Why you should never buy Instagram follows or likes

By Jaye Cowle

Instagram is one of the most dominant social platforms, and ideal for brands wanting to showcase their service through imagery and video content. 

However, when Instagram changed its algorithm (sigh), it no longer displayed posts chronologically. That means it can be wildly difficult to get discovered on the platform and gain followers and engagement. 

It’s not unusual for marketers to become exasperated with this, and turn to the dark side: buying followers and likes. They believe it will make them look more established and ‘cool’. 

There are plenty of companies out there that offer fake ‘followers’ and ‘likes’ for very little cost – you can buy 2,000 followers for as little at £2 – making it extremely tempting. 

Don’t do it! We’re here to tell you why.

Why it’s not a good idea

First, it can be obvious when you buy followers, which can in turn damage your reputation rather than helping it. If someone calls you out on it, you could end up with lots of people feeling negatively towards your brand! 

When a brand or person buys followers, it’s obvious to the end user for the following reasons:

• Engagement is low – These ‘followers’ do not engage with the posts and therefore the ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ will not be in line with the number of followers they have
• The followers are not relevant – If you look through the people that follow the accounts, they are usually not relevant to the brand or service
• These ‘fake’ accounts have few images or no photos – If you look through the accounts that follow the brand, fake followers usually have few images or no photos at all

Apart from being obvious, there’s another big reason not to buy followers: if Instagram catches you, say goodbye to your account! The platform does not take kindly to purchasing followers or likes, and they can (and will!) deactivate your account. Try explaining that one to the boss.

Finally, buying followers does your business no good! These ‘fake’ accounts will not engage with your content or buy from you. So really, what’s the point? You are far better having a smaller number of followers that engage with you than fake followers that will never engage or buy from you.

Our advice? Get an Instagram strategy together, and grow your followers organically for long-term success. It’s a marathon not a sprint, and 100 engaged followers who love your brand is better than a thousand who don’t.

Want a hand with your social media strategy? Give us a shout.