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Everyone with an Instagram profile gets to the point where the process of building a strong community stagnates. Usually, it’s the notorious Instagram algorithm that is blamed for it. And it´s true, as the algorithm decides whether your posts are worth being played out to a bigger audience or not. At that point, many bloggers ponder purchasing followers to increase their follower numbers. But buying followers can be a two-edged sword: Some claim that it can boost future growth, others are sure that it puts the algorithm off, others. This is what you need to know about Instagram and organic growth.
Real Followers vs. Fake Followers
The reason why most people reject the idea of purchasing followers is because they’re usually fake followers – sometimes even bots. Instagram uses tools to identify bots, and if you happen to have a lot of those among your community members, it can come back to haunt you: The bots will be deleted and your account will shrink.
While most bloggers have understood by now that the purchase of followers doesn’t add any value to their community, some still want to buy real Instagram followers. Those followers usually have a real account, which is why the Instagram algorithm won´t deem them bots. But let´s be honest?
When trying to grow on Instagram, the engagement rates are the most crucial thing. While purchasing real followers may inflate your community, it won’t raise interaction. In order to grow, you need real followers with real profiles that aren’t there because you’ve paid them, too. Instead, you want the type of follower, who finds some kind of value in your account and who sticks around to interact with you.
The Best Ways to Boost Interaction
The Instagram algorithm is said to crawl the platform and its profiles. If your account has a decent amount of followers, it signals that quite some people are interested in what you post on your profile. Because of that, the algorithm may find that it’s time to get your profile out there in order to show your content to a broader audience. That can have the following effects:
Better Ranking in Hashtag Searches
If you use hashtags in your posts – which you should -, you may have realized that your posts might still not be featured in the search results if you type the hashtag into the Instagram search. That happens because there is a huge competition within accounts that use the same hashtags. The better an account or a posting performs, the more relevant it is. That’s why successful accounts have a higher chance to be featured in hashtag search results lists.
If you increase your community by purchasing followers and manage to get some followers to interact with your content for a higher engagement rate, chances are a lot higher for the algorithm to feature your posts in the search results.
Better Ranking on the Discovery Page
The discovery page is the page that opens as soon as you push the search button (magnifying glass). There, you´ll find posts and reels that the algorithm assumes you will like. As a blogger or creator, it should be your goal to be featured on other people´s discovery pages, as it increases your chances of getting new followers.
If the algorithm notices that you have a growing number of real followers – bought or organic – it may decide that it’s time for you to be featured on the discovery page. If that happens, your organic growth can mushroom. It has become a lot harder to get featured on the discovery page for bloggers, even if their content might be relevant. Purchasing followers is the easiest way to overcome that first threshold.
Ways to Boost Your Engagement Rates
Feel free to ask your community to like, save, comment and share. These are the most effective ways of telling the algorithm that you´re worth being played out. Use question stickers, surveys and more to boost your Instagram performance.
