Instagram remains one of the most important social media platforms and advertising spaces. Although TikTok briefly overshadowed it, Instagram has evolved significantly over the past few years to stay competitive.

Beyond content, which is undoubtedly a crucial component, the audience that gathers around your profile is equally important. It is common practice to start building a community by purchasing followers until it grows organically. This was once a popular shortcut, but today, this method is considered outdated.

There are several reasons for this. First, it has been proven that the algorithm performs better when content is organically liked and shared. As a result, when the algorithm "pushes" your content, it reaches a larger audience and generates more engagement and organic reactions. Additionally, Instagram users have become more skilled at analyzing accounts and content, approaching their choices of whom to follow and what to share more carefully. In this context, it often happens that an account that has purchased followers and has 10,000 followers receives fewer than 1,000 views on a reel video. When an average Instagram user notices this, they see a significant discrepancy.

This disproportion between the number of followers and organic engagement—primarily visible in reel views, but also in the ratio of followers to likes on photos—raises suspicion. This skepticism leads them to question the credibility and quality of the product you are promoting.

Although it may seem like a more challenging path, in the long run, gradually building a trustworthy community is a much better strategy than buying followers.