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I recently read a post written by Mark Schaefer of {grow}. He states that there is a real case for buying fake followers?

Why? Because it works.

It’s all about “social proof” which is an important element in today’s marketing strategies. If you don’t have a huge following on the various social media sites, where is your social proof?

Whether we like it or not, we need social proof. Online and off. We assume that if someone has a lot of followers, they are more knowledgeable, popular or huge influencers in their field of expertise. We follow the herd…

A few years ago, a client was vetting a photographer on Instagram. They were looking for a comped stay at an exclusive resort in Fiji. They stated because of their huge following on Instagram, the potential for more publicity for the resort was almost guaranteed as a result of their influence. The client asked me to look into their various social media profiles with an emphasis on Instagram. Well, I took a look at their profile on Instagram, and indeed they did have over 50,000 followers. They had not posted a single post, but they had 50, 000 followers. How can that be? They purchased them, that’s how.

Needless to say, we did not comp them any time at the resort…people, it’s not rocket science. The numbers talk!

Let’s just say that it just takes time to make headway in the social media marketing world. To become an influencer in any market, you need to work at it. In this age of instant gratification, time is of the essence. Take your time, it’s worth it in the end.

Need help with your social media marketing? Contact me at chris@serenityva.com for a free consultation.