTok, does not allow you to create an advertising campaign for the purpose of "acquiring Followers".
