Stop buying Instagram followers! Pllllleeeeease:)

Paying money to have people follow your account does nothing for your business. And nothing for your brand. 

Most of the time, buying Instagram followers does absolutely nothing but add an additional number on your profile. A lot of them have no interest in what you sell and a lot of them are spammy accounts that hurt your image (I’ll get to that later)!

I know it feels really good to see a high number on your profile. And, yeah I get it, accounts with more followers look more established and popular.

But, are you in business to look popular? Or are you in business to be in business? Meaning, make money and reach your goals?

Without money, you have no business. And without working towards and reaching tangible goals, you have nothing to show for your efforts. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the “bright lights” of social popularity, but let me share something with you: the so-called popular “kids” aren’t necessarily bringing in the dolla bills, ya’ll! 

Many of my clients who have small social followings are making six figures in their businesses!

Because they’re forming real connections with people who become paying clients outside of social media.

They use Instagram and Facebook as platforms they’re intended to be : social. And then nurture the relationships from there to bring “offline” as clients.

I’m in this camp, too. Which is why I’m so adamant about this topic!

Real connections with real people are what creates clients. Not numbers. And not comments or likes, either.

Buying Instagram followers could mean a lot of spammy accounts and bots.

Bots are popular because they add to the numbers without doing any “harm” or so some think. There are a lot of “bad bots” that appear to be normal people until you click on over and see that they’re selling sex toys or recruiting people into their bitcoin scam. 

These are people and bots and all over situations you want your business and brand to stay far away from!

Buying Instagram followers can also lower your engagement and even cause Instagram to kick you off.

See, the social network went on a crackdown on fake followers and accounts not long ago. And this meant purging any “suspicious” activity. If you’re associated with any strange activity (like suddenly growing your followers list at lightning speed with many people who don’t engage with you or are fake) you could be on the purge list, too.

You don’t want to Instagram to purge you, do you?

Another thing about buying Instagram followers is that your engagement percentage lowers!

Think about it. 

You’ve got 1,000 followers who actually want to follow you and they’ve been commenting and liking your posts. Let’s say you get, on average, 30 likes per post.

You buy 20,000 followers and you still get 30 likes per post. Because the people you buy aren’t the people who actually want to buy your service or product.

So, then, the percentage of engagement lowers because your follower number increased but your comments and likes remained the same. The ratio just wouldn’t do you any justice!

So, what do you do instead to grow your Instagram following organically and legitimately?

Here’s my advice:

Find bigger brands (with at least 1,000 more followers than you) you have things in common with and begin following their followers – only followers you’d like to get to know more or who you know should know you! Think about it: if you have something in common with a bigger brand, their followers may appreciate finding out about you, too!

Reach out and personally connect with businesses and people you follow. Show them that there is a real person behind your account and begin building a relationship. The more you engage, the more Instagram recognizes your activity and rewards you for it (aka shows your profile to more people)!

Don’t worry so much about the numbers. Focus instead on giving your current audience and clients value! Remember, you’re in business to grow your BUSINESS. Not win the popularity contest. That’s something that comes naturally as your work and brand becomes well known and SHARED.

So, I hope you take this advice to heart and stop paying money to people that don’t deserve it. 

Instead, focus on attracting the right clients in a way that feels great and brings results! 

​XX Caroline 

​PS Want some inspiration on what to post on your Instagram? Want 30 days of Instagram Post Ideas? Sign up for my freebie below!