Instagram Bought Followers: Is Purchasing Fans a Good Idea?

You’ve heard it time and again—numbers don’t lie. But what if we told you that on the Instagram profiles of the most popular influencers, they often do? And that’s all because many creators on Instagram bought followers.

Yup, you heard us right. Some creators and brands spend hard-earned money to buy followers for their pages instead of driving growth organically. But while this controversial move boosts your follower count fast, it’s not always the best for your page’s long-term engagement. 

So, what are the effects of purchasing fake fans? And how can you tell if someone bought followers? In this guide, we’ll answer all these and more.

What Are Fake Followers on Instagram?

Fake followers are exactly what they sound like—followers that are fake accounts that have no real people behind them. These are typically bots and inactive accounts that are used for no other reason than to “sell” follows on Instagram.

But how does one even end up with fake fans in the first place? The answer is simple—they must have purchased these followers from a third-party site.

People buy followers to artificially boost their follower count fast. This might be because they want others to perceive them as more popular than they actually are. Although it’s ethically questionable, many influencers do it, hoping to create the illusion of online success and fame. That way, they might end up on the radar of brands with which to potentially collaborate.

Do Fake Followers Affect Instagram in a Bad Way?

Buying followers might sound super tempting if you need a quick boost in followers and look popular. It’s also awesome for increasing your social proof, which helps attract brands who might want to collab with you.

But with all these pros, there are just as many cons—if not even more. But how exactly do fake accounts in your following affect your online presence negatively? Here are some of the top reasons.

They Lower Your Engagement

Instagram’s algorithm decides which posts to prioritize based on how much engagement they get. The more people like, comment, and share your post, the more it gets pushed out onto the platform. So, your content needs to have high engagement rates if you want to succeed on Instagram.

High engagement always starts with how your followers interact with your post once it’s published. They are the first to see any content you post, after all. So, many assume that buying tons of followers means getting more eyes on their content, which equals more engagement.

But they can’t be any more wrong. Buying fake followers will only result in your post being shown to inactive accounts that won’t interact with your post. This will actually bring down your engagement rate and signal to the algorithm that your content isn’t engaging. Instead of helping boost your likes and comments, your bought followers will worsen engagement. Yikes!

Your Account Can Get Suspended

If there’s one thing Instagram hates, it’s accounts they suspect of automated behavior. Generating inauthentic activity (like fake likes and followers) is very clearly against the platform’s terms of service. So, they give the appropriate consequences to accounts flagged as purchasing followers and fake engagement.

Sure, there are lucky ones that never get caught. But most of the time, Instagram will instantly flag your account. They’ll notify you that they suspect you are using automation to grow your page. Some profiles that encounter this get shadowbanned, which means their content gets de-prioritized on the feed. Others don’t get away as easily and get suspended permanently.

They Can Damage Your Reputation

Authenticity is key if you want a solid relationship with your fanbase. And if your genuine fans find out you’ve been buying fake fans to thrive on Instagram, you’re in trouble. It tells them that you’re willing to do unethical things for fame. It essentially breaks the trust you’ve worked so hard to build between you and your fans.

Once that happens, it will be extremely challenging to win your audience back. How can you trust someone who has already wronged you? You might have to invest tons of money into reputation management to get good PR again.

You’ll Be Less Attractive to Potential Sponsors and Brand Partners

Now, this con is a direct effect of the last one. Some believe that if they have a high follower count plastered on their profile, many brands will collab with them. They think because they artificially balloon their fanbase, they’ll get sponsored or paid for their user-generated content. But if you ruin your reputation by getting caught with fake fans, it can be quite the opposite.

Potential brand partners will stay as far away from you as possible until your reputation is straightened. After all, what brand wants to be associated with someone people openly dislike for buying fake fans? Plus, having inactive accounts as followers means you can’t even market their products to real people. So, what’s in it for them? Nothing, that’s what.

PSA: Instagram Bought Followers Can Get You in Trouble With the Law

There are many forms of “punishment” that come with people finding out you’ve bought fake Instagram followers. You’ll lose the trust of your actual fans and possibly get ostracized and “canceled” online.

But it’s not just the online hate and backlash that you have to worry about. Now, the consequences of buying followers online are getting a little more serious. If you get caught buying fake fans to feign influence online, you could find yourself in trouble with the law.

In August 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a ruling prohibiting selling and buying fake social media activity. That includes purchasing fake testimonials and generating AI-created reviews.

But on top of that, it also prohibits buying followers to fake your fame and influence online for commercial purposes. So, if you get caught buying these fake fans, the FTC may go after you and seek penalties. Watch out!

How To Tell if Someone Bought Followers: Spot These Signs

Curious about that one influencer who got thousands of followers overnight for no apparent reason? Or maybe that one brand that has almost a million fans but just a few hundred likes on their posts? These weird growth patterns and suspicious engagement might get you raising your eyebrows. So, how do you know if someone bought followers on Instagram?

It’s actually pretty easy to identify fake followers on the platform. You just need to wear your detective hat and do a bit of digging to catch pages that have them. Basically, look out for signs that scream fake engagement and sketchy “followers.” Here’s how to tell if someone bought Instagram followers with a few easy-to-spot signs:

• Sudden spikes in followers for no reason: If an influencer gets a huge increase in fans without posting anything special or different, it should raise suspicions. Creators amass more followers than usual if they post something that goes viral or collaborate with a popular brand. But if there’s nothing that might have attracted new fans to their page, they may have purchased those followers.
• Spammy comments on their posts: Bots and fake accounts aren’t capable of sparking meaningful conversations. So, these followers will likely leave generic comments on someone’s posts, from one-word compliments to loads of emojis.
• Followers with random names and no profile pictures: An incomprehensible username, a default profile picture, and no posts are the tell-tale signs of a fake account. Go through someone’s follower list to see if any of their so-called “fans” have one or more of these. If they do, there’s a chance it might be because they are purchased followers.

Skip the Shortcuts and Get Real Followers With Path Social

It’s easy to grow your account if you’re willing to buy followers. Just a purchase here and there, and you’ll get thousands of followers stat. However, these “fans” aren’t real people—just bots and inactive accounts who don’t even engage with your content. So, although you get a higher follower count, they don’t actually mean anything.

If you want genuine engagement, you need a real audience. If you’re serious about growing on Instagram the legitimate way, work with Path Social. We promote your content to real, authentic users who will love what you have to share online. That means you’ll get real, genuine followers and sustainable engagement on your page!

We’ve helped thousands of brands and creators drive organic follower growth. For example, Hailey’s Clothing attracted almost 20,000 in just one year with our expert strategies. Want to see the same results? Skip the shortcuts and stop relying on Instagram bought followers. Get loyal, engaged, 100% authentic fans with Path Social today!

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