In today’s digital world, you can buy anything with just the click of a button. That includes followers and engagement for your company’s Instagram account. As tempting as this might sound, our social media marketing Denver team thinks you should reconsider paying for followers to make your company’s social media look good. 

Fake followers might make your social media pages look popular and desirable, but they can end up hurting your brand reputation in the long run. Our social media marketing Denver team is here to break down the top reasons why companies should avoid buying their social media presence. 

Real vs. fake followers

Followers are an important part of any social media platform. These are the people who are following your accounts to stay connected with your brand. However, when it comes to the kinds of followers you have, you want your account to have real followers. These followers are active and authentic people who are most likely to buy your product or service. 

The other kind of followers is fake followers. These are bots or inactive accounts that people purchase for a one-time fee to increase their follower number count. People can buy fake followers from fake follower vendors. Although this increases your follower count, it does not guarantee that the accounts will engage with your account. 

Why should you not buy fake followers?

Fake followers hurt your credibility

Before physically visiting a business, 76% of consumers will look at its online presence. The last thing you want to do is have them look at your social media accounts and see that your account is being followed by bots and inactive accounts. This discovery can leave customers questioning your business’s credibility. 

Instead, you want your company’s Instagram to have authentic followers who actively engage with your content. This engagement can include everything from liking a post to commenting on the post, direct messaging and even tagging you in posts. Hiring a social media management can help make sure your engagement stays up.

Instagram identifies and purges fake followers 

Recent social media updates have made it a priority to keep users safe and having genuine interactions. A recent Instagram update has made it possible for them to identify and remove inauthentic accounts. They also remove any likes or comments left by these fake accounts. 

Buying fake followers can put you at risk of losing your account because it violates Instagram’s terms. Instagram and other social media platforms have community guidelines that every account has to follow. Otherwise, it may trigger a reaction from Instagram's moderators. 

Hurts your metrics 

Buying fake followers also hurts your social media account’s metrics. Having accurate metrics is very important for businesses to continue to grow. Metrics show businesses what they are doing right and wrong. 

At the end of the day, fake followers do not provide you with any valuable information about what your target audience is looking for. You want to get your posts in front of the right people, so you can increase your chances of making a sale. Plus, the more authentic likes and comments you receive, the more likely Instagram will push your posts on the explore page. 

Improve your company’s social media presence with a social media marketing Denver company!

At Denver Media Group, we can help any company start or improve its social media marketing. Our team helps with everything from creating strategies to writing content and managing accounts. Contact us to get started!