With the rise of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook Instagram and Youtube, brands have realized that in order to survive they must literally “engage or die”. However, most users feel that an accurate measure of influence is how big of a following these brands have. With the scramble for attracting followers, comes the rise of questionable businesses that satisfy this need: sites that allow for you to buy followers at cheap costs.
“Followers”
A common conversation I’ve noticed among people is the topic of how large of a following do you have? With brands this is the same; certain accounts amass 10,000+ followers to a million+ and I cannot help but wonder how many of those users are fake as it is very strange to see large jumps in follower base ( 10,000+ ) in a short period of time ( see Mashable infographic below re: Mitt Romney)
Every now and then I have noticed fake profiles on social media such as Twitter and Instagram where the users basically are spamming other users with links that are usually linked to unauthorized downloads such as phising sites or in the case of Instagram, there are users with photos of text that say some iteration of ” follow me to get 100, 000 k followers” or go to this website to go to to buy “real” followers.
Faking influence can prove dangerous as brand can run the risk of real users discovering their fake following and developing distrust for the brand. Brands that purchase fake followers may not reap rewards such as an increase in sales of product in real life or online, or any increase in real followers. The practice of fake followers is both unethical and risky to businesses, personalities and brands.
The Business of Fake Follower Generation
The fake follower / generation of the illusion of social influence has created quite a profitable business for the social media black market.
“According to the RSA, the security division of cloud computing company EMC, 1,000 Instagram “likes” cost marketers roughly $30, while 1,000 followers cost about $15. These packages of “likes” and followers are sold on Internet hacker forums — the same forums where hackers sell credit card data. For comparison, a batch of 1,000 credit card numbers cost just $6.” –Kurt Wagner, for Mashable .
These numbers alone are quite horrifying… social media influence is indeed extremely valuable as 1,000 likes costs more than 1000 credit card numbers.
However cheap building an assumed large following is, there is no replacement for an authentic fan base.
Authetic Influence
Authentic engagement creates authentic influence. Brands need to actively engage in conversations with real followers ( their social media managers should make sure they are not talking to fake social media accounts) to create a larger fan base. Authentic engagement allows for brands to create online personalities and interact with users in a real non robot like way. Social media was invented for the purpose of two way conversations and its ability for consumer engagement should be harnessed. Brands that just tweet or advertise deals and never respond to customer complaints or comments are likely not to be as successful as those that do.
Take for example the Twitter account @dkny 
Is a brilliant take on building authentic influence. From actively engaging her followers in conversations and having quirky comebacks and engaging in moments such as being able to suggestively persuade a potential client to purchase the signature DKNY cozy ( see below screenshot), @DKNY is a brilliant example of how authentic engagement builds a unique personality that upholds both brand values and creates brand buzz to the point where her revealing her true identity was a big deal in the social media space.
Here is a helpful infographic regarding Fake Twitter Followers from Mashable below:
What’s your take on social media authenticity? Is it worth the risk to generate a large following and hope that real users will also like and follow? Would love to hear your thoughts!