The Problem of Instagram Fakefluencers: Are they really capable to improve brands?

Almost on every corner, you can hear the phrase “Instagram influencer”. This subject is becoming more and more popular on a daily basis.

I am not sure that each account with many likes and followers deserves to be named that way. Imagine that every tall person in the world is named “basketball player”. It would be ridiculous.

Big, small and medium-sized businesses are spending a large amount of money to promote themselves on the profiles of those people who claim themselves to be Instagram ‘influencers’. Okay, I understand, it is cheaper than advertising on radio or TV. However, is every ad a good ad? Would that investment be good or bad?

Instagram is full of Fakefluencers

There are many people that only think about earning quick money. They somehow find a way to trick many brands that they really do have some influence on people. Everything on their account is fake, and that is the reason why I call them fakefluencers. They buy followers through “follower farms”. They maintain secret WhatsApp groups to create “fake engagement” for the posts you submit them to publish. (Yes, it’s a trick these fakefluencers are using).

What influence really is?

We are really happy people. We live in the era of the Internet, and making an influence on people is much easier than before. Everyone can express his or her opinion about something (is this good or bad?). More importantly, everyone can develop a brand in a much easier way. Unfortunately, not everyone has good intention.

Influencers on Instagram, or even outside of the Internet, can’t be everyone. The person that can influence on society needs to be sociable, knowledgeable and energetic. Without these three things, it is not possible to become an influencer. Does this person have the authority to talk about my topic? This is the first question you have to ask before paying a self-proclaimed influencer.

The second thing that you need to know is that little causes can have big effects. There are many small things that can improve your business dramatically. Many fakefluencers will guarantee they will bring you profit thanks to their “army of followers”. Believe me, profiles with 200 followers can sometimes have a bigger influence than profiles with 100k followers. Don’t just go by the number of followers and be fooled! As I mentioned earlier, followers can be bought.

Third thing, which is the most important if you ask me, is that changes in business happen at one dramatic moment. Sooner or later you will discover that your investment was bad. Fakefluencers mostly have the prepared story, and it almost always has the same point – “It needs time”.

This may be good advice for some other things, for example, when you break up with a girlfriend that you love. It needs time to fall in love again. But, in business, something becomes viral over the night. For example, if you get visits to your website, but the purchase of your products remains the same, there is no reason to try once again with the same fakefluencer.

So, how many influencers really possess these qualities, and how many of them are capable to bring you positive results? My favorite types of influencers are those, so-called, pseudo-celebrities. I won’t name them, but some of them even have their own show, and they are making a lot of money thanks to their “influence”.

Those people are a good example of fakefluencers. They haven’t done anything valuable (and they probably won’t), and they are talking about things that are irrelevant to their field of expertise or even immoral to promote. Holding your product against the cleavage of a good looking girl will obviously give you a lot of views and hearts. But remember, those reactions are not for your product. “Cleavage Monetization” is actually a sperate industry nowadays on Instagram, and I can safely say it’s a better profession though than prostitution.

Probably people would follow them because they have beautiful breasts, but would they provide your customers with something useful? No, because their content would not add any value to someone’s life. That also means it won’t bring the value to any brand.

Influence has to result in “actions”

There is a small difference between popularity and making money. Let’s imagine that “influencer” brings you 2000 visits to your webshop. Those customers won’t mean anything to you if they really don’t buy your product.

A true influencer has to result in ACTIONS. That is the indicator that shows who is an influencer, and who is a fakefluencer. So, do you want to become popular or successful?

True influence can be achieved

As we concluded, there are so many scams over Instagram. However, there are also many opportunities to achieve influence. Here are some pieces of advice to wannabe influencers on Instagram out there!

Don’t only think about money

The first thing you need to do is not to think only about earning money. If your only goal is that, you won’t be different from those pseudo-celebrities. Your main goal needs to be bringing value to the lives of your followers in some way. It can be in the business fields, fashion, beauty, tech, travel or any other field of life; that really doesn’t matter.

If potential brand partners realize that you only want to take money from them, they won’t respect you. Remember, we make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give (Winston Churchill).

Make a trusty relationship
When people feel that your intention is to offer them something good, you will get a mutual trust between you and your followers. When people trust you, when they appreciate your content, and when they see that you are a “true leader”, only then you can say you have the power to influence someone. This is the point where your potential brand partners get some value by partnering with you.


Be unique, don’t copy/paste

Being unique is one more “feature” of true influencers. You need to find something that would split your business from the masses. Trust me; it is not so easy to become recognizable.


So, what do you think after reading this article? Is investing in influencers on Instagram a good solution? I would like to hear from you!