As a consultant dedicated to helping small businesses succeed on Instagram, I‘m always researching the latest growth tools and services. One that comes up again and again is Social Boost.
Social Boost markets itself as the #1 Instagram growth service, promising to grow your followers, likes, comments and more. But does it actually live up to the hype?
After extensive research and even testing the service myself, I can definitively say Social Boost is not worth the risk for businesses in 2024.
My Experience With Social Boost
I signed up for Social Boost myself to evaluate their services and growth methods. Within the first week, I gained over 500 followers. But something seemed off – the accounts following me didn‘t seem real or targeted to my niche.
Checking their profiles, many had zero posts and minimal engagement despite having thousands of followers. This is a telltale sign of bot or fake accounts.
The new likes and comments on my posts were similarly suspicious. The comments were often just emojis or generic phrases like "Nice!" – not the thoughtful engagement from real, interested users.
It became clear Social Boost was using shady tactics like bots, fake accounts and inauthentic engagement to inflate vanity metrics like followers and likes. But these "growth hacks" offer no real business value.
How Social Boost‘s Growth Tactics Actually Work
Social Boost makes big claims about their growth process: targeted audience growth, direct messaging, 24/7 support, etc.
But looking deeper into their practices, it‘s evident much of their "growth" relies on bots and automation. Here are some of the suspicious tactics they likely use:
- Follow/Unfollow – Bots automatically follow then unfollow accounts that don‘t follow back, to rack up followers. This looks spammy.
- Mass Liking/Commenting – Bots are used to blanket like and comment on posts using generic phrases. But this engagement is not from real interested users.
- Hashtag Spam – Bots target trending hashtags to like and comment on posts there. But it‘s irrelevant engagement.
- Fake Followers – Networks of bot accounts are used to inflate follower counts. But they remain inactive "ghost followers".
- Automated Messaging – Message sequences are sent en masse to users. But bots can‘t have real conversations and build connections.
These shady growth tactics explain how Social Boost delivers big vanity metrics like followers and likes quickly. But it provides no real business value.
Massive Risks of Getting Banned on Instagram
The growth tactics used by Social Boost clearly violate Instagram‘s Terms of Service. As a consultant who has studied Instagram‘s ever-evolving algorithm and policies closely, I can say confidently that using these services puts your account at huge risk.
In fact, we‘ve worked with clients who had their accounts banned after using Social Boost and similar services that artificially inflate growth metrics. Instagram‘s algorithm is very effective at detecting the use of these prohibited growth services and fake engagement.
Once banned, it‘s incredibly difficult to get your account restored. The damage to your brand and business can be immense. It‘s simply not worth the risk just to inflate vanity metrics like followers.
Realistic Instagram Growth Strategies for Small Businesses
Take it from me – based on assisting hundreds of small businesses with Instagram marketing, slow organic growth is better than fast artificial growth from services like Social Boost.
Here are effective Instagram growth strategies I recommend for long-term success:
- Create Valuable, Engaging Content – Make content tailored to your audience that educates, entertains and inspires. This attracts real engagement.
- Optimize Hashtags – Use a targeted mix of popular and niche hashtags so your content is discoverable to your ideal audience.
- Engage With Your Niche – Comment, like and follow accounts in your industry. Connect authentically to turn users into engaged followers.
- Run Giveaways/Promos – Offer free products or services to your audience. This grabs attention and brings in new followers.
- Partner With Nano/Micro Influencers – Collaborate with influencers in your niche to tap into their engaged following and get exposure.
- Leverage Paid Ads Strategically – Use paid advertising to supplement organic growth. Target lookalike audiences to reach potential new followers.
- Analyze Performance Regularly – Track key metrics and hashtags to see what content and strategies perform best. Then double down on those.
These proven organic tactics take more time than Social Boost‘s inflated metrics and shady tactics. But they build real authority and trust with your audience – and that cultivates an engaged following that sticks around long-term.
Final Verdict: Steer Clear of Social Boost
After thoroughly researching Social Boost and testing it myself, I can confidently say it is not worth the substantial risk for businesses in 2024. Their growth tactics clearly violate Instagram‘s Terms and put accounts in danger of being banned.
For sustainable Instagram growth, forget about Social Boost and focus on delighting your audience with remarkable content and authentic engagement. Combine that with smart organic and paid growth strategies.
If you need extra assistance with Instagram marketing, I‘d be happy to chat about proven growth frameworks tailored specifically to your brand‘s needs. Just shoot me a message! I‘m always here to help fellow small business owners succeed.
Have you had any experience with Social Boost or other Instagram growth services? Let me know in the comments!
