Buying Followers v/s Organic Growth: Which Is Right For Your Brand?

Social media marketing is a fantastic way to boost your online presence and encourage brand engagement. However, when starting out, it can be incredibly difficult to get the following you desire. 

While amassing a large following may seem like an unnecessary practice, it’s important to remember that brands go head-to-head every day, competing for business.

If you want to rise above your competition, then you’ll need to have a strategic approach. 

The reality is that you have two options available to you to do this: organic and inorganic growth. 

If you want to know more, then keep reading. This article will compare these two methods to help you decide which is best for your business. 

Buying Followers (for Quick Growth) 

Although sometimes frowned upon in the social media marketing community, inorganic methods can provide the kind of growth you are looking for. As the name suggests, buying followers involves trading money to boost your following. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of this approach. 

The Good

Here are some of the most noteworthy benefits of buying followers: 

• You get fast growth.
• It improves your credibility and appeal to potential customers.
• Buying followers is cost-effective and produces reliable results.
• When you use trusted service providers like Twicsy, you won’t have to worry about being penalized.

The Bad

Like all things in life, inorganic methods are not without their drawbacks. 

• Buying followers does nothing for your engagement rates.
• It offers short-term benefits only.
• Should someone discover your purchase, it could tarnish your reputation.

Who Should Use This Method?

The truth is that this option is not a standalone one and should be used in conjunction with organic practices for a well-rounded social media presence. That’s because although you may have many followers, attracting organic followers and potential customers is going to be hard if you are not actively putting high-quality content out there. 

However, when used strategically, buying followers can benefit you greatly. Here are a few examples of scenarios where this option would be desirable: 

• New account. Have you just set up your social media account? In that case, having a few followers may cause your target market to be weary of interacting with your brand. By buying followers, you can effectively attract organic followers.
• Boosting campaigns. Suppose you are launching a product or rolling out a new marketing campaign. In that case, boosting your following using inorganic methods can help to promote your campaign by signaling to social media platforms that you are credible and active. 

Now that you understand the inorganic approach to acquiring followers, let’s take a deep dive into organic methods.

Organic Growth (a Long-term Strategy)

Organic practices involve acquiring followers by posting engaging and useful content. It results in the establishment of a sustainable community that shares an interest in your brand. To use this approach, you should try the following: 

• Optimize your profile
• Use geotags and hashtags
• Post stories and reels
• Engage with your audience
• Partner with influencers

If you are hoping to grow a sustainable social media following, you must implement organic methods. Let’s look at the pros and cons of using this approach.

The Advantages of Organic Methods

Fortunately, obtaining social media followers organically offers many benefits: 

• You can grow a community that is genuinely interested in your brand.
• It allows you to create a solid foundation for your success, ensuring long-term sustainability.
• High engagement allows social media algorithms to favor your brand, which offers even more engagement and positive interactions.
• When you pursue followers organically, you can build trust and credibility. 

The Disadvantages of Going This Route

Unsurprisingly, there are some drawbacks to taking this approach:

• Perhaps the most significant drawback is that it requires a great deal of time and consistent effort.
• Unlike with inorganic efforts, your growth is not guaranteed. 
• This method involves creating content and optimizing your profile, which will likely incur marketing costs.

When to Use Organic Practices?

The reality is that any business that wants to establish itself as a leader must take the organic approach. Even if they buy followers, they must still focus on producing quality content, optimizing various parts of their profiles, and more. 

Moreover, if your goal is to create a community of followers who are interested in your goods or services, then an organic approach is crucial. That’s because it is designed to show users and potential customers your human side, which is more likely to build interest. 

For influencers and content creators, amassing followers organically is critical because it improves their chances of attracting high-paying clients who will use their services to promote their brand. 

Overall, we advise all brands to invest in some type of organic social media marketing strategy to grow their following.

Comparison:

Here is a table comparing buying followers to acquiring them organically:

The Verdict – Which Method Should You Choose for Your Business?

It’s important to remember that both inorganic and organic practices have their pros and cons. While the latter lead to sustainable growth, they often require a great deal of time and effort to achieve.

However, inorganic methods offer quick results but may not help you foster a community and help you curry favor with social media algorithms. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between the two.

The good news is that if you own an up-and-coming business, you can benefit from a combination of these two methods. When used in conjunction, both inorganic and organic practices can help you attain sustainable growth.

Keep in mind that not all service providers offer high-quality followers. Many companies use bots to create profiles, which could cost you dearly in the long run. 

Fortunately, you can turn to providers such as Twicsy that give you real Instagram followers to help boost your social media presence.