Why You Should Not Buy Instagram Followers?

We’re all hoping for a shortcut whenever we get the chance, right?

And no, this is not the famous rabbit and turtle story, but it has a similar point. 

Today's focus, however, is on social media growth and the progress you want to make on your Instagram profile.

One of the most famous shortcuts is buying Instagram followers – and we’re 110% certain that this thought has crossed your mind at least once.

The question is whether this is actually a valid popularity tactic. What do you think?

Before we dig into the details, take a peek at our key takeaways.

Key Takeaways 🚀

1. Don’t get caught up in the online frenzy – there are fake followers out there; they’re just camouflaged as automated, inactive, mass-following, regram accounts. 
2. Buying Instagram followers doesn’t necessarily translate into online popularity.
3. Low-quality bought followers are a waste of money and might get your Insta banned.
4. Buying Instagram followers does not guarantee building an engaging community.
5. If you’re caught buying followers, your reputation could be in serious danger.

The Dangers of Buying Instagram Followers

Buying Instagram followers can make or break your online presence. If you end up with fake followers, your whole Instagram identity could be jeopardized.

With that in mind, it’s time to shine a light on the downsides of buying Instagram followers:

🚫 The Illusion of Online Popularity

First and foremost, buying Instagram followers can create an illusion of popularity. If you’re not a brand or an influencer trying to make a name for yourself on Instagram, buying an abnormal amount of followers won’t make you famous.

Unfortunately, many people believe that most of their life revolves around social media and that if they have a lot of followers – they could be considered an influencer or a celebrity.

That’s not the way it goes – in order to become an influencer, Instagram model, or whatever your aspirations are, you need to work in real life too. Purchasing a package of 10,000 followers isn’t the shortcut you should be pursuing.

Moreover, these followers will have little-to-nothing to hold on to. Since you’re not as famous as you want to be, there will be no significant engagement from the followers’ side. 

You need to build something in order for people to appreciate it.  

🚫 A Waste of Resources

Imagine that you’re a brand that’s just stepping into the market, and you have big dreams about hitting 100,000, then 500,000, and one day, maybe 1 mil on your Instagram.

That’s possible, but buying a portion of followers that’s supposed to make your journey easier won’t turn out the way you imagined it in the first place.

Let’s just say that a lot of growth tools out there love to take advantage of naive influencers and brands hungry for success. 

They put a hefty price tag on their follower packages and you guessed it – lure accounts to buy them – convincing them that they’re 100% real, organic, and so on.

Real or not real, a potential growth strategy could turn into a scam in a minute. You might pay thousands of dollars for followers that won’t return the favor – interact with your content, which is the whole point.

🚫 The Risk of Being Banned

Instagram’s getting smarter by the day, and it’s no longer letting scams with Instagram followers fly by. That’s right — the Algotrithgm has been programmed to spot unusual and unnatural spikes in Instagram followers.

You might pass with a warning sign the first time you try a risky endeavor like this, but we can’t promise the same outcome for the second and third. 

You can’t blame it on Instagram for getting banned one day and losing all your precious content and followers that you’ve been working so hard on for the last who knows how long.

Stop and ask yourself: Is it really worth it? Putting your Instagram at risk for an additional 100 followers?

Of course not. 

🚫 Damage to Your Reputation

At some point, Instagram will catch up with your bought followers and inorganic growth and seize all of them. 

Some say that the worst-case scenario would be the aftermath for your reputation. Your online ego will definitely be hurt after having 1,000+ followers removed from your account.

What will the rest of your community think?

That it was all fake from the start? Well, they might, and one apology video you post on your Story won’t be enough.

As a brand, an influencer, or a company that’s using social media or hashtags for Instagram growth to broaden its horizons and reach a wider audience, you can’t let a slip like this happen – it’ll mark you for life.

Remember, once on the internet, always on the internet!

The Disguises of Fake-Bought Followers

Out of 2 billion active users on this social media platform, we can’t say that fake-bought Instagram followers are dominating, but there’s definitely an excess of them — 95 million. 

The people that interact the most with fake followers (usually by purchasing them from unreliable sources) are the ones that take the hardest blow. 

For reference, here’s data from 2022 on how many influencers were involved in fraud by the number of followers:

There you have it, folks – the numbers don’t lie, and this is definitely a warning sign for anyone who’s thinking of taking this shortcut just for overnight fame.

It could backfire!

Don’t be surprised – they’ve advanced so much that different groups on Instagram exist now.

Luckily, we’re here to let you in on the little differences that’ll help you spot them:

Automated Accounts

The first critical follower group is automated accounts or bots – whatever works for you. They’re a bit more advanced than the next category we’ll mention, though. 

What makes bots “superior” is that they are actually computer-programmed to perform certain actions. 

For example, these accounts will like 50 of your Insta posts in 50 seconds or leave generic boring comments under your pic to “camouflage” engagement. 

Still, they’re easily detectable by Instagram’s algorithm.

Inactive Accounts

Compared to the previous category, inactive accounts have absolutely 0 purposes. They might have been active before, but over time, became dormant. 

Don’t be fooled, though. Some of them might still keep their profile photos and posts, but they haven’t been active on Instagram in a while. 

They’re a bit harder to spot, but ultimately, Instagram will find out.

Mass-Following Accounts

You could’ve guessed it from the name, but let’s clarify. 

Lots of tools use these mass-following accounts to follow dozens, if not hundreds, of brands. But that’s all they do – they just click the “Follow” button, and that’s it – they don’t interact with the brand’s content whatsoever.

The easiest way to describe these accounts would be +1.

Comment Pods

Okay, this might be new to someone who’s just getting familiar with the phenomenon of buying Instagram followers. 

In the simplest way possible, comment pods are Instagram accounts, technically groups, that agree to like and comment on each other’s posts for engagement purposes. 

Although they’re not 100% fake by definition, they’re promoting fake engagement, which is even worse.

Regram Accounts

The last critical category of the day is regram accounts. As you’ve probably guessed from the name itself, these accounts only repost content from other Instagram accounts and don’t interact. 

Although they might have a large number of followers, they lack original content.

Here’s an example of what a fake Instagram follower account looks like:

All the red flags in one place:

• A random username.
• No Instagram bio.
• No posts.
• A discrepancy in the number of followers and following.
• No Instagram highlights.

Extra tip:

Don’t be surprised if you see your profile pic on someone’s fake Instagram account. A lot of users “steal” photos from unlocked accounts in order to camouflage their appearance. 

Buying Followers on Instagram in the Long Run: Bop or Flop?

Looking from a distance, buying Instagram followers is a flop. Although you’ll be able to spike up the number on your profile faster than your competitors, there’s ultimately no guarantee that you’re gathering a real-life, engaging audience that’ll stay with you in the long run.

Let us put it this way – authority can’t be bought – and most of the followers that you purchase aren’t actually authentic or drawn to your account for any reason. They’re just a result of a deal that you scored with some online growth tool.

For you to actually grow your account, you need verified engagement and high-quality Instagram followers that can turn your platform upside down – for the better!

How To Find Verified Sources?

In a sea of unverified and suspicious growth tools, research is your best friend. Before you click on a follower package, make sure to double-check its credibility. The best advice would be to scroll through their official website to get a better picture.

For instance, Flock Social is a verified growth tool that automatically interacts with real Instagram accounts – based on your target audience. 

That’s why they offer organic growth over a period of time.

Their service's natural spike in follower number is a solid indicator of social proof – the fact that someone out there puts their trust in your hands and takes your recommendations seriously. 

At the end of the day – it’s all about influencing the community that you’re building.

For reference, here are comments from happy customers:

The Final Verdict

To buy or not to buy – that is the question.

Although it’s one of the biggest and most influential platforms, Instagram is still flooded with fake-bought followers that do more harm than good to your account. Most of those come from packages brands and influencers bought to increase engagement.

Buying Instagram followers CAN be dangerous – they can create an illusion of online popularity, your account can be banned, damage your reputation, and waste your financial resources.

On the other hand, if you choose carefully, you can still achieve organic growth, social proof, and a sense of accomplishment.

The message of the day? Triple-check before any purchase!