How to spot fake followers on Instagram and Twitter
Pretend until you get it, or so the saying goes. But buying fake Instagram and Twitter followers is cheating, and they will eventually call you for it.
During the last New Zealand Fashion Week, I did research on some of the so-called fashion bloggers. Most had a staggering number of fake followers on Instagram and Twitter. Fake fashion bloggers attack me more than most. It could be because they lack real flair or the fact that they arrogantly toast around these industry events, take selfies, and post for their tens of thousands of fake followers. They are not adding any real value if they do not have real influence.
Fake Instagram and Twitter followers, by my definition, are fake or dead accounts, and also real user accounts in countries that have no influencer value on the profile. Both types of trackers are easy to buy.
There is no point in having tens of thousands of followers if they do not make sense. The value of a person’s social reach should be measured by their commitment, not the total number of followers they have. Quality not quantity!
LOCATION OF FAKE INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER FOLLOWERS
See how engaged the user’s followers are. Are your followers commenting and liking posts? Are their followers part of the cohort you are targeting?
There are a few ways to tell if someone has fake followers.
A SUDDEN PEAK IN FOLLOWERS
Unless you’re Lorde and have risen to stardom in no time, an unusual surge in followers can only be the result of a shopping spree.
LOW INTERACTION WITH FOLLOWERS
I’ve seen Instagram accounts with over forty thousand followers, but each of their posts only gets about 100 likes. The low engagement percentage shows that your influence on your followers is very low, and they most likely paid for the majority of your followers.
FOLLOWERS WITHOUT PROFILE PHOTOS
Another clue is followers without account activity or profile picture. These accounts are ‘dead accounts’.
INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER FAKE FOLLOWER CHECK
More and more tools are emerging to help you see through counterfeits. Here are the ones I have found:
https://fakers.statuspeople.com/
http://twittercounter.com/
Don’t be tempted to buy followers. They do not add any value to you and you will be caught!
Fake followers are easy to buy and very difficult to remove.
Increasing your social reach should be part of your marketing strategy. Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss how to increase your social reach in a meaningful way.