Creators (influencers, bloggers, etc.) and companies are always looking to be more popular. Obviously, the more viewers and followers a page has, the more likely it’ll be able to influence potential customers.
For example, seeing tens of thousands of people following the brand you’ve just discovered immediately creates trust towards that brand. So, you know, social proof matters.
Ways to increase followers on Instagram
Brands usually go out of their way to increase their audience on social media platforms. In this regard, many pages compete with each other. Competing brands analyse each other’s page audiences and develop various methods to get the biggest piece of the cake. So how can you increase your Instagram followers?
Let’s look at this in two scenarios:
Real followers
These are the people who follow your Instagram page purely because they’re interested in your content or activity. Of course, real followers of your IG page are usually your potential customers too.
However, attracting these interested people may take lots of effort and resources. For example, properly targeted ads will slowly bring new genuine followers to your Instagram page.
Unfortunately, as we know, you can’t launch Instagram ads based on a “Page like” objective, unlike Facebook ads. Thus, you should carefully test and find the ad campaigns that bring the highest number of new followers.
Fake accounts
Doesn’t it seem more attractive to get more followers in a short period of time and with a minimum budget? Sure, it does.
It’s not about giveaways and competitions but paid viewers. So why would you go for more resource-demanding options when it’s possible to acquire 1000 followers with only $5?
I know it sounds very logical when you put it like this. A large number of followers coming to your page can excite you. But it can create significant problems for your brand’s page. We’ll talk about it shortly later.
How do you know if your audience is fake?
Some are Instagram bots programmed to write pre-defined reviews, some are fake profiles using the names, pictures, and information of others, and some (without profile images and bio) are snake-oil followers.
Most bot or spam viewers visit the page through a hashtag and comment on posts. They do it for various reasons such as promoting their products, getting some spotlight to attract new followers, etc.
The best way to know if your audience is fake is to look at your engagement statistics. For example, if you buy Instagram followers, they’ll be active for a while and then start to get lame. And eventually, it’ll disturb your reach engagement balance.
The dangers of buying Instagram followers
More often than not, brands cannot resist the allure of this incredible offer to create powerful social proof even when they have just launched their business. At first glance, it seems like a good idea, we agree, but it is perilous to do so.
Let’s look at a few examples of possible threats coming with the bunch of easy followers:
Possibility of blocking your account
We should note that Instagram has recently focused on building genuine connections on the platform, protecting real accounts.
For this reason, it sometimes sends a warning message to accounts behaving suspiciously alongside removing some of their comments or posts.
But the worst-case scenario? You can get blocked forever.
Buying subscribers usually means going to a third-party tool and giving them many access permissions to your account. It means they can use your account for various purposes without you even noticing.
Your customers may leave you forever
Put yourself in your audience’s shoes; how would you react if you constantly see fake accounts liking or commenting on the posts of your favourite brand?
Sure thing, you’d lose trust in the brand and even maybe unfollow the page and never buy anything from them again. But, remember, the fundamental reason for buying followers was building social proof. So then, how useful is it if it makes people lose trust in your brand?
Endless spam messages
Are you ready to deal with endless spam messages and comments? Unfortunately, one of the dangers of buying Instagram followers is receiving lots of spam messages from Instagram bots programmed to send them.
Reach and engagement balance
Acquiring fake followers is like short-lived popularity. At first, everything goes well until it doesn’t anymore. In the first week, you get a kind of “star disease” because of hundreds of comments coming to your posts.
And then they start disappearing. So if those engagements have put you in the Discover section of Instagram earlier, your profile will no longer get that spotlight.
Basically, you’ll reach more people but get fewer engagements such as likes, comments, shares, saves, etc., because of inactive, fake followers. And if it continues for some time, the algorithm will eventually decrease your reputation and show your posts to even fewer people.
Ways to deal with ghost followers
If you weren’t aware of the dangers of buying Instagram followers and already made that mistake, don’t worry, there are ways to get rid of its harmful effects with specific tools before it’s too late.
Among the most effective tools are Spam Guard and Nofak.Es. Spam Guard analyses all followers and ranks them by type:
- Commercial
- Non-interactive
- Inactive
After compiling the list, you can start removing or blocking them. You can even specify whether you want to block all groups or just one. Then, the tool begins deleting fake accounts. In addition, Spam Guard also protects against bot attacks and spam comments.
We hope you have researched and read this article before getting a follower. Then it’s time to reward you.
Increase your audience in a natural way
It is possible to increase the number of followers on Instagram without any risk. If you’re not sure where to start, here’re a few tips for you:
First, your Instagram profile is probably public. If not, start with publishing your page.
Then, constantly share content that interests your audience. Using more gifs, boomerangs, tests, questions and answers are a few examples of how you can make your page more engaging.
Finally, make the most of Instagram features. Stories, live broadcasts, reels, Shopping and more – try to utilise all of them. Using hashtags is also one of the methods that will get you more viewers. Be human, communicate with your audience, ask questions, touch on interesting topics, and you’ll soon see positive results.
