Since the early days of social media, many of us have wanted bigger social media followers. Stories of people with thousands or even millions of followers set high standards. Now, it’s almost impossible to visit a website or storefront without seeing badges asking you to follow us on social media.
For some, these numbers turned into real dollars. Brands paid them to post. Others landed new jobs or grew their businesses, all thanks to their online presence and influence.
But with so much focus on growing follower counts, it’s easy to forget about the value of the content itself. Is it the number that matters—or the quality of what we share day after day?
This chase for popularity looks a lot like pressures we see in other industries. Think of actresses and models who go to extremes to fit a certain image. Or women who feel they can’t be seen in public without makeup. At some point, we have to ask how far is too far.
Finding a balance between building an audience and staying true to ourselves is hard. The real goal is to connect in a way that feels honest, not forced by trends or numbers.
Table of Contents
Social Media Followers at a Price Offered
Remember the days when everybody was buying Facebook likes directly from Facebook? They still are offering it today and many do purchase the first likes for their pages.
The difference today is you can pick and choose a demographic and audience for those likes.
Back in the day, it was anybody and anyone that could like your page. This is more of a disservice to all. Facebook pages were first designed to grab the attention of people in a specific niche.
Facebook pages with fewer likes today generate more engagements. The people who like the page did so for a reason, not just to be nice.
If I could go back in time I would not have invited so many to like my Facebook page who never engaged on it since those early days.
Hence there were many companies that offered these Facebook likes for less money than Facebook. I remember getting phone calls all the time as I had a retail website. They wanted to sell me Facebook likes left and right.
Of course, as seen below there are still 491,000,000 queries that come up for buying Facebook likes today! Do Facebook likes really boost traffic and sales?
You may remember the post I wrote back in July about how Facebook likes do not translate into making money.
Instagram Followers
Have you seen how many services they are now for generating some Instagram followers? Today many users are making money from this social network and Instagram was barely mentioned in the news about their fake followers.
If you are on Instagram you may notice many users follow and un-follow you quicker than on any other social media network out there. This is still true in 2025.
Other Social Media Followers For Sale Too
Apparently, any social media site that can generate money for users has followers for sale. YouTube also requires you to have many followers to make a few dollars on their social network.
But today you can make some money on Rumble without having a lot of followers. You can participate in their discover tab and vote for videos by swiping.
Pinterest is one that was not mentioned in the news about fake followers but I’d imagine they are there too. And now as I’ve researched more, I can say yes for sure on Pinterest.
Many of their accounts have multiple boards with just one pin. So beware out there before you follow someone back on any social media network.
Social Media Follower Tools
Therefore does this mean all the social media tools out there to help promote your accounts, will fall into this category of fake accounts? I’m not sure but I doubt it.
Likewise, will these types of tools be considered fake? Viral Content Bee is a tool that many and I have used. There are thousands of these tools are used by social media marketers every day to gain in the social media system.
Another favorite of mine today is Fedica, especially for X but it can be used for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and even BlueSky today.
You could check who engages the most with you on X Twitter with Agorapulse and be assured these are not bots. These are real people who engage with you and some are even considered ambassadors who help promote you on the X social media network.
Social Media Followers on X Twitter
As a result, several years ago, X received the most attention in the news of the fake follower factory. It was not just the fake followers that caused this uproar but the bots generated. According to Wikipedia:
“A Twitterbot is a type of bot software that controls a Twitter account via the Twitter API. The bot software may autonomously perform actions such as tweeting, retweeting, liking, following, unfollowing, or direct messaging other accounts.”
Today that API costs a lot of money so it’s help eliminate most of these.
Obviously, these types of actions on the X Twitter network make anyone wonder. Who is real and who is only a bot? Even today there are many impersonating Elon Musk on the network.
The Real People on X
Many will wonder now – who is real on X? People who interact with you on the X network and off are real. Those than interact with you on any other social media network tend to be real. Friends that you talk to on the phone or via email are more likely to be real as it gets.
The news organizations that are reporting this are in fear of social media too. It has torn apart their businesses. We have to decide for ourselves who is real and who is not of our social media followers.
I can tell you folks like Ryan Biddulph and SueAnnBubacz are real. They engage with you on and off the X Twitter network. I met Sue-Ann a month ago in person and was invited to her Easter family gathering.
Ryan recently wrote about unfollowing 50,000 of his Twitter followers. He feels free and very real now. People do not want to waste their time on social media with fake people. Furthermore, he found it meaningless to follow those that follow you. I say Ryan is on to something!
Does Content Matter for Influencer Marketing?
Does content now count for influence? I think the content will count more in the future. It will count more than the number of social media followers one can produce on any given channel.
Our content is our home. It’s where we speak our minds and sometimes let others speak via the comments. And yes bots are around here and everywhere.
They try to come every once in a while to make us wonder. Is that person real or a fake leaving a comment on the blog?
We have to decide based on what we know at the moment and newer anti-bot software.
Conclusion: Social Media Followers – More Better or Not?
Chasing higher follower counts on social media sounds impressive, but it doesn’t guarantee results. Today, the real value comes from engagement—likes, comments, shares, and saves. Brands and businesses see more growth when their audience interacts.
Even a smaller, active community will drive stronger traffic, leads, and trust than a huge, quiet one. Focus your efforts on sparking conversations and responding to your followers. Build relationships, and you’ll see better returns.
Remember, it’s not about the numbers at the top of your profile. It’s about the people behind them and the valuable connections you create. So go for quality engagement over quantity—your brand will grow stronger and your audience will feel it.
Do you still ask for people to follow us on social media?
Are Social Media Followers an Asset or a Distraction? Frequently Asked Questions
Follower numbers can help build credibility and trust at first glance. People may see a large following and assume you’re established or worth their attention. However, having thousands of inactive or uninterested followers does little for engagement or actual business growth.
Yes, you can. Small but active communities often drive better results. Engaged followers share your posts, talk about your brand, and turn into loyal customers. Quality content, consistent posting, and real connections matter more than hitting a magic follower count.
Buying followers might make your profile look busy, but it usually backfires. Fake accounts don’t engage, so your posts get less reach. Algorithms may even flag or shadowban your page. Brands that get caught using fake followers risk their reputation—authenticity always wins out.
Yes and no. While some platforms like Instagram or TikTok may show your content to more people if you have an active following, engagement rate matters most. Algorithms favor posts that spark genuine likes, shares, and comments. A smaller but involved audience can outperform a bigger but silent crowd.
You can lose sight of what matters. Chasing numbers may lead to ignoring the people who already support your work. Accounts that go after followers at any cost often don’t build trust.
Look at engagement—likes, comments, saves, and shares. Watch your website traffic and conversions from social platforms. Track brand mentions and direct messages from real people. Loyal fans and repeat customers often matter more than a high follower tally.
Not always. While more followers can help with awareness, not every business needs huge numbers. Local shops, niche services, or B2B brands often thrive with a focused, smaller audience. Find where your customers are and connect with them where it counts.
Yes. Most platforms provide tools to remove or block suspicious accounts. Regular ‘clean-ups’ help keep your audience genuine. A smaller but real group will improve your insights and post performance.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While it’s tempting to focus on a single big channel, spreading out limits risk if algorithms change or accounts get banned. A balanced approach with a few active channels helps you reach more people and test what works best for your business.
For more practical tips and social media resources, check out the Inspire To Thrive Blog.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 14 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
Lisa helps her clients with social media, email marketing and some SEO.
Hi, Lisa. This is great. I, too, fell victim many years back to paying Facebook to boost my followers on my business page. I stopped that practice quite a while ago, because those followers, as you mention, do not engage. You can have 1 million followers, but if they never engage with your content, it’s pointless. As far as Instagram, I am gradually growing my following there, but I’m doing it more organically. Engaging with others, sharing more content, and even connecting with people on other channels like Twitter and then connecting with them over on Instagram as well. I find doing things this way really increases engagement.
Hi Anthony. Thank you. I think generating followers organically on any of the social media networks is the best way, Anthony. Like you’ve said what’s the sense of having a million if they never engage on your content? I don’t see the point with the “Instagram games” that go on to generate followers. It doesn’t really make sense to me. Thanks for coming by and have a great rest of the day.
Hi Lisa,
I have never bought any followers. I want folks to follow me because they have a need for what I’m sharing and trust that I’m providing the latest and trendiest info.
Since I work with brands through my Not Now Mom’s Busy blog, I don’t worry about social media followers but I keep up with the number I have and work towards gaining new ones organically or through page promotion. I am more focused on the engagement part.
For my web design business, I’m strictly going by engagement and being a resource for bloggers and hopefully get new clients, so I’m not concerned about the number of social followers I have.
I have noticed how fast I get and lose Instagram followers. But regardless of how many I follwers I do or don’t have, I still can’t see myself purchasing followers.
I do like Social Quant’s take though…I’m definitely going to check into that.
Great post Lisa! Hope you’re having a great week so far.
Cori
Hi Cori, Do you find it harder now with 2 or is it 3 accounts? I love having the engagement too over the followers. I so agree about Instagram, it’s like they are really trying to game the system on that social network. I’ve slowed down there for a while to see what happens. Do check out Social Quant, I’ve used them from time to time and really like them. Michael left a great comment explaining how it really works. Thanks Cori and I appreciate your coming by. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Thanks Lisa for the mention of Social Quant and great post.
On the surface, one’s following count is simply a vanity metric, as many online will regurgitate, though unfortunately as a society the majority will initially judge someone based on their following (social proof). Many aren’t aware of how to check someones following to see if they’re actually real or bought and make the FIRST impression simply on the count.
Though as we know, many won’t buy or become even a prospect on a first impression, and thus the key for marketers (SMB”s) is that you have to be engaging and building relationships with your followers. Can one completely automate the process of building a following and driving traffic to a website on Twitter? Yes, but the beauty and real growth comes from the dialogue we have with one another.
Yes SQ builds followers, but really its what we’re doing in the background that anyone can do using Twitter Search that makes our process work. You listen for people who are having LIVE conversations on Twitter around you brand, niche or peers, and make sure they’re a real account (algorithm does this) and then follow them. If you have a great profile and followed the right person, because you’re similar to what they were just tweeting about, they’ll follow you back and now the ball is in your court to build the relationship because back to what I said originally, that’s only the first touch point and you need to have many.
Just my 2 cents. Great post!
Hi Michael, thank you so much for coming by and explaining how this works with Social Quant. I love how you say “the ball is in your court to build the relationship”….that’s really the whole point. I have found a few “well known” folks on Twitter that never engage, makes me sad to see that.
I’ve also noticed that if you don’t do a genuine tweet Twitter lets your know now too. The other day I believe Feb 2nd they let me know I hadn’t tweeted in a month (or 2 days)…..I had done re-tweets and such but not one from scratch.
Have a great day Michael!
Hello Lisa,
Wonderful Post. I usually don’t like to buy likes and followers as most of them are done through bots. However, there are certain social media management tools like Sproutsocial, HootSuite etc which is really very helpful to social media management. Thanks for sharing these great insights here.
Have a Great Day.
Vishwajeet
Thanks Vishwajeet. Interesting that all may be bots. That makes sense since how would a human do all that so quickly? They are helpful but do they gain the system? I’m still thinking on that Vishwajeet. Thanks for coming by on this one and have a great new week ahead.
It’s very important to grow fan base on Social Media Platforms but that should come naturally without buying the fake likes or getting the dull users.
Social Media Followers are a precious asset to possess and to grow with.
I must appreciate your effort to write such a wonderful post.
I have a query for you, can you suggest me how to increase likes on FB page?
I know there are hundreds of articles on the web but the problem is they never present the right technique to do so. Thanks.
Hello Motivation Jet, welcome to Inspire to Thrive. For Facebook likes ask those that are your readers and Twitter followers. You can purchase likes via Facebook but if you do it- do it very targeted. Pick your audience very carefully. Then of course post great content and use some video in the mix. Good luck and I’d love to know how it goes. Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
Lisa: How about neither? Gaining social media followers (in a sound way), is a good think. But it is not a “must”. You should understand why you should be involved in social media activities. You should do it by free will!
Hello Lisa,
Awesome post!
There’s nothing as bad and dangerous to a brand like buying likes. It results to poor engagement. I think there’s a tool for checking real number of followers. Advertisers who understand this can never be deceived.
Emenike
Hi Emenike, thanks for your opinion here. It’s interesting to hear how different feel about this topic. Advertisers would not hire anyone with a very small following. Yet having bots as followers is not doing anyone any good either. Thanks Emenike for coming by on this one! Have a great weekend.
Hey Lisa,
How have you been?
Your words on whether we need more followers to prove our influence or the quality of content is a clear indicator, made me thoughtful. Content quality is surely the first thing to prove one’s influence, but in today’s era, we can not ignore the numbers either.
However, I totally agree that, one must achieve those numbers in a natural and engaging manner. Until unless one has the real follower base, any number (however big it is) can not actually help in the long run.
Thank you for sharing your insights on the topic.
Take care and have a great day.
Hi Manidipa, I’ve been well, thank you. Nice to see you back here. I love your point “unless one has the real follower base, any number (however big it is) can not actually help in the long run” BINGO, that’s it Manidipia! You truly understood what I was saying here. You really need both but not fake bots to follow along. Thanks for coming by and for your valued input on this one. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Lisa,
Great read and I’ve actually never purchased my followers. To tell you the truth, I don’t really focus on social media followers. I know I probably should.
I figure if someone likes my content then they will follow me. I know that followers are important because that’s how you get more shares on your content.
But to tell you the truth, I’d rather put my attention on my email subscribers.
I won’t ever buy followers because to me those people won’t be interested at all in what you do.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Hope you’re doing well, have a great weekend.
Susan
Hi Susan, thank you. May I ask what you are using for your email provider Susan? Yes, it is true, why have followers that are not interested in your shares? That is a waste of time. But what if there were targeted like Social Quant? You are welcome Susan and have a great weekend.
Hi Lisa,
I rather have less followers that are real people than more who aren’t or just don’t care. Some of my followers I don’t even know lol. This is why on Twitter as well as other social media sites, I do delete some people (I think) from time to time. I like to have my content fresh and share others that are engaging. Like you … I have had some mini conversations with you on Twitter. I know you are real.
I cannot believe people are still buying followers. I have to chuckle because this stuff went out years ago. And who wants followers that are not interested in what I have to say, more than that….what I have to sell?
Cheers!
-Donna
Hey Lisa,
Not everyone knows the importance of having the social media followers.
It’s a must in this era where everything is dependent on the social media platforms.
Whether you want your blog to scale or any online business, you need more people who follow you.
Thanks for bringing this up.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi, true, but do you think they should be purchasing them? I don’t blame the folks that purchased them but more the company that gave them bots along with the followers and/or bots as followers. I would not bots to raise my follower count. They would be useless. Thanks for coming by on this one Ravi and have a great rest of the week.
Hey Lisa,
Never buy followers. If you can’t have the engagement, what’s the point of showing the numbers?
I am about to have 50K followers on Twitter and you know about LinkedIn too.
I never recommend to buy. People offer 5000 followers for $39 and its ridiculous.
~Ravi
Great read, Lisa! Good morning!
First off, I have to admit. I’m one of those who won’t leave the house without my makeup AND hair done. I’ve always been that way. LOL
Like Renard, I prefer to grow my following naturally, by interacting, communicating, etc. Buying them seems so cheesy and are they really real?
Too many people are looking for the easy way and not enough busting their humps to do it the right way.
I appreciate your read and bringing awareness to this.
You know I’m passing it along.
B
Hi Bren, LOL. I love sometimes on a weekend day to go make-up free. I heard it helps save on our aging skin. I agree, too many are looking for the easy ways around everything. Do you think the tools we use though also reflect on this Bren?
Thanks for coming by and hope you feel better today!
Definitely need those real human beings following you because said humans like your human-ness, your content and engagement. No way around that one Lisa. Loving this post because folks see now so buying followers is officially on the way out. Ego looks for quick ways to feel good about itself and to reason why numbers grow business, which is funny, right? Numbers never bought anything. Only humans can do that.
If you want humans to follow you, click links and buy your stuff, befriend them by RTing their stuff and by engaging them. This is the direct way to garner the most human followers and to do social media right. Thanks so much for the mention!
Ryan
Hi Ryan, I think you are right about buying followers being on the way out. I think Instagram will be the last of that though. So many are doing it there and it was barely mentioned in the news. They love attacking Twitter.
I agree, it’s more about the actual human connections we make and how we help others via them. You are one of the masters of it Ryan! Thank you for coming by on this one. Have a great day in the islands. Hope you have caught up on your jet lag!
[ Smiles ] I look upon social media as an asset.
In regards to social media, I would prefer to do it the natural way. I detest the idea of buying followers.
Real people usually interact with you on social media and as a blogger, I would want to interact with real people!
Hi Renard, I hear you. It’s gotten so far carried out since likes were first being sold and bought on Facebook. If you Google any of these services for social media you will find so many. It’s amazing! A big business for sure. Thanks for your input on this one Renard. Have a great day!