Have you ever been tempted to buy Instagram followers?

“I wanted to reach out after finding and loving your Instagram profile! I work at XXX and we specialise in gaining targeted and relevant followers for our clients’ Instagram profiles.”

“Would you like to gain 1000 new followers every month? We can do that for you!” 

Hands up who has received one of these sales pitches in your inbox or DMs lately? 

As tempting as it might sound to outsource your Instagram growth strategy for seemingly “unbelievable” results, DON’T DO IT. 

Here’s 5 reasons why:

1. Often the followers these companies buy for you are bots or inactive accounts, meaning they won’t interact with your posts which will destroy your engagement. 

2. Being seen to suddenly have a tonne of (fake) followers will ruin your credibility with your hard-earned, REAL audience. 

3. If you’re finding it impossible to gain followers, this is an indication you need to try something different with your content marketing. A sudden and fake boost in followers numbers is not going to change anything from a business perspective. 

4. Instagram might suspend your account as buying followers actually violates Instagram’s terms of service. 

5. More followers doesn’t mean more business—You can’t earn real money from fake followers.

If you really want to see a sudden growth in genuine followers, the “10-step secret” is hard work: 

• Have a social media strategy.

• Show up regularly and be relatable. 5+ times per week. 

• Have a consistent brand story and aesthetic.

• Provide value with the content you post and write compelling captions.

• Become known for your willingness to serve so people talk about your business,

  share it with others, and tag their friends.

• Be strategic with your use of hashtags.

• Collaborate with others in your circle of influence. 

• Learn from your Instagram Insights.

• Embrace Instagram Stories and other interactive features.

• Make your Instagram handle available in all your communication; on your website, email signature, newsletter and so on.