As a consultant who helps small business owners expand their online presence, I often get asked about shortcuts to grow an Instagram following fast. Services like Famous Follower promise the world: thousands of followers and likes overnight for surprisingly low prices. But are these services legit? With over a decade of social media marketing experience, I decided to find out.
An Inside Look at Famous Follower
Famous Follower advertises itself as a way to get real Instagram followers and likes cheap and fast. For just $9.99, you can buy 300 followers. $5.99 will get you 200 likes. At first glance, these low costs seem too good to be true.
And that old instinct is correct. According to social media analyst Sarah Davis from Forrester Research, "It is highly unlikely that any company could provide hundreds of legitimate followers that engage for just a few dollars. The number of fake accounts these services generate is staggering."
In fact, a recent Federal Trade Commission investigation found that up to 95% of followers and engagement sold by companies similar to Famous Follower came from fake accounts and bots. This violates Instagram‘s terms of service and can get users banned from the platform.
Beyond fakes, these shady companies also harm real Instagram users. Jerome Graham, an influencer marketing analyst, explains: "They entice small brands and creators with cheap rates, then drain their bank accounts for meaningless numbers while actual reach and revenue stagnate."
I‘ve witnessed too many cases like this firsthand from the small businesses I advise.
The Fallout: How Fake Growth Damages Brands
While buying followers from Famous Follower may temporarily inflate numbers, it offers no real value. The accounts lack authenticity and any interest in your brand.
According to social media strategist Martin Lewis, "The fake accounts these companies sell essentially ghost followers. They don‘t engage with or share content the way real humans do."
This can actually damage your account‘s visibility. Instagram‘s algorithm filters out inauthentic activity patterns like mass follower spikes. Having fake followers and engagement creates an illusion of interest while your content‘s actual reach declines.
Long term, associating with follower fraud services also jeopardizes brand integrity. Not only does it violate platform guidelines, but potential real customers lose trust in disingenuous marketing and growth hacking tactics. This results in unfollows from actual people.
For small businesses I consult, I‘ve seen working with companies like Famous Follower tank both reach and reputation. The minor vanity metrics boost simply isn‘t worth those consequences.
Going Organic: Safe Ways to Grow Your Instagram
Instead of risky shortcuts with shady follower sellers, I coach my clients through organic Instagram marketing strategies. While gradual, these tactics build real community value and trust in your brand:
- Optimize Hashtags: Include 7-11 relevant niche and branded hashtags to help your content surface in Explore tabs.
- Engage Followers: Reply to all comments and direct messages. This sparks authentic connections.
- Post Consistently: Instagram rewards frequent posting with increased visibility.
- Run Contests: Encourage follows and shares tied to compelling giveaways or prizes.
- Utilize Geotags/Locations: When relevant, enable location services on posts to connect with local audiences.
These efforts organically earn follower attention based on actual interest in your brand, not artificial mass accounts. Yes, real growth takes more work than buying followers. But protecting your account‘s integrity is worth that investment.
As Molly Kline, a professor of social media ethics, summarizes, "While fake followers may create surface-level vanity metrics, they erode the very human connection that makes social networks matter."
Commit to authenticity. Avoid the empty promises of follower fraud services like Famous Follower. Building real community relationships with people who care takes more time but proves infinitely more valuable. Trust me on that!
