A PRoven method that wIlL get you 100k FOllOwers in Less than 5 minuteS
Read on to see how I got verified and gained over 100,000 followers in a matter of minutes!
https://www.facebook.com/suedeonfilm/videos/2332090297079917/
What is the first thing you see when you come across an account on Instagram? Is it the profile picture? The bio? The number of followers?
What makes the biggest impression on you?
What do you hope people will see first when they look at your page?
First Impressions Are Tough
With only a tiny photograph, short bio, and the number of followers to create one, they’re extra challenging. Only one of those three represents more than the account owner’s opinion. Thanks to a psychological phenomenon known as social proof, a number of followers represents a consensus of your peers. Which is one of the reasons that number is so powerful.
If 5,000, 10,000 or 100,000 people decided that an account is worth following, it’s safe to assume that you should too right? That is the theory behind social proof. You accept that other people understand a situation, and you can trust their behavior is the correct one.
Therein lies the problem. You believe that the 99,999 other people are correct (and that they are actual people). Which is why the fake influence industry is thriving and constantly evolving. You can buy likes, views, listens, followers, or anything else to boost your perceived influence.
Bot and Sold
For over a year, I worked hard to grow my Instagram account. I posted images three times a week and at least one story every day. Daily, I engaged with/supported hundreds of people in order to build a community of genuine people. Instagram was a large part of my new career as a photographer.
Eventually, I was offered the opportunity to participate in a giveaway.
I dismissed the offer at first because I was proud of my naturally grown following. Plus, I had been approached numerous times before by obvious scams. After a second message, I requested a signed contract detailing the terms of the giveaway and my participation.
I felt stuck with organic growth. I wanted a little help so I could focus less on social media and more on photography.
Over the next week, the representative provided solid answers, detailed analytics from previous giveaways, and screenshots confirming numbers that other accounts had experienced. I warmed up to the idea to gaining 5,000–20,000 legitimate followers with a simple PayPal transfer.
I noticed that a few friends I’d made through Instagram had already signed up for the giveaway, so I decided to give it a try.
The company was giving away a new camera and a vacation. To enter the giveaway, Instagram users had to follow everyone that the company was following, as well as share, comment on, and like the photo. To participate, all I had to do was pay a small fee. My username was added to the list of accounts that users followed to enter to win.
Once the giveaway was live, followers started coming in, and I took a step back from Instagram to focus my energy on other aspects of my photography.
Overall, I gained around 1,800 followers in two weeks — less than half of the estimated minimum of 5,000 (and nowhere near 20,000), but it was almost as many as I had gained over the previous year of work.
After the giveaway ended and the winner was chosen, my new following numbers started to fall.
I didn’t understand how the results the representative showed me differed so wildly from my own experience. Then a programmer friend taught me how easy it is to forge such numbers and “proof.”
https://www.facebook.com/suedeonfilm/videos/408596239925688/
I got scammed because I got caught up in building numbers instead of relationships.
The problem isn’t that people use these duplicitous services, the problem is that the majority of people have no idea that they exist or how pervasive they are.
Some studies suggest that less than 60 percent of web traffic is human. In 2013, Youtube reportedly had half of its traffic come from bots masquerading as humans.
Platforms do what they can to combat inauthentic activity. In 2014, Instagram purged suspicious accounts and affected prominent celebrities and influencers, like Justin Beiber who lost 3.5 million followers.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
Why would someone take the time to forge detailed “screenshots” depicting their social media?
Considering the number of people looking for growth and the amount they’re willing to pay for it, the answer quickly becomes clear. The people who got rich in the Gold Rush weren’t miners, they were the ones selling shovels.
To this day, the most fun and success I have found on Instagram is when I engage with other genuine people to share work and thoughts I feel passionate about.
Too many people derive their worth or the value of their work from the numbers, especially when comparing themselves to other accounts (that might have inflated figures).
If you’re trying to grow your audience, work to build one filled with real people who care about your work. Don’t compare yourself with others because you never know what’s going on behind the screens.