Buying followers. Is it bad or is it business?

“Is this just one of those weird things that everyone does but no one talks about?” We asked a few knowledgeable people what they know about buying followers, and turns out it’s still pretty common. The thing is, people are talking about it. Just not publicly. Read on for a conversation about the unspoken reasons people buy followers and what it means for the rest of us – featuring perspectives from an entertainment lawyer, a brand director, a community manager, and a fashion influencer.

FORD: I’ve been slightly preoccupied with the subject of buying followers ever since our dinner several months ago when you broke down how the whole thing works. To state (possibly) the obvious, you’re against this practice, and basically I am too. But I think because the moral judgment around this feels obvious, like, it’s dishonest, it’s superficial, etc., we’ve missed out on some conversation. So after you spoke to me about this, and after I let go of my knee-jerk judgment, I started playing a game of devil’s advocate, and I’d love to explore that with you. But to start us off, let’s go over what you know about buying followers, how it works, why people do it – give us your take.

JORDAN: I don’t remember exactly what I shared that night, so I’ll share my insight as it currently stands, because it’s something that’s very common and comes up a lot when I speak with people in the industry. Buying followers was a big thing when Instagram and influencer marketing took off around 2013, but some find it surprising that it still happens today – and from my viewpoint, even more so, with it spanning beyond just buying followers, but also likes and even link clicks. I’ve found there’s actually a large amount of creators who are very aware of this happening, and it gets brought up a lot in my one-on-one conversations. 

There are various ways to spot fake engagement on Instagram, which you can usually tell by very consistent engagement across posts, no matter what is being posted. For example, an outfit photo in color will likely do much better than a black and white product shot, but for people who buy their engagement, the likes are pretty much the same. You can also click on likes and see the types of accounts that are liking, and by clicking on a few of those profiles, can quickly see they’re a bunch of bots. Or you might notice massive upticks in people’s followings by simply refreshing their page at the right time and seeing the numbers jump tens of thousands. 

I've never asked anyone why they choose to do this, I guess because it feels a little awkward, or maybe even rude so I don’t actually know first-hand. I would assume, though, it’s because brands often base who they are working with on numbers and as a result, influencers try to hold onto a steady stream of brand deals by having impressive metrics. And this turns into an ongoing cycle – brands look at numbers when partnering with influencers, influencers inflate their numbers to work with brands, brands have a skewed idea of engagement and work with influencers who have “high” engagement, and so on.

FORD:  When I first heard you talk about all this, it seemed like an insider thing – something that only concerns influencers or celebrities. But the more I think about it the more it feels like buying followers is really just a symptom of a larger problem we’re all dealing with. Having a following has become consequential to a lot of different careers – not just influencing. If you’re a photographer or a writer it gets you more work, if you’re a musical artist it can get you a record deal, if you’re a marketing manager it looks good for potential clients, if you’re a teacher who lives in a country that doesn’t pay you nearly what you deserve it means you can supplement your income with sponsored posts… I’ve talked to people in a lot of different lines of work who feel some sort of pressure around social media performance. Like it seems obvious that their careers or businesses would be more lucrative if they just had that big number sitting on top of their feed – they know instinctively that it really means something to people, even if it means nothing to their actual work. So I think this is indicative of a larger value system we’re all participating in to some degree, no one has fully escaped it. In fact, given the world we live in, I’d argue that we’re more incentivized to buy followers than to not. 

“…given the world we live in, I’d argue that we’re more incentivized to buy followers than to not.”

JORDAN: Give me an example of how you think we’re incentivized.

FORD: Okay, social media. There are a lot of positive aspects, but I think that’s largely because of the people who bring good stuff to it and do their best despite the way it’s currently designed. The dominant platforms today are deliberately designed to feed us with addictive, superficial rewards because that’s what keeps us on the platform longer. The longer we’re there, the more ads they can sell. It’s a model that exploits our personal information and turns us into a product to be sold to advertisers, and with our habitual use, it also fundamentally shapes the way we derive meaning from the world. Likes and retweets give us an amazing dopamine rush that doesn’t lead to lasting happiness. More followers often leads to more money – but not necessarily higher quality relationships. We get a feed of people showing us how to live our best life, which makes us feel like we could always be living a better life. Twitter’s infinite scroll deprives us of the quarter of a second we need to stop, check in with ourselves, and say “actually I’d rather explore this subject with a friend.” If you’re on these platforms every day, it takes a lot of self-awareness to avoid placing too much meaning in all this – to not care about the numbers, metrics, validation – to see clearly through the filtered feed of information. You’re going against the wind. So when I say I want to play devil’s advocate it’s not that I’m trying to be apologetic about the whole thing – I’m just saying let’s acknowledge our interconnectedness and participation with the larger systems at play. One of the people we reached out to for this piece, Lauren Caruso, who’s a fashion consultant and influencer, said something I totally agree with – “getting too attached to metrics, or Instagram itself – is a losing game.” The only thing I would emphasize is that it’s a losing game because it’s designed to be a losing game. It’s designed to make us too attached to it. And our entire culture plays this game every day, so I don’t think it’s entirely a personal failing if you find yourself caught up in it.

That being said, platforms like Substack are popping up because people do want the internet to run on a different set of incentives. They’re saying – I’d rather pay Jessica DeFino $5 a month to speak freely about her experience in the beauty industry than read, for free, a listicle on her top 20 facial cleansers under $20, which is probably catering more to advertisers or SEO than it’s catering to readers. It’s a value-shift in our culture and it’s not coming from the top. So even though I see this buying followers thing as a really big topic, I think that value shift starts to happen on a smaller scale, within particular industries where that awareness is being pushed. 

So let’s start with the industry you’re in, and let’s see if we can push for some changes. Your experience in the influencer industry is a really potent example of how the values of the internet often clash with the values that give us true meaning in life. I’m thinking in particular of your interaction with the brand who told you your engagement was too low. Will you share that story?

JORDAN: This brand reached out to me and in their initial email, they claimed to be looking for “a true partner… someone seeking truth… a creator who educates and inspires…” and after looking at my numbers, they told me my “engagement is too low at this time.” Here’s a copy and paste of my email reply:

Yes, totally understand! That’s because I approach social media differently — rather than focus on numbers, I focus on community and authenticity, often speaking about topics many shy away from. While engagement may not be as high as those who base their content on an algorithm, this is the way I like to use my platform best, which also has really worked for me and my brand partners, as they are looking for meaningful brand alignment rather than pure numbers.

As someone who knows first hand that many in the space have resorted to buying services that increase likes, followers, and even engagement (like link clicks and story views), because of brands’ focus on numbers, I pride myself on having real engagement and conversion even if it appears low.

Recently, I was featured in an article re: influencer marketing which included me in a list of influencers who prioritize trust and community. It said: “These influencers are building community, engaging in important conversations, and curating followings that trust them. They have gone beyond simply making shareable videos. They are making thought-provoking pieces of content that spread awareness, enrich understanding, and celebrate authentic discussion by engaging in two-way dialogue with their networks. It’s an unexpected and bold way for a brand to get involved in the conversations that matter, establish a relationship with its target community.”

Thank you again for your consideration and agree that we are not the right fit. Have a great week!

“As someone who knows first hand that many in the space have resorted to buying services that increase likes, followers, and even engagement… I pride myself on having real engagement and conversion even if it appears low.”

They didn’t respond, which is fine, I just hope that my email at least made them take a second look at their approach. I understand that brands want to sell product and they want to work with those who can do just that, but I wanted to remind them that there is value beyond numbers, especially when those numbers may be inflated. I definitely have been nervous to bring up topics like these – whether with brands or in a more public space like now. I was scared I’d rub people the wrong way, miss out on opportunities by talking about some of the unspoken, but I’m just at a point where I’m tired of these games that we’re told to play and I just want to see things change, even if it’s little by little.  

FORD: We had some really good responses from the people we reached out to about this dynamic with the brands, so I’ll share a few that stood out to me:

Ted Nguyen, Entertainment Lawyer:

I’ve had several negative interactions with brands who have either been disappointed (or rather...furious) by a clients’ engagement or an outright desire not to negotiate a project further after receiving our disclosures on our engagement because it was too low for the rate we wanted. For as many times as I have seen this, I have never not been truly saddened for my influencer clients who work extremely hard to produce beautiful and authentic content with the integrity not to artificially boost his/her engagement with bots. There are talented people losing out on work because of a skewed reality of what normal engagement is. I’ve witnessed it first-hand. It is also skewing the ways brands are allocating their budgets because their return on investment isn’t adding up. How could it when you are paying so much money to someone for an audience that doesn’t entirely exist? …Wouldn’t you rather work with someone with 1,000 real likes than someone who is charging you way more for 6,000 likes when in reality they also only have 1,000 likes?

Jane Park, Brand Partnerships + Community Manager 

“Less is more, especially when it comes to authenticity. Better to have an engaged community of a hundred than a bought community of a million.”

Anonymous, Brand Director working in fashion and beauty for the last 11 years:

Instagram was once a pure platform for expression and now it's become this monetized monster. They're constantly making tweaks and updates no one asked for, forcing us to jump through hoops. I do think brands play a huge part. They've reduced influencers down to numbers (how many followers, how many comments, how many likes, how many clicks, how many sales) so it makes sense why people would buy followers. Creators are often arbitrarily lumped into categories like "micro" and "macro" and that dictates whether they're eligible for gifting only or paid opportunities. Over the years I've seen less and less unique content. Everything is starting to look the same. Brands need to do more to value genuine creators more – who is this person, what are their values, what do they do when they're not on Instagram, do they try to use their platform for anything other than promoting goods? Work with people who have smaller followings but a distinctive feed. Reward those who have a voice and perspective! 

“What do they do when they’re not on Instagram” – I love this because it brings us back to a value system that’s anchored to real life. I think what we’re seeing is our culture’s focus on money and growth layered on top of social media’s focus on metrics and it’s just compounding our obsession with numbers. Of course numbers have a place in all our lives and businesses – but where’s the line? For me it’s social media that is making it harder and harder for us to draw that line. But what else do you think brands could do to have a positive impact?

JORDAN: To brands I would say: balance the importance you place on numbers with other aspects influencers have to offer. Focus on who you want to align with your brand based on the creator and their interests and passions and what they represent, versus solely that number on top of their page, especially when that number may be misleading. When approaching partnerships, ask questions like: What kind of community are we trying to build? What type of person do we want to align with? Because it’s difficult to tell who has truly high engagement from a glance, what other factors are important to us when partnering with someone – is it their content? Their style? Their expertise or career? What causes they stand for? 

I know many people behind brands often work in such fast-paced environments that it’s difficult to find the time to stop and really think about these things and instead have to quickly put a campaign together. I spoke to a marketing manager who knew she was working with someone with inflated numbers, and basically didn’t care – she needed a certain type of content and hiring this person got her job done. Or there’s the brand director we spoke to for this piece. When she was overseeing the influencer program at a small fashion start-up she had to be very careful with her limited budget, so she’d do intense investigating around engagement before working with anyone. She said, “[buying followers] was happening so often I had a moment where I questioned – what the fuck am I even doing? Is this just one of those weird things that everyone does but no one talks about?” For one reason or another, everyone is getting caught in this loop, and I think it feels like a losing battle for a lot of people. Especially if we’re not talking about it. So I’d like for these conversations to be happening more openly with everyone, but specifically on the brand side, and for there to be more thoughtfulness going into these partnerships with a different value system because maybe that would change creators’ mindsets on what to focus on instead of numbers. But if a brand is going to focus heavily on numbers, Ted Nguyen suggests putting in the extra effort to authenticate it. “All it takes is some extra due diligence because if you look close enough, you can tell. And there are ways to contractually make real engagement an essential and binding part of your deal.” 

As for creators, it’s important to take a step back and reflect what is causing the temptation to give into the cycle of buying followers. Jane Park goes on to suggest, “Ask yourself - why do [you] want this? Is it optics? Or do you really want to share your lifestyle, opinions, POV with a real community? Do you fall into the Instagram trap of buying the same things everyone is buying or do you offer a lens that is uniquely you?”

“Ask yourself - why do [you] want this? Is it optics? Or do you really want to share your lifestyle, opinions, POV with a real community? Do you fall into the Instagram trap of buying the same things everyone is buying or do you offer a lens that is uniquely you?”

Let’s go back to your take, though – you mentioned your initial reaction to people buying their followers was judgment. Aside from what you’ve already mentioned about the role of social media, are there any other things that make you feel less judgmental about the whole thing? 

FORD: There are a few things. And again, I don’t bring them up to argue in favor of buying followers, but just to add some layers to the issue. I’ll start with something Jia Tolentino says in her essay, Always Be Optimizing – “...porn and modeling and Instagram influencing are the only careers in which women regularly outearn men.” That’s a pretty big indicator of the perceived value of women in our culture. And I think women are getting the message. Want power? Here’s where you can find it in a system that’s rigged against you. Buying followers is cheap and the rewards are potentially huge. We’re talking about life-changing outcomes. We’ve also seen so many successful business women get into that position via influencing – think Jeanne Damas’ Rouje or Arielle Charnas’ Something Navy. So again the message is, you can have that corner office – but the best route is through this narrow door. I remember when a start-up I was working at began looking into influencer marketing for the first time, and the rates for all these influencers started coming in, and every woman in the office looked at each other and was like – what the fuck am I doing working weekends as a brand manager at this start-up? I could be making money like this? I should be working on my social media following instead. None of us went for it, but you can’t look at an opportunity like that and not be seriously intrigued. 

I also think, if you’re a woman trying to earn some semblance of wealth and power in this world, you’ve been inundated your entire life with depictions of powerful men who’ve been held to pretty low moral standards, and have been rewarded for it, and whose mantra has been “it’s not personal, it’s business” since forever. I recently heard a successful business man say “someone gets fucked in every deal – just make sure it’s not you.” But if a woman is anything less than Mother Teresa she gets crucified. I don’t think this is a good excuse to be dishonest, I don’t think it’s a justification that will ever bring anyone real happiness, and I don’t think it moves the issue forward, but I do think it’s worth giving women a little bit of space to navigate their relationship to power in a world that has been far from fair or perfect for a very, very long time. 

JORDAN: Sure - I definitely can see why people do it. For a relatively small dollar amount, there is huge monetary and social pay off. Brand deals that boast a large check, career opportunities, getting flown across the world for a fancy vacation, the list goes on. Ted Nguyen agrees – he says: “In my opinion, people do this because there is this desperation to be an influencer because as an outsider it just looks so glamorous: the access to fashion shows, events, free products, collaborating with your favorite celebrities, etc. Plus you can get paid…and paid a lot to do this.” Lauren Caruso shared a similar take: “I’ve seen acquaintances buy a hundred thousand followers and then proceed to be invited to a luxury fashion house’s runway show the following season – and I’ve seen others parlay their purchased following into representation. Even worse, I’ve seen full personality switches from people who started to believe at their very core that they’re better than others because of a higher, yet disingenuous number next to their name.” 

“…I’ve seen full personality switches from people who started to believe at their very core that they’re better than others because of a higher, yet disingenuous number next to their name.”

It’s easy to think that buying followers is harmless – that there’s no negative side effect. But I think the reality is that the side effects are just hard to quantify. We know that it unfairly influences who gets opportunities and who doesn’t. But it goes so much deeper than that. It’s these things that Lauren mentioned – how this number can result in an inflated sense of self or temporary feelings of satisfaction and importance. And that makes me think – how else does this focus on numbers play into our real lives – bought or not? The more we are rewarded on social media, the more time we’re encouraged to spend there, even if it’s at the expense of our lives outside of it. The likes, comments, messages often provide a false sense of connection and constantly checking those notifications takes away from the interactions we’re having with those right in front of us. When is a follower count enough? Is it 100K? Is it 500K? 1M? There will always be someone with more followers, more brand deals – comparison is at our fingertips and that desire for more is always tempting. What else are we willing to do for these numbers? Rack up credit card bills to buy clothes to wear once in a photo? Or do whatever the platform tells us to – whether it’s making that full transition from photos to Reels or posting 3x a day to TikTok for maximum engagement – even if it’s not actually what we want to spend our time on? While it may benefit our social media presence, how does it affect how we show up in our lives and relationships? 

FORD: On that note, I’d love to end with a few questions written by L.M. Sacasas who’s the author of my favorite newsletter about technology — The Convivial Society.  This is from his 41 Questions Concerning Technology:  

What sort of person will the use of this technology make of me?

How will the use of this technology affect how I relate to the world around me?

What would the world be like if everyone used this technology exactly as I use it?

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Read buying followers — part II here.