Let’s talk about buying Instagram followers. I have recently conducted an experiment based on a few articles I’ve read on buying Instagram followers safely. I have also observed a few competitors of a client of mine dabbling in this arena. One of these articles was from Los Angeles Magazine, and I was curious, had things changed? My school of thought has always been not to buy followers because they’re fake, and it violates the platform’s terms of service. It’s what I’ve always practiced and what I teach my clients. In fact, when I was a professional blogger I saw this often and strayed away from the growth tactic. It’s better to grow authentically and organically.
Like everything online, I test things to see if they work. When I run tests, I do this on my accounts, never on clients. I can then assess what works, what doesn’t work, and how to advise clients best, especially when they come to me asking to do something, like buy Instagram followers. I can provide them with not only articles but examples from my own experience. When a client comes to me and asks to buy followers because someone they know did it and wants those numbers and that engagement, I can speak from experience as I point them in the right direction.
Is buying Instagram followers worth it?
After my experiment, my answer is no, and here’s why.
- Yes, you’ll have high surface-level numbers, but even if the third-party provider promises you real followers, a majority are fake or inactive accounts. Trust me, 99 out of 100 aren’t followers you want.
- Your engagement of 100+ likes doesn’t translate into meaningful conversation; it is a vanity number. When a comment does come through, it reads as spam and doesn’t help your account. You want authentic dialogue.
- You will spend time removing the followers you just paid for, and time is money. Again, trust me, I’m telling you this from experience.
- Sponsors can use tools to determine real and fake followers; you can’t fool advertisers.
- You might appear fake if someone realizes your account is just vanity numbers. Remember, people buy from people they can trust, you need to be trusted online and off.
- Last and most importantly, Instagram can disable your account. It’s not worth losing the audience of “real” people you’ve worked to attract.
Pro Tip: If you choose to take this risk, do your research and never give a third party your login information. Through my tests, I never, even in the name of this science experiment, gave my login information!!
Grow Instagram Followers Organically
My experiment isn’t one I recommend; it’s not worth it in the end, even if you do organically boost your followers because of your engagement numbers for a few days. I noticed this happened when my posts had 100+ likes; I saw new followers that were “real.” It doesn’t last, so don’t chance it. Instead, focus on great photos, meaningful captions, relevant hashtags, following relevant people in your industry and liking, commenting, and engaging with these people, utilizing stories with links and embedded hashtags, and boosting posts. Our blog has dozens of articles to help you with Instagram marketing, and when in doubt, contact us.
Other great articles on why it’s not worth buying Instagram followers if I still haven’t convinced you:
Hootsuite-Want to Buy Instagram Followers? Here’s What Happens When You Do
Neilpatel – The Trade-Offs of Buying Instagram Followers
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