DEFINITION: Bot (bät) noun. plural noun: bots

1. the larva of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of animals. It lives typically in the stomach, finally passing through the host's dung and pupating on the ground.

2. Fake and/or purchased Instagram Followers.

(Definition #2 is what we are talking about today class).

What are Fake Followers good for? ANSWER: Absolutely nothing

Lets be real - Buying followers can be VERY tempting.

Guy Kawasaki, Silicon Valley-based Author and Marketing Specialist says: "There are two types of people on social media: people who want more followers, and liars." ---  I'd like to argue with him..... but Ive got nuttin'. He's right, who doesn't want more followers??? . 

We live in a world where you can order almost anything online at breakfast, and have it on your doorstep by lunch. Its BRILLIANT! INSTANT GRATIFICATION! 

But hold up... Here is the thing with buying instagram followers; It's just a number. The sad truth is that there is no engagement that comes with buying followers. 

If you are using instagram as a “Hey look at me I am so famous” - Then great! You should buy as many followers as your Visa will allow.

However, if you are using Instagram for any other reason… (such as growing a brand/business, create more income as an influencer, becoming more known in your niche, sharing your passion and inspiring others, etc.) THIS IS NOT THE WAY. 

It is also extremely easy to tell when an account has purchased fake followers. There are people who claim to have an organic instagram following. But 20k followers and yet only 200 likes? Either you have crap content or you purchased robot followers... Whoops sorry to burst your bubble.  

Instagram is a SOCIAL NETWORK— yes I know, MIND BLOWN. It is not a photo sharing app. The social-ness is totally lost when you have fake followers. 

If you needed more reasons to not buy instagram followers, here are 5

1. It’s goes against the terms of conditions of Instagram and puts you at risk of having your account shut down.

2. You become a platform for spam (Hello fake comments steering people away from your content!)

3. Engagement goes waaaaay down.

4. These “Followers” have nothing to do with you. *cough cough Instagram has analytics that tell them who has fake followers and who earned them the right way. LA local flower shop, 90% of their followers from Palestine..... Interesting. 

5. Your reputation gets jeopardized. YEP. Instagram every so often presses the "annihilate fake followers" button. All of a sudden you're not looking so hot.

Ok ok, enough doom and gloom. If you've purchased fake followers I'll forgive you, so long as you make an effort to replace them with REAL people and get your AMAZING CONTENT AND ART OUT THERE FOR THE WORLD TO SEE! 

Solution: Know your audience (have you named out exactly who they are, what they do, and who they are already following on Instagram?), engage them (Don't be shy. Send a DM that isn't a d**k pic and people will actually want to talk with you!), and share great content (ding ding ding! High quality images, and keep it to 3 things that your page is all about). Those are a few key ingredients of a winning Instagram strategy. 

At the end of the day, 100 real followers who engage/ and trust your opinions will always beat 10,000 followers who are actually just a couple of robots spamming with “free” apple products.

Want more advice? Want to write me back a cheeky email? Either way I want to hear from you. 

mara@gottaknowmesocial.com. Let the emails fly my way.

Much Love,

M 

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