Today’s article is going to cover everything you need to know when it comes to understanding why real Instagram followers are better than buying Instagram followers.
On the surface, I’m sure you probably already have some idea as to why that’s true, but I’m going to break through and bust all the “myths” when it comes to why getting more real and genuine followers is always the way to go.
And, if you’re reading this article, then you are more than likely looking for ways to increase your engagement on Instagram as well, which is another key reason as to why real Instagram followers are always better than fake followers.
So, if you’re ready — Let’s dive in!
Are Fake Instagram Followers Worth It?
Ok, so this is a question we get asked a lot which is why I wanted to cover it first.
And the answer is undoubtedly always the same.
Fake followers are NEVER worth it. When you buy fake followers vs. real organic Instagram followers you run the risk of hurting your reputation, the possibility of being banned, and you give yourself the grim opportunity to never have another sponsorship or endorsement again.
You see, people, brands, and businesses — we don’t like being lied to which is why real Instagram followers are so much better than fake followers.
Potential sponsorships and endorsements are pretty much hip to the fake follower stuff. They no longer care as much about your follower number than your engagement ratio because it all comes down to people taking an action on the content you post for them.
So, in a nutshell, if you have 500,000 fake followers, but you have a .07% engagement ratio then you’re in a world of trouble.
On the flip side, if you have 1000 real Instagram followers with a 6% engagement ratio, then you’re going to have so much more potential to land those sought after sponsorships.
Plus, there are ways of looking up your Instagram account and getting a percentage of suspected fake followers vs. real Instagram followers. It’s 2020 — do you really think you can one-up the market?
Not likely. Nor should you want to. When it comes to growing on Instagram, I’m sure you have a certain mindset of goals you’d like to achieve.
Maybe you’re looking to monetize your audience with things like we just talked about (sponsorships and endorsements).
Maybe you’re looking to sell your own product or service which is why you want to build an audience.
Maybe you want to get more foot traffic with your brick and mortar business.
Whatever the end goal is that you want to achieve, buying fake followers is always the fastest way to fail when it comes to growing your Instagram in 2020.
What Are Fake Instagram Followers?
Now that we’ve got the “is it worth it” question out of the way, let’s dive a little deeper and get an understanding of what fake Instagram followers are.
Fake Instagram followers are profiles that people bulk create, that are not real. Meaning, once created, they just sit there. Nobody uses them.
Their sole purpose is to be able to provide consumers with inflated numbers and followers which is why the companies bulk create the accounts.
This is already a big no-no because Instagram sees that as fraudulent activity.
They take that very seriously because what these Instagram fake follower services are doing is impersonating random people.
In today’s world in general, that’s a very bad idea and if you want to keep your account in good standing you’d better stick with buying real organic Instagram followers.
Why Is Buying Fake Instagram Followers Bad?
I think we can all agree that this article has already touched on why real Instagram followers are better than fake followers, but we can talk more about it now.
Aside from ruining your reputation, possibly getting your account shut down and banned forever, lying to your audience and prospective partners (sponsorships and endorsements), and crippling your analytics and stat numbers… Buying fake Instagram accounts is bad because none of these so-called profiles engages with your content.
Listen, as a content creator, I know how hard it is to produce amazing work.
That’s why, after everything is said and done, you went out and did your research, brainstormed your content ideas, produced the raw content, edited it, and finally uploaded it — Why on Earth would you want it to get no reach?
When you buy fake Instagram followers instead of real Instagram followers, you’re creating content for pretty much yourself.
There’s nothing less motivating than spending upwards of 5 hours doing all of the above to create the highest quality content possible just to have nobody see it.
I know that you know that it sucks. Buying fake Instagram followers is a one-way ticket to no reach, minimal engagement, and no motivation.
I promise you, once you realize you’re the only one looking at your Instagram account it doesn’t matter what that follower number says because you won’t stick with it and that means you won’t hit your Instagram goals.
The Key Differences Between Real Instagram Followers and Fake Followers
If you want long-lasting Instagram growth and an actual audience who cares about you and your content then buying real Instagram followers is the best way to go.
And when I say, “buy real Instagram followers”, I mean use the tools out there in the market that are able to help you find, attract, and convert prospective followers into actual followers.
Because it doesn’t matter how many people come across your account if you can’t actually convert these people into followers on Instagram.
Difference #1: Real Instagram followers will engage with your account whereas fake followers don’t do anything.
Difference #2: Real Instagram followers can share your content and bring you in tons of referral followers whereas fake followers don’t do anything.
Difference #3: Real Instagram followers build a micro-community inside your account and network with each other which makes your profile stronger and more resilient to maximize future growth whereas fake followers don’t do anything.
Difference #4: Real Instagram followers give you the opportunity to share your message and network with real people which helps you grow your business, brand, or personal image whereas fake followers don’t do anything.
Have you noticed a pattern here when it comes to the difference between fake Instagram followers and real followers?
FAKE FOLLOWERS DON’T DO ANYTHING.
I can’t put it more bluntly than that. Buying fake followers is a waste of time, money, and resources.
It puts you in an awkward situation for prospective sponsorships because they will see very low metrics.
Things to keep in mind is that you really want to have the highest engagement ratio possible because that’s the main metric everybody will be looking at.
And when you have a high engagement ratio, you’ll get likes, followers, comments, and you’ll really enjoy the fact that you’re building something real.
Is My Instagram Account Safe If I Buy Fake Followers?
Here’s the deal. Instagram’s algorithm is (mostly) smart and it’s getting smarter. It knows which Instagram followers you have that are fakes. Once Instagram identifies them, they will purge those fake followers from your accounts.
Instagram has updated its terms of use to remove any likes, followers, or comments from any kind of third party app or company that help you artificially grow your account’s audience.
With that being said, it’s very clear that you are violating Instagram’s community guidelines if you buy fake followers.
If you decided to buy fake followers even though you read this article and learned how bad it is for your account, then you can be flagged by the algorithm.
That leads to being banned for life, or at very minimal, shadowbanned for a certain amount of time.
How to Get Real Instagram Followers
Ok, so at this point, you’re probably thinking, “What the heck, so how do I get real Instagram followers?”.
Let’s talk more about how to get real Instagram followers that love you and your content.
Create High-Quality Content
What’s the number one reason people are on Instagram? To consume content.
That’s not to say you can’t have amazing content that’s produced completely on an iPhone because there are tons of profiles doing that.
When you are looking to get real Instagram followers and growth, it’s actually better to produce more “raw” content than professional content.
After many different studies, we’ve found that on Instagram, the more “real” the content you’re producing the better reaction you’re going to get from your audience.
Obviously, there’s a time and a place for professional content.
If you’re a brand or business then you can create some cool promo stuff that gives your brand flavour, but if you’re producing day to day content then I’d recommend sticking to more “BTS” (behind the scenes), B-Roll, Etc.
Post Consistently & Frequently
There’s tons of discussion when it comes to how much you should post if you want to grow your Instagram, but nobody talks about how important it is to stay consistent.
If you want genuine Instagram followers to find your account, it’s always best practice to post consistently.
A lot of folks have trouble with this because real life gets in the way.
One of my best recommendations to combat the human tendency to be inconsistent is to automate your Instagram posts with an Instagram scheduler.
I can’t tell you how much of a fan I am of these tools because it makes life so much easier.
Then you can get all of your content edits together for the week, month, year, etc. and you can sit down at your laptop to schedule them out all at once.
After that, you actually have time to do more important things like moderate your account, engage with your followers and fans, and most importantly live your life.
Now, let’s talk about frequency.
There’s a lot of debate when it comes to how many times you should post per day. My simple answer is that there’s never an upper limit to that.
If you are producing amazing (fun, quirky, entertaining, engaging) content then your audience will never get enough and they won’t ever be bored.
On the other hand, if you bombard your audience on Instagram with boring content and stuff that doesn’t resonate with them, then less is definitely more.
The best advice I can give you with this is to test different amounts of content uploads per day.
If real Instagram followers are what you’re looking for then you need to find that sweet spot for your niche and your account.
Another thing you can do if you want to get more real Instagram followers is to find the biggest influencers in your niche and model their posting frequency.
Keep in mind that it’s never a one size fits all approach and just because posting (x) amount of times per day works for one account doesn’t mean that will always translate to your account.
Trial and error is the name of the game if you want real and genuine Instagram followers to find your account.
Conclusion
As you now know… we’ve laid out some key difference between real Instagram followers and fake Instagram followers.
If you’re looking for help to get more real followers then you can always use a tool like HashtagsForLikes.
These guys are one of the only Hashtag Research tools in the world. Obviously, giving yourself the best chance to get real Instagram followers is something that you should think about.
There’s always going to be a small investment when it comes to using any tool to help you grow on Instagram or any social media platform. That’s just the way it is.
That being said, if you produce great content, post frequently and consistently, network with other influencers, and keep going then you’re bound to see a lot more growth with your Instagram account.
We want to hear you! What are you doing that’s helped you grow your Instagram account with real followers?
Have you had a bad experience with fake Instagram followers in the past?
Leave a comment down below and share your personal story!