Do you remember the first time you got a social media account? What did you find to be so great about it? Why did you get one in the first place?
If you’re like most people, it was probably so you could socialize – keep up with old friends, share pictures with distant family members, or just chat with people. Social media platforms were built on the idea that people wanted to engage with other people via the internet. So why would you want to take that person-to-person interaction out of your social page?
Many social media marketers are caught up on the idea that there are only two ways to gain more following on their business pages: spend all of your time learning to be an Instagram genius or buy the right tools. And thus, social media automation was born. These automation tools, or bots, like photos, follow mass amounts of people, and comment all on your behalf. You can set up the bot to target specific hashtags or users in an area, intended to boost your following with the right Instagram users. Sounds pretty genius, right?
Not exactly. Our social media marketing team wouldn’t recommend automated Insta-accounts to anyone. Here’s why:
- A machine can’t understand context. While you can tell a bot to comment specific sayings on pictures that have certain hashtags, it can’t see the pictures. In one social media horror story from Hootsuite, an employee experimenting with the tool found that his automated service had commented “my pics > your pics” on a selfie of a middle school-aged boy. Awkward interactions like these aren’t exactly the kind of engagements you want on your business accounts.
- You probably won’t be following the right people. Having a great news feed is just as important as posting great photos on your own profile. Liking photos from people in your industry and from loyal customers creates a personal level of engagement that doesn’t compare to those random automated comments. The bots follow thousands of people at a time in your area and who use your chosen hashtags, so your feed will be crowded with photos from people you’ve never seen before, and who may live on the other side of the world.
- It’s going to annoy a lot of people. We already know these services follow a ton of people, but some bots will also punish Instagram users for not following back by unfollowing and re-following. This sends the user multiple notifications over and over. It’s time to face the music: not everyone wants to follow you. Some people just aren’t interested in your business right now, and that’s okay. It’s better to let the customer come to you when they’re ready than to pester people into looking at your page. We call this the inbound philosophy, and you can learn more about it here.
Every interaction customers have with your business holds an opportunity to make or break their trust, and with automated Instagram bots, you can lose control of your online interactions. Is falsely boosting your follower count really worth the risk? On top of that, these tools also go against Instagram’s terms of service, so you run the risk of having your brand’s account suspended. It always pays off to be authentic and in control. You don’t have to be a social media genius to get recognized online.
Our social media team can create marketing that matters for your brand. BG Digital Group caters to businesses in North Carolina, including Morehead City, Beaufort, Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, Wilmington, Raleigh, and far beyond. To gain the right followers and convert them into loyal customers, schedule a marketing consultation with our team today.
