As a consultant to small and medium businesses for over 10 years, I‘ve seen the temptation to take shortcuts to quickly inflate those vanity metric follower counts. But rarely do these so-called "growth hacking" tactics pay off long term.
In my experience advising clients on social media, organic audience-building focused on value, connection and engagement is the only sure path to sustainable growth.
So when a client recently asked about Social Upgrade and its promises of turnkey Instagram expansion, it raised some major red flags…
What Exactly Is Social Upgrade and How Does It Work?
Social Upgrade offers tools to auto-generate likes, comments, and follows for targeted Instagram users related to your niche. The service claims this will organically grow your audience. But let‘s get something clear…
There‘s nothing organic about bots and mass automation.
Here‘s an inside look at Social Upgrade‘s actual business model:
- You give Social Upgrade a set of targets – hashtags, locations, usernames – related to your brand
- Their software automatically interacts with these targets by:
- Liking posts
- Commenting generic phrases
- Following user accounts
- In theory, some users see this bot activity and follow you back, growing your audience
But there‘s no guarantee the new followers genuinely care about you or will ever convert to customers.
And while onboarding is simple – takes just minutes to set up – you sacrifice control in letting automation software represent your brand out in the world.
I‘ve rarely seen this end well…
The Reward: Yes, Your Follower Count Rises – But at What Cost?
For a small business just starting out on Instagram, the potential for quick growth is tempting. And that vanity metric of a rising follower count gives the illusion of progress.
But consider these hidden costs:
- Growth lacks staying power: Followers brought in through mass bot activity often don‘t stick around long. When your content doesn‘t align with their interests, they disappear.
- Risk of shadowban or outright ban: Instagram hates automation and cracks down often. A 2021 ban wave around Instagram growth tools suspended over 500k accounts using them.
- Reputation and trust damage: Interacting in ways perceived as fake or spammy hurts your brand image. And follower count alone means little if no one genuinely knows/likes/trusts you.
As a consultant, I‘ve found manually-earned, engaged followers drive over 5X more conversions and sales than inflated bot-driven audiences.
Quantity should never override real human connection.
The Verdict: Steer Clear and Focus on Organic Community Building
While it‘s alluring to believe a service will do the Instagram growth work for you, true success comes from rolling up your sleeves and building relationships.
So I advise against Social Upgrade. Their bots can get you followers fast. But foster no real connection and high risks like getting banned.
Instead, focus on posting amazing content consistently, engaging your ideal audience in a genuine way, and developing loyal advocates for your brand.
- This organic community-building takes more work up front…
- But creates real human relationships that convert and make sales month after month.
Growth hacking shortcuts might seem tempting for the impatient entrepreneur. But they often turn out to be a costly mistake. Wise business owners play the long game in earning a loyal following.
So be patient and keep it human. That‘s my insider perspective from years of equipping small businesses to profit from social media, the right way.
Hope this helps you make the wise choice too!
