Instagram Promotion Accounts: Are They Legit for IG Growth?

Have you ever gotten excited over comments on your post, only for them to be from random Instagram promotion accounts? You know–the ones that comment something suspicious like, “DM us for a promotion!” instead of anything about your content? Well, it seems to be a universal experience. So many creators get these spammy comments on a daily basis. But what are these promotional accounts anyway? And do they actually work?

Today, we’re uncovering what these pay-to-promote pages are and whether they’re legit and drive genuine growth on Instagram. Keep scrolling to see if these pages can help boost your online presence, as they promise!

What Are Instagram Promotion Accounts?

Promotion accounts are pages on Instagram that help creators and brands boost visibility on the platform by promoting their posts. For a fee, they’ll repost your content—from regular posts to Reels—on their account. The idea is that this exposes your page to a wider audience. They’ll tag you in the post, too, allowing others to visit your page and potentially follow you.

These Instagram promotion pages will typically comment underneath creators’ posts, inviting them to get a promotion on their page. They’ll leave messages like, “Promote your post on [their page]!” or “DM us to get promoted!” This tactic can be annoying and a bit spammy, but it’s, unfortunately, the most common way promo pages find “clients.”

One example of a promotion account on Instagram is @promotion_pages, which has 144k followers to date. This page reposts content from influencers to “promote” their page to their followers. They also post Instagram Stories with videos of these influencers and tag them to entice people to visit their page.

Are Paid Promotion Pages on Instagram Worth It?

There might be some promo accounts that help you drive a bit of growth. However, in general, paid promotion pages on Instagram aren’t worth it because they rarely deliver on their promises.

You might assume you’ll get many followers and drive high engagement rates after these big pages promote you. But the cold, hard truth is that most of these pages are scams.

If the spammy comments they leave on people’s pages aren’t enough of a red flag, their “fanbase” is sketchy, too. Many of these pages have fake followers to make it seem like they have a huge fanbase. In reality, though, their “fans” aren’t active users on the platform. You can see that just by checking how many likes they get on their posts. Many promo pages get very low engagement, which points to an audience that doesn’t even pay attention to their promos.

Promo accounts often utilize automation systems to comment on influencers’ and brands’ posts, enticing them to pay for a promo. After they take your money, some of these promo pages might simply disappear (it means they block you). If you’re lucky and they don’t hide from you, maybe they’ll post your photo on their feed. But after that, you likely won’t see the growth you’re looking for since most of their followers are inauthentic.

Even if you do get more followers or drive engagements on your posts, they probably won’t be authentic. You’ll likely get bot followers, too. Comments you receive might be generic, like “Nice pic!” instead of meaningful messages from people who actually love your content.

What To Do When Your Posts Are Getting Spammed by Promo Pages

It’s best not to engage with these sketchy promo pages when they comment on your posts or DM you. Sure, it’s annoying to get all this spam in your account. But it’s better to ignore them and move on with your day. If they really get on your nerves, here are some things you can do about it:

• Report and block the promo account: If all signs about that page point to a scam, feel free to report the account to Instagram. Their paid promo scheme goes against the platform’s community guidelines since they drive inauthentic activity. Afterward, block them so they don’t have access to your page anymore and can finally stop commenting on your content.
• Delete their comments underneath your posts: Spammy comments from promo pages can kill the vibe of your post. It also makes it look as though you’re interacting with bots, which is a big no-no. So, it might be a good idea to delete those comments manually. Just swipe left on the spammy comment and click the trash icon to get rid of it forever.
• Use advanced keyword filters to prevent these comments from appearing: Add custom keywords you don’t want to see in your comments anymore, like “promote,” “DM,” or “promotion.” This lessens the chances of promo accounts adding clutter to your posts with spammy comments.

5 Better Alternative Investments to IG Promotion Pages

Working with promo pages might be tempting, but there’s a high chance you’ll only get scammed out of your money. It’s much better to invest in more reputable, trustworthy, and legitimate ways to promote your Instagram page. Here are just some of these promotion strategies that will work ten times better than a sketchy promo account.

1. Work With a Trusted Third-Party Promotion Service

Instead of working with sketchy promo pages, work with a professional, trustworthy, reputable Instagram promotion service. These third-party growth services have the Instagram expertise to legitimately grow your page through organic methods.

One such service is Path Social. We use proprietary targeting algorithms to promote your content to your niche target audience without the need for promotional accounts. That ensures your content is delivered to the people it was made for. Because your posts reach the right people and resonate with them, you can expect high engagement and some new followers.

We implement many strategies to help your account grow, from influencer shout-outs to featuring your page in email newsletters. It’s all organic and well-thought-out, never just a random, careless repost on a promo page.

2. Run Ads To Reach Your Target Audience

Another better investment than promo pages is paid ad campaigns on Instagram. This is the most accurate and legitimate paid method to reach your target audience on the platform. Note, however, that you need to switch to a professional account before you can run ads.

What’s amazing about Instagram ads is that the platform gives you as much flexibility as you need for your promotions. You choose the precise target market to which your ads will be shown. That means you define everything from their demographics (age, city, gender) to their psychographics (hobbies, interests, behaviors).

You also get to set your own budget for the campaigns you run. You can either choose a daily or lifetime budget for your ad set. That way, you never have to worry about overspending on ads that don’t even work.

When setting up ads on Instagram, you can promote new creative material or boost posts that you’ve posted before. This is awesome because you can choose to boost organic content that performed really well in the past. That way, you already know for sure that those specific materials resonate with your target audience.

3. Repost and Promote User-Generated Content

One way to run ads that are more native and authentic in appearance is by reposting and promoting user-generated content, or UGC. This kind of content refers to posts fans and customers publish that feature or mention your brand. It includes posts like product reviews, tutorials, OOTDs, day-in-the-life photos showcasing your products, and more.

If you see UGC painting your brand in a good light, ask the poster for permission to repost it. If they give you the green light, add it to your content plan. Upload the post to your page and tag them to give them proper credit. Then, boost the post to turn it into an ad, allowing it to reach your target audience.

UGC ads look much more genuine and palatable than overly manicured product-centric content produced by companies. Think of them as word-of-mouth marketing posts where fans share their experience with your brand. According to Forbes, user-generated content ads get four times more clicks than brand-produced material, making them awesome promotional materials. The best part is that because they’re repurposed content, it’s super cost-effective for you!

4. Collaborate With Another Influencer To Promote Your Page

Instead of borrowing the influence of possibly fake promo pages, get a legitimate, well-loved influencer to promote your content. Collaborate with creators with active and engaged fans similar to your own target audience demographics. That way, you can expose your content to people who will likely resonate with your posts and follow your account.

There are many ways to collaborate with other creators within your niche. Maybe you can produce exciting, entertaining content together and publish it as a collaborative post. That way, it reaches both your follower bases’ feeds, boosting its reach and visibility for both your accounts. It could also just be as simple as doing shout-outs or sharing each other’s posts on Instagram Stories.

Think of it as borrowing each other’s fame to gain access to untapped audiences. You might even make a new Instagram bestie along the way!

5. Promote Your IG Page on Other Social Media Platforms

If you’re active on other social channels, like Facebook or TikTok, you can promote your Instagram page there, too. Cross-post your content to those platforms whenever possible to boost reach. That way, fans who are familiar with you on other platforms can follow your IG page if they don’t already.

You can also cross-promote your page on other avenues. For example, if you have a blog, embed Instagram posts on some web pages to drive traffic to your profile. Another idea is to add a link to your Instagram page on your professional email signature. If there’s a chance to share your Instagram page on any online channel you control, grab the opportunity!

Frequently Asked Questions

There Are Much Better Alternatives to IG Promo Pages, Like Path Social!

Don’t fall into the temptation of relying on promo pages to grow your account on Instagram. Using organic and legitimate promotion strategies is much better if you want sustainable, authentic growth and engagement. So, consider running ads, boosting posts, collaborating with other creators and cross-promoting on your other online channels instead.

Path Social is another tool that is better than Instagram promotion accounts for long-term success on the platform. We promote your page with tried-and-tested strategies to make sure your content shows up on your target audience’s feed. We’ll help you drive higher engagement and gain followers, just like we did for businesses like The Beauty of Baking. Experience the same authentic growth and boost your online presence on Instagram today with Path Social!