How to Check Fake Instagram Followers - Step by Step Tutorial

Influencer marketing has fast become a vital pillar of digital marketing and being able to check fake Instagram followers has become a crucial component in a successful strategy to choose the best influencers for any brand. As campaigns spread throughout the globe, marketers must ensure that they are investing in long-term influencer partnerships based on genuine engagements. Because influencer marketing is based on trust, checking fake Instagram followers is the first line of defense against fraud and misrepresentation.

As we all know, not all influencers have earned their followers. A few influencers have purchased fake followers (accounts and bots) who follow and interact with an influencer's posts but are not real people or fans. This is extremely harmful to an influencer's credibility and authenticity, not to mention a costly blunder for marketers! Let's go through what brands need to know to check fake Instagram followers and identify the most valued influencers in order to prevent dangerous influencer investments.

Look at their followers and following lists

You can usually conclude that followers who haven't posted or who don't have a profile photo are false if they follow an influencer. Brands should be on the lookout for influencers that have large private account followings and "spammy" usernames.

Another readily observable measure is the ratio of followers to followers (The number of accounts someone follows versus the number of accounts who follow them.) A genuine influencer account should have a lot more than a following.

Inauthentic influencers typically have an equal number of followers/followers, and there are a variety of reasons behind this. Many people seek out other accounts to "follow for follow" (f4f) or "shoutout for shoutout" (s4s) in order to gain more followers (s4s). While this boosts their number of followers, their fan base has no bearing on the content of their account. Another readily observable measure is the ratio of followers to followers (The number of accounts someone follows versus the number of accounts who follow them.) A genuine influencer account should have a lot more than a following. Inauthentic influencers typically have an equal number of followers/followers, and there are a variety of reasons behind this. Many people seek out other accounts to "follow for follow" (f4f) or "shoutout for shoutout" (s4s) in order to gain more followers (s4s). While this boosts their number of followers, their fan base has no bearing on the content of their account.

Analyze their posts

It's a good idea to look at the comments area to checking fake Instagram followers on the influencer’s posts. This provides a wealth of qualitative information about who and how they engage with one another. Genuine comments will usually directly mention the text or respond to previous comments in the thread. Fake followers and bots are generally the source of spam or out-of-place comments.

Here are some red flags to look out for: 

  • Comments containing only emoticons and no context. 

  • Repetitive, brief, and popular expressions (e.g., "wow!", "amazing!”, "sweet pic!!”, and more.) 

  • Comments that are irrelevant or out of context (for example, "you look so great!" on a photo of food).

Examine their captions and bio text

When checking fake Instagram follower’s accounts, postings always lack any kind of context, the person's location cannot be determined from the profile or posts, the account never seems to reply to comments on the posts, and the user is never tagged by another user. Another red flag to a fake account is that the bio text just contains a website link.

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How to Create a Community with Influencers: 4 Steps

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How to Become an Influencer on LinkedIn