Love them or hate them, influencers are brilliant at what they do – and influencer marketing could be the key to taking your brand to the next level. Whether you're looking to expand your audience, create engaging user-generated content (UGC), or strengthen your relationship with your customers, these content creators can do it all.
However, many influencers are now resorting to buying followers. But why? And how do you buy followers in the first place?
Well, you may be surprised to learn that buying followers is actually a very common practice, even among some of social media’s biggest stars. And it’s incredibly easy, with hundreds of websites offering you the chance to buy Instagram likes and followers quickly and cheaply.
It’s all because an influencer’s value is almost solely based on the size of their following, and the more followers they have, the higher the price they can demand. By artificially boosting their profiles with fake followers, they can appear more influential than they actually are.
This means that brands have to be extra careful when choosing who to collaborate with and ensure any potential partner is thoroughly vetted beforehand. It’s important to remember that fewer genuine followers entail less engagement and less value for your brand.
If you’re looking to work with influencers on Instagram and TikTok, checking for fake followers has become a crucial social media management practice.
1. Look at an account for telltale signs of bought followers
Before reaching out to a potential brand influencer, look through their account to see if they have any obvious fake followers. Identifying fake profiles is easier than you might think.
Look for these red flags:
Followers with no photos and/or posts: If an influencer is followed by users who don’t have a profile picture or have never posted, you can typically assume that these followers are fake. Brands should also look out for influencers who have followings with tons of private accounts and/or “spammy” usernames.
Irrelevant and/or spam comments: If an influencer has lots of comments on their posts, it’s easy to assume that their followers are active. Look through a few photos and scan the comments. If the comments are clearly irrelevant or gibberish, then they’re likely fakes.
Following/followed by “fan buying” services: If you look through both their followers and their following, you might see one or two fan-buying accounts. These are huge red flags and strongly suggest that the influencer is buying fake followers.
2. Check follower engagement
Engagement rates tend to be proportional to follower count – unless, of course, the account holder in question is buying followers. Brands can figure this out by comparing the number of followers to the number of likes and comments. Instagram or TikTok accounts with many followers and very low engagement rates likely have a bunch of fake followers.
You can calculate engagement rates yourself by dividing the total number of likes and comments by the total number of followers. Take the user’s last 10 photos and average the total number of comments and likes, then divide by the number of followers and multiply by 10 to get the average engagement rate. If you don’t want to do the math yourself, try this engagement calculator.
Even if the social media engagement checks out, make sure you look through their comments to confirm they sound un-bot-like and legit.
3. Use an automated tool
If searching through Instagram followers and comparing engagement rates manually isn’t the right fit, there are some tools available to help determine whether an influencer’s followers are fake.
FakeCheck provides a snapshot of an account’s followers. The tool scans social media profiles to determine the number of fake followers it has versus real ones. It points out the most suspicious followers and can even be helpful for verifying legitimate accounts. If a legitimate account realizes several fake followers have latched on, they can go in and block or remove those users. FakeCheck works best on accounts with a larger number of followers, and it isn’t 100% accurate, but it can give a big-picture view of an account’s follower breakdown.
Social Audit Pro is a paid service that provides a follower review for requested Instagram accounts. The platform carries out a full audit of a profile’s followers and presents useful analytics to help you decide if the influencer is right for your brand. There are different paid levels depending on how large an account is – ranging from $5 for accounts with 5,000 followers to $20 for accounts with 20,000 followers. The payments are a one-time fee, reasonable even for brands with small budgets.
Influencer Hero Fake Follower check tool can confirm whether or not your influencer has indeed been buying followers. This tool analyzes the likelihood of fake followers appearing on an account and provides a representative score based on the quality of the overall following.
4. Look out for irregular growth patterns
A good sign that an influencer’s account is growing authentically is if their following increases at a consistent rate. The user will build followers naturally through their posts, sharing content, and various other collaborations.
However, if there is a sudden spike in their following that appears out of the blue, then it’s more than likely that they have recently bought a batch of fake followers. This can, of course, happen on multiple occasions. Look out for a suspiciously round number like 2,500 or 5,000 followers.
A final word on influencers and fake followers
Many Instagram and TikTok users have found that padding their followings with paid accounts can help them earn money and attention, but this clearly undermines their authenticity and influence.
It’s absolutely crucial for brands, therefore, to manually check their followers, likes, and comments to separate the real from the fake. Some legitimate accounts may be followed by spam accounts or fan-buying services, but if a potential influencer has massive amounts of fake followers, brands should think twice before starting any new partnership.
Understanding how to tell if someone is buying followers or how to see if someone has bought followers is essential for successful influencer marketing campaigns. By using the methods outlined in this article, you can ensure that your brand partnerships are based on genuine influence and audience demographics, leading to better influencer performance and overall campaign success in the content creator market.
