As a photographer, Instagram is kind of our main thing when it comes to social media. The same goes for other creatives and entrepreneurs, and I think it’s only fair to say those who buy Instagram followers make it 10x harder for the rest of us who do it in an organic way.

Over the years since I’ve started helping other entrepreneurs, I always hear things over and over again like, “Ugh, I don’t understand how other people have so many followers”, “I can’t be successful unless I have more followers”, “I must suck because I don’t have a lot of followers.”
And personally, I’m sick and tired of hearing this.

Let’s get something straight…

More followers does not mean more success or more money. What really pains me the most is hearing fellow entrepreneurs who are EXTREMELY TALENTED compare themselves to others in their industry based on followers. I was one of them – comparisonitis is real. And to be quite frank, I can’t sit here with the knowledge I know today and not tell you about it, especially if you’re starting to think about also joining the “buy your followers” train.

So let’s break down the reasons WHY you should stay as far away as you can from BUYING followers… and I’m talking like stay away with a 10-foot pole. I’d also like to apologize in advance for the knowledge I’m about to drop. It’s some hard truth… but someone’s gotta say it!

Here we go… why should you NOT buy Instagram followers?

Let me let you in on all the ways to spot fake follower numbers.

• If they have thousands and thousands of followers and I’m talking like 10-100k or more, yet they barely have any comments on their posts… Doesn’t that scream red flag?
• When an account has thousands and thousands of followers, but barely any posts, and even the minimal amount of posts have a low amount of comments.
• But the best way to figure this out? Here’s the secret weapon: use socialblade.com or any Instagram stat checker –you’re welcome! 🙂

“Okay thanks for the tip, but how do I use Social Blade?”

1. Look at their engagement rate. According to what I’ve read over the years, anything under 3% could be a red flag especially for influencers. The general rule of thumb is to have 3-9% or more. If that account is sitting at 1-2% with thousands upon thousands of followers, I would seriously question the authenticity of that account.
   *This is not a one size fits all, some people have accounts with higher numbers and rarely engage. Make your own call.
2. Check out at the rate of their followers over the last 2 weeks and even the totals for the month. Are they consistently losing followers?
3. If you look at their stats and all you see is a consistent loss of followers and then one day they have “+800 followers”. Lol, come on.
4. Head to the “followers gained (weekly)” graph (the red bar on the left). This graph is usually about 1-2 years of stats. Use your mouse to hover over the spikes. Is it a steady line and then a huge spike? RED FLAG.
   *Keep in mind the account you’re looking at. They may have been featured somewhere which gave them a spike, but it’s gotta seem reasonable. If their follower count went like 📉📉📉 and then suddenly 📈, then you know that’s sketchy.

Make your own judgement. Do your research and read reviews outside of the platform. Based on all the information I’ve provided, you should be able to determine if the people you compare yourself to or are about to do business with buy their Instagram followers.

WHY are you spilling the beans?!

Well as stated above, I feel for extremely talented people who put others up on a pedestal and think they are not enough because of vanity numbers and constantly comparing themselves.

This should also be super helpful for those that are doing brand deals or paying for influencers. I don’t want you getting robbed of your precious dollars. I have many entrepreneurial friends who have been burned like this.

I FEEL ATTACKED.

If you happen to be someone who bought/buys their followers, I’m sorry if you were sadly drawn down that path. However, you can come out of this. Stop buying followers now, stop throwing away your money. Focus on creating quality content, give value, and make sure you engage with your followers.

I hope this blog has helped you gain some clarity about fake followers, how it works, and what to look out for. DM me on the gram if you have any follow up questions or want to talk more about this topic.