Growing any social media account is a long game; strategies need to be put in place and algorithms researched. And when all your hard work begins to pay off and your follower account grows, how do you check which followers are genuine and which are fake? And should you ever boost your own following with fake accounts? Here are some tips:
A lack of personal information
It’s worth checking out the bio of any new follower or commenter to make sure it’s legitimate. A lack of personal information on an account may not automatically mean it’s a fake, but it’s worth watching or delving a little deeper to ascertain its authenticity.
Generic username
Again, not a failsafe, but some things to look out for would be a generic name, followed by a random string of letters or numbers.
Quality of posts
Quality of posts is a giveaway. If the content contains multiple pictures in which there seems to be no subject other than a person’s face (such as selfies), there’s a strong possibility it’s fake.
Quality of engagement
If you get a random, generic comment or a string of emojis, it’s likely that it’s a fake account. If posts on the account itself contain undirected comments from different people, or emoji-only comments, it’s likely that it’s a fake account.
Analyse their profile
Look at the follower’s profile; if it has a lot of posts but only a few followers, they’re probably fake; or if the followers are all low-quality with similar profiles, that is also an indication of a fake account. If their profile pictures contain images of celebrities or models, alarm bells should ring!
If you’re considering bolstering your own account by purchasing fake followers, we strongly advise against it. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers, but don’t forget that your true followers are more important than just having a high number.
Make sure you’re checking profiles and seeing how they interact with your posts before deciding if someone is genuine or not. If it seems like most of their activity consists of liking other people’s photos while never commenting on yours, then it might be best to pass them by for now. Your time is valuable so make sure you spend it wisely!