Building a large social media following does not happen overnight, but the grind is worth it. A substantial social media following on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter makes it possible to promote your business, increase your sales on a huge scale, and, perhaps most importantly, do so for free. Influencers and companies worry about their following, or lack of, so much that many purchase new followers and likes. Considering this is fine, but following through with the purchase is not. Here is why that is the case.
There are dozens of social media companies on the internet offering to boost your follower account for a relatively small fee. You have undoubtedly seen offers of 10,000 new Twitter followers for $50 or some other such number. Making such a purchase is tempting, of course it is, because having a large social media following means increased engagement, more sales, and a wider reach of your posts, does it not? No, it does not at all.
Your Posts May Fall on Deaf Ears
Most of the services offering to boost your follower count use sell you fake accounts or accounts run by bots despite promising your new followers will be genuine. These fake and bot accounts never engage with your social media posts, making them a waste of time. Imagine you are a social media manager offering new MyBookie bonuses. Which of these scenarios is best: having your posts read by 1,000 people genuinely interested in sports betting or 50,000 “people” who do not actually exist? All the second scenario does is massage your ego by having a larger number of people following your account.
Fake and bot accounts often make automated inappropriate comments on your posts that stand out from the crowd like a sore thumb. Often, these comments are in a different language to your native tongue, which makes them look strange, to say the least. They often leave simple comments like “nice one” or “great,” which add nothing to a conversation, and those reading them instantly know you have bought followers.
In addition, the same bot followers often bring spam with them. They leave comments linking to their owners’ websites and products or even offer to sell followers and likes! Furthermore, many people follow the accounts you follow because they share a common interest. If they follow one of these spam accounts, they may ultimately unfollow you due to their lack of quality.
Buying followers and likes can easily damage your reputation and credibility, especially if you consider yourself an influencer. If you lie about how many legitimate fans you have, what else are you not telling the truth about? How can anyone trust your reviews or the claims you make about your products? All credibility goes out of the window.
How Do You Build a Legitimate Following?
It is not that difficult to legitimately build a social media following, although it does take a little time. Think along the lines of quality over quantity, and ensure that all your content is original and a clear image accompanies every post. As little as one post per day is usually sufficient.
Once you have posted, look out for comments and reply to every one of them. This shows you have a genuine interest in your followers and do not only see them as a potential cash cow.
Follow relevant people and try to grab the attention of influencers n your field. In addition, use hashtag, particularly those that are currently trending, to give your posts more visibility. Lastly, do not forget to post about your various social media accounts on other platforms. For example, let your Facebook fans know you have an Instagram or Twitter account, and vice-versa. It is free advertising, after all.