It takes time and effort to grow your social media following, but in the meantime, you may not have many followers. It looks good to have a high number of fans, so you may be tempted to buy social media followers. But is this the best idea?
Whether or not to buy social media followers is a question that some of our clients have. While the final decision is up to you, we generally do not recommend buying followers. It will probably end up doing your business more harm than good.
Here are the reasons why we think waiting it out and growing your following organically is best.
You Won’t Get More Sales
Buying followers won’t bring you more sales. These so-called followers are usually bots that won’t take the time to like your photos, visit your website or click through your profiles. All you’re doing is adding numbers to your follower count. Only real, genuine customers are going to buy products from you.
You’ll See Less Engagement
When you buy followers, you’re buying numbers. You’re not buying engagement. In fact, you can expect your engagement rates to be low because the followers are not targeted leads (and possibly not even real people!). Plus, low engagement rates tell the social algorithms that your followers aren’t interested in your posts.
You May Look Less Trustworthy
It’s going to be embarrassing when you have tens of thousands of followers but can only get a few likes on your photos. Same deal if your follower count goes from 500 to 50,000 overnight. If people discover that your followers were not genuinely earned, they may think less of your brand. Furthermore, a poor brand image could hurt your chances of working with influencers or partnering with other brands in the future.
You Could Lose Your Social Media Account
Buying fake likes violates the terms of service you agree to when setting up your profile. If the platform finds out that you’re buying followers, your account could be deleted. Not only is this bad for your brand image, but also it wastes your money and forces you to start over from scratch.
The Best Way to Get Followers? Earn Them!
It’s better to use your budget to target people who are interested in your products and services than buy fake followers. When you earn true followers, you’re building a community of people who want to hear from you. This will lead to higher engagement rates, better relationships and more sales.
In the end, it’s always better to have a small, engaged audience than a large, unengaged one. So, stop focusing on your follower count and work on strengthening the relationships you do have. When you combine a strong social media presence with a well-designed, responsive website, you won’t have to worry about buying followers.
