Okay, so I got curious about this whole “buying Instagram followers” thing. You see it all the time, right? People promising thousands of followers for just a few bucks. I wanted to see if it’s actually a big deal, like, will Instagram really ban your account for it?
So, I did a little experiment. First, I created a brand-new Instagram account. Nothing fancy, just a simple profile with a couple of generic pictures. I made sure to follow a few people, you know, to make it look somewhat legit. Basically, I started from nothing on that account.
Then, I went hunting for one of these follower-selling services. There are tons of them out there, all claiming to offer “real” and “active” followers. It is actually easy to find it. I picked one that seemed, well, less shady than the others. It’s hard to describe, but it just looked a bit more professional.
I decided to start small. I bought the cheapest package they had, something like 100 followers for a couple of dollars. I mean if I lost my account, I want to lose less, right? I paid, entered my new Instagram account’s username, and then, the waiting game began.
Honestly, it didn’t take long. Within a few hours, I started seeing new followers trickling in. They looked like real accounts, most of them, at least. They had profile pictures, posts, and even some followers of their own. Some of them looked a bit suspect, but hey, it was a cheap package.
I waited a few days, then a week. I kept posting a bit, just to see what would happen. I even got a few likes and comments from these new followers, which was kind of surprising. I have to say I am shocked.
And guess what? My account is still up! No warnings, no messages from Instagram, nothing. It’s like nothing happened.
Now, I’m not saying you should go out and buy a million followers. I’m pretty sure if you go overboard, Instagram will eventually catch on. Plus, these followers are not going to buy your products or tell all their friends about you. They are not that valuable.
My takeaway from this little experiment? It seems like buying a small number of followers, at least from the service I used, didn’t get my account banned. Will that be your case? I don’t know, every case is different I guess. It’s a gray area, like walking a tightrope. You might be fine, or you might fall.
Here is what I suggest, if you do decide to try this, start really small. See what happens. And maybe, just maybe, focus on creating good content instead. It is still the best way to get followers, I think. That’s what I’m going to do from now on, at least with my main account. This dummy account, who knows, maybe I’ll keep experimenting! It is fun to me, I don’t know why.
