What Is The Actual Cost Of Instagram Fame? The ‘Insta Mafia’ Exposed!

Do you know what actually goes on when someone posts a stunning snap on Instagram? A number of bloggers recently exposed several ways in which influential people cheat the system in order to attain a huge fan following, earnings, as well as fame. From setting up pods in order to promote engagement to purchasing followers, the veil has been lifted off what many call an ‘Instagram mafia’ and exposes the cost that fame on social media comes along with. Not too long ago, users with 100 followers could get their posts engaged just as smoothly as an individual who boasts of a million followers. Just a year back, Facebook Inc., which owns Instagram, changed its algorithm to display posts that it thought the people on this social media site would be interested in viewing.

What Made Facebook Do So?

It was revealed by Instagram in a press release that the order in which videos and photos would be posted would depend on how many people are taking interest in particular content, the relationship you share with the individual who is posting, and of course, the timeliness of the post. This uneven playing field became a matter of concern. Instagram has around 500 million Instagram users and the new update forced the influencers to lose their following as well as engagement. People weren’t being able to see all their posts anymore and the numbers were declining rapidly. The algorithm seemed to have taken a toll. Several creative solutions were chalked out to trick the algorithm and boost the engagement of the posts.

Are Users Actually Paying To Increase Their Followers?

In case you are not aware of the fact, Hypez, Buzzoid, and many such sites offer packages which would cost you around $2.99 or more for 100 likes. These sites bring forth other services such as generating ‘automatic likes’ for new posts on a user’s account. This makes the engagement look timely as well as organic. Those who are not interested in purchasing engagement and following can make use of the follow or unfollow method to accentuate their Instagram following. Instagress, a third party service that has now been closed down, charged Instagram users to accentuate their followers and comments on their post. Instagrammers gave their best to garner a huge following and even started copying successful accounts by clicking snaps in exactly the same location and with the same background in order to earn more likes. Other users continued to follow ethical ways with the hope of getting posts and photos to reach more people.

‘Instagram Mafia’

It may sound a bit weird, but an ‘Instagram Mafia’ is someone who follows tricks that normal users are oblivious to. Ten to fifteen people in the comment pods build up a message group and alert each other every time one posts a new snap. The rules are pretty simple: the members have to comment and like each other’s Instagram posts so that high engagement is displayed. Influencers on Facebook and Whatsapp create chat groups to synchronize the posts and comments, aside from giving a like to each other’s posts. It was later on revealed that photos which received high engagement within an hour of posting had greater chances of getting promoted on Explore, a well-known page on Instagram. Automatically, the posts start garnering potential followers and more than a thousand likes.

Brands Spend A Hefty Sum on Advertising

As per reports, advertising budgets on social media have been double in the last two years or so across the globe. A recent estimation reveals that the budget has gone up from $16 billion in 2014 to almost $31 billion in 2016. The fact is that brands invest quite a large sum in influencers in order to capitalize on their engagement and get access to their followers. According to experts, Instagram was initially a creative platform for sharing innovative snaps and storytelling. However, it has slowly turned into a factory, bereft of creativity and soul.

It is always advisable to follow ethical means in order to build up your Instagram account. Posting quality stories and keep your newsfeed consistent and appealing is what you should aim for. Being unique should be your forte. Bring forth something that’s completely your own. Buying followers won’t help you in the long run.