{"id":16928,"date":"2021-08-31T08:30:49","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T08:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/?p=16928"},"modified":"2023-08-14T09:42:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T09:42:44","slug":"fake-instagram-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Identify Fake Instagram Influencers [Free Tool Inside]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With the rise of automated accounts and businesses that let you buy fake followers, there are a lot of fake Instagram influencers out there. This isn\u2019t surprising considering just how profitable being an influencer can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So everyone wants to enjoy the benefits. But some do not want to put in the work to build an organic following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, Twitter cracked down on fake influencers on the platform, suspending 70 million accounts within just two months. Lots of celebrities and influential figures lost millions of fake followers in the process. In November of the same year, Instagram declared that it too will be deleting fake accounts.<br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/cbd-influencers\/\">12 Leading CBD Influencers Brands Can Collaborate With<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/what-is-influencer-marketing\/\">What is Influencer Marketing and How Can You Use It to Grow Your Business<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/instagram-image-size\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Ultimate Instagram Image Size Guide2<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/effective-types-influencer-collaborations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 of the Most Effective Influencer Collaboration Ideas and Examples<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the kind of situation that gets you wondering\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just how many fake accounts are out there? And what if you end up working with an influencer who has tons of fake followers? How exactly can you identify a fake influencer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, I will be discussing the topic of fake Instagram influencers and how harmful they can be for brands. But most importantly, I will teach you how to identify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_60 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-65816e5dd335a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #333333;color:#333333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #333333;color:#333333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-65816e5dd335a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#What_are_Fake_Influencers\" title=\"What are Fake Influencers?\">What are Fake Influencers?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#How_Do_Fake_Instagram_Influencers_Affect_Brands\" title=\"How Do Fake Instagram Influencers Affect Brands?\">How Do Fake Instagram Influencers Affect Brands?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#How_Can_You_Identify_Fake_Instagram_Influencers\" title=\"How Can You Identify Fake Instagram Influencers?\">How Can You Identify Fake Instagram Influencers?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#1_Look_for_Unusually_Low_Engagement_Rates\" title=\"#1: Look for Unusually Low Engagement Rates\">#1: Look for Unusually Low Engagement Rates<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#2_Analyze_the_Quality_of_Interactions\" title=\"#2: Analyze the Quality of Interactions\">#2: Analyze the Quality of Interactions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#3_Examine_Their_Follower_Profiles\" title=\"#3: Examine Their Follower Profiles\">#3: Examine Their Follower Profiles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#4_Analyze_Their_Follower_Growth_Rate\" title=\"#4: Analyze Their Follower Growth Rate\">#4: Analyze Their Follower Growth Rate<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#5_Analyze_Their_Audience_Quality\" title=\"#5: Analyze Their Audience Quality\">#5: Analyze Their Audience Quality<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#FAQs\" title=\"FAQs\">FAQs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fake-instagram-influencers\/#Fake_Influencers_Whats_Next\" title=\"Fake Influencers: What\u2019s Next?\">Fake Influencers: What\u2019s Next?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_Fake_Influencers\"><\/span>What are Fake Influencers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, what do we mean by a fake influencer? The simplest explanation is that a fake influencer is someone who presents themself as an \u201cinfluencer\u201d but whose social media following is largely made up of bots and fake accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, they have no real influence. So working with them wouldn\u2019t yield any real results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While every social media user is susceptible to the occasional bot followers, these influencers willingly sign up for them. This is mainly because of the mistaken belief that being an influencer is all about getting millions of followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That isn\u2019t too big of a stretch because a large social media following is what attracts certain brands when they\u2019re looking for an influencer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These fake Instagram influencers try to take a shortcut and pay to get more followers. There are sites that let you buy a certain number of bot followers for a fixed price. So a large portion of the followers of these fake influencers are bots or fake accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, they aren\u2019t actually engaging real people and these fake accounts won\u2019t engage with their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_Fake_Instagram_Influencers_Affect_Brands\"><\/span>How Do Fake Instagram Influencers Affect Brands?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of brands, even the big ones, have made the mistake of partnering with a fake Instagram influencer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, a Points North Group study found that Ritz-Carlton tops the list of brands that have fallen prey to influencers with fake followers. According to the study, the influencers they have worked with have about 78% fake followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brands like Pampers, Olay, Neiman Marcus, and L\u2019Occitane are also among the top 10 list of brands with fake influencers. The study also found that mid-level influencers (those with 50,000 to 100,000 followers) typically have about 20% fake influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shocking, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are shocking numbers because it means that brands are wasting thousands of dollars to engage bots when they could be spending their money to engage real people. These bot followers will not really engage with sponsored posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And whatever real followers these influencers have, they aren\u2019t enough to have a real impact, at least not in the way the brands expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some fake Instagram influencers may also buy likes and comments. Some may be part of comment pods in which other fake influencers engage with their posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of the situation, brands are still not reaching real consumers who will be interested in their products. So they won\u2019t see the kind of results they expect for the money they spend on influencer marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This makes it crucial for brands and marketers to set up a proper influencer vetting process. Instead of just choosing influencers who have a massive following, you need to carefully assess the authenticity of their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will help you put your money in the right place and <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/what-is-influencer-marketing\/\">get better results<\/a> out of your influencer marketing campaigns.<br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-agencies\/\">23 of the Best Influencer Marketing Agencies That Can Help You Grow Your Brand<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/buy-instagram-followers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Want to Buy Instagram Followers? Beware of These Risks [Free Tool Inside]<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/automotive-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">13 Leading Auto Influencers Your Brand Needs to Know About<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/fashion-influencer-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">11 of the Best Ideas Brands Can Adopt for Fashion Influencer Marketing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Can_You_Identify_Fake_Instagram_Influencers\"><\/span>How Can You Identify Fake Instagram Influencers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now I\u2019m going to get started with the most important part \u2013 how to identify fake Instagram influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to avoid fake influencers? Here is a tool from HypeAuditor that lets you get a better idea about their credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check it out:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>[insta_fake_follow][\/insta_fake_follow]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><em style=\"font-size: 15px !important;\"><b><i>Note:<\/i><\/b> The above Fake Follower Checker is provided by <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/recommends\/hypeauditor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\">HypeAuditor<\/a>. The results are generated based on their computer vision machine-learning algorithm. Shane Barker does not guarantee the accuracy of these results. If you have questions regarding them, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/recommends\/hypeauditor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\">reach out to them<\/a> directly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Either way, be sure that your influencer vetting process is effective if you want to execute a successful influencer marketing campaign:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Look_for_Unusually_Low_Engagement_Rates\"><\/span>#1: Look for Unusually Low Engagement Rates<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the easiest ways to detect fake Instagram influencers is by checking their engagement to follower ratio. You can usually spot a fake influencer easily because they will have thousands of followers but barely any likes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you notice something like this on an influencer\u2019s Instagram account, there\u2019s a good chance they may be buying followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can you <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/influencer-engagement-strategy\/\">check influencer engagement<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!-- <p>You can use my Instagram Engagement Calculator to easily calculate the average engagement rate of an influencer. This tool accounts for the engagement an influencer received in their last 12 posts and compares it against their following size. It will then give you the average engagement rate. https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shanebarker-Fake-Instagram-Influencers-600x434.png <\/p>  -->\n\n\n\n<p>But how will you know what engagement rate a real influencer should have? The <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.iconosquare.com\/instagram-marketing-trends-benchmarks-report\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">median engagement rate<\/a> for photo posts on Instagram is around 2.7%. So anything between 1% and 3% would be considered <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.scrunch.com\/what-is-a-good-engagement-rate-on-instagram\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">average engagement<\/a>, and anything below 1% is very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should avoid influencers whose engagement rates are lower than 1% because there\u2019s a good chance that they are fake. Meanwhile, the influencer whose engagement rate I analyzed above, @heydavina, has an above average engagement rate at 4.97%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Analyze_the_Quality_of_Interactions\"><\/span>#2: Analyze the Quality of Interactions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some fake Instagram influencers will also buy likes and comments on their posts, in addition to buying followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases, the bot followers they bought may be smarter than usual. And they will generate comments to appear more authentic. So this means that their account will have a decent engagement rate. And there\u2019s a chance that fake Instagram influencers could still pass the first test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, don\u2019t lose hope:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is another way to confirm their authenticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manually going through their post interactions is a great way to double-check their authenticity. The quality of those interactions will help you understand the quality of their followers. A lot of spammy and irrelevant comments would be a dead giveaway that the influencer is buying followers, comments, and likes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These bot comments tend to be generic, which means they can easily fit every kind of post. They could say stuff like \u201cawesome,\u201d \u201cgreat shot,\u201d \u201clovely pic,\u201d etc. Or they could simply leave emoji comments that would be applicable to most pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the following screenshot, you can see that the comments are pretty generic. These comments would be suitable for any post, which means there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019re coming from comment bots.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Analyze-the-Quality-of-Interactions-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"266\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Analyze-the-Quality-of-Interactions-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"Analyze the Quality of Interactions Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16935\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bsj9hoKgngE\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>Instagram<\/em><\/a><br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/how-to-find-your-competitors-on-instagram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Find Your Competitors on Instagram and Beat Them<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/instagram-giveaway-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 Best Instagram Giveaway Ideas (And How to Execute Them)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/grow-your-instagram-account\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Grow Your Instagram Account<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You may also come across posts with completely irrelevant comments that are clearly spam, such as the one in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/irrelevant-comments-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"154\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/irrelevant-comments-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"irrelevant comments Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16943\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BtBwg0fAL6d\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>Instagram<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But every public Instagram account is susceptible to receiving such comments. And seeing a couple of these comments doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re dealing with fake Instagram influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So unless there\u2019s an unusually high number of these spam comments, don\u2019t be too alarmed. Your main concern should be an excessive amount of super generic comments that seem relevant enough but could still work on other posts too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Examine_Their_Follower_Profiles\"><\/span>#3: Examine Their Follower Profiles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, you should be able to easily filter out fake Instagram influencers by the time you complete the second test. But if you\u2019re still having a hard time figuring out whether those comments are coming from bot accounts, the next step you can take is to examine some of the profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a perfectly reasonable dilemma because you may not want to immediately discredit some accounts just for leaving emoji comments and generic comments. Some real accounts do leave a lot of emoji comments, but they will typically be relevant to the image or caption. But it\u2019s hard to tell the difference every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, in the following post from style influencer. Aimee Song, there are a lot of emoji comments.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Examine-Their-Follower-Profiles-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Examine-Their-Follower-Profiles-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"Examine Their Follower Profiles Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16939\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><em>Instagram<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you look closer, most of the emojis are black hearts and black flags. This is because she\u2019s wearing an all-black outfit and she\u2019s mentioned something about it in her caption. So these comments are clearly not coming from bot accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To confirm the authenticity of an influencer\u2019s followers, you can go to the profiles of some of their followers. This may be a lengthy process, but you can simplify it by choosing to analyze the profiles of people who leave generic comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how can you tell if an account is fake?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve noticed that people don\u2019t put in too much effort when they create fake accounts. They typically leave the bio blank or include only a few details. They will usually not have many posts, and sometimes they will have no posts at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some fake accounts may not even have a profile picture. And in most cases, they won\u2019t have a lot of followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So take note of all these factors and determine if a large portion of the comments are coming from accounts that fit any of these descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, it\u2019s highly likely that you\u2019re dealing with fake Instagram influencers. Here\u2019s a good example of an Instagram account that clearly looks fake.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/fake-Instagram-influencers-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"176\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/fake-Instagram-influencers-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"fake Instagram influencers Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16940\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mr._shitt\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>Instagram<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Analyze_Their_Follower_Growth_Rate\"><\/span>#4: Analyze Their Follower Growth Rate<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another easy way to detect whether an influencer has bought followers is by analyzing their follower growth rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fake Instagram influencers will usually have a sudden spike in followers at some point in time. The growth rate will then remain stagnant afterwards since they\u2019re not gaining any new followers organically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I recommend that you use tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/recommends\/heepsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Heepsy<\/a> to conduct this analysis. This tool lets you access some basic influencer analytics, including their follower growth rate, for a nominal fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tool assigns a Quality Score to influencers, based on their follower authenticity and engagement numbers. It also distinguishes between real and suspicious followers and shows follower evolution during the selected duration.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Fourstarzz-Media.jpg\" alt=\"Fourstarzz Media\" class=\"wp-image-39833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Fourstarzz-Media.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Fourstarzz-Media-768x400.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><em>Image Source: Fourstarzz Media<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This way, you can spot sudden and drastic spikes in followers at a glance. If the follower growth rate looks unusual or suspicious, you can blacklist the influencer and look for other options.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-resources\/\">10 of the Best Influencer Marketing Resources for Marketers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/hypeauditor-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HypeAuditor Review: Everything You Need to Know<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/automotive-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">13 Leading Auto Influencers Your Brand Needs to Know About<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/how-do-i-get-people-to-like-my-pictures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How Do I Get People to &#8220;LIKE&#8221; My Pictures (Quick Guide)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Fake Instagram influencers will have similar follower growth charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How will the fake follower growth chart differ from that of a real influencer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A real influencer will have a steady follower growth rate without any major spikes or drops in follower count. Their follower growth chart will ideally move steadily upwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also look at the daily follower growth rate. If an account is gradually gaining a handful of new followers every day, you can assume that it\u2019s an authentic account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This simple analysis will give you a fair idea of whether an influencer has engaged in unethical practices to gain their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, the tool is very easy to use. You just need to enter the username in the search bar and select the account when it shows up in your search results. It will then take you to the page displayed above, where you can view several other details about the influencer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Analyze_Their_Audience_Quality\"><\/span>#5: Analyze Their Audience Quality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The tips I\u2019ve shared above are more than enough to help you identify fake Instagram influencers. However, you could go one step further to check the authenticity of an influencer by analyzing their audience quality. Or you could also skip the rest of the tactics and go straight to this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can you analyze audience quality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will need to use a tool to run an audience quality check for potential influencers. You can try the free <a href=\"https:\/\/igaudit.io\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IG Audit tool<\/a> that\u2019s built specifically to analyze the percentage of real followers on Instagram accounts.<br><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/build-strong-influencer-relationships\/\">How Brands Can Build Strong Relationships With Influencers?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/instagram-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Improve Your Instagram Growth Strategy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/instagram-fashion-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top 11 Instagram Fashion Influencers You Can Collaborate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/identify-best-social-media-influencers-for-your-brand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Identify Social Media Influencers Who Fit Your Brand The Best<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You just need to enter the username of the account you want to analyze. It\u2019s important to note that this tool will only work for public Instagram accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To see the tool in action, I ran an analysis of a suspicious-looking account. I got the following results. As you can see, the tool has estimated that only 12.4% of the account\u2019s followers are real.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Analyze-Their-Audience-Quality-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Analyze-Their-Audience-Quality-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"Analyze Their Audience Quality Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16936\" width=\"582\" height=\"281\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/igaudit.io\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>IG Audit<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides analyzing the audience's quality of potential influencers, you can also use this tool to check your own audience quality or that of your competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will give you insights into how much real impact your brand is making on Instagram and how you measure up against your competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep in mind that every Instagram account will have bot followers because of the prevalence of bot accounts. Most people may be unaware of this because these accounts don\u2019t make up a large portion of their following. So you won\u2019t have a 100% real followers estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s when the number of real followers is suspiciously low that you should be wary. In this case, the tool will highlight the number in red as shown in the previous screenshot. That signifies that the account belongs to a fake Instagram influencer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a good portion of the influencer\u2019s followers are real, the tool will display the number in black as shown below.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/influencer---s-followers-are-real-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"136\" src=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/influencer---s-followers-are-real-Fake-Instagram-Influencers.png\" alt=\"influencer\u2019s followers are real Fake Instagram Influencers\" class=\"wp-image-16941\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><em>Image Source:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/igaudit.io\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><em>IG Audit<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Loved these tips to identify fake influencers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wait, there\u2019s more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The easiest way to identify a fake influencer is to look at all <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/important-kpis-of-influencer-marketing\/\">influencer metrics<\/a> from the same dashboard using <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/recommends\/heepsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Heepsy<\/a>. It provides detailed reports and metrics on each influencer to help you vet your influencers as fast and easy as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/recommends\/heepsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\">Vet Your Influencers Using Heepsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"sb-related-links-box\"><p style=\"font-weight:bold; color:#333333;\">HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:<\/p><div class=\"sb-related-links-data\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/guide-target-twitter-influencers\/\">The Ultimate Guide to Target Twitter Influencers for Your Brand<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-statistics\/\">85 Influencer Marketing Statistics That Will Surprise You<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/cannabis-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">15 Most Popular Cannabis Influencers You Should Check Out<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/rise-of-influencer-marketing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Rise of Influencer Marketing &#8211; All You Need to Know<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQs\"><\/span>FAQs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1. Do influencers have fake followers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> Yes, some influencers can use fraudulent methods to amass fake followers without actually earning them. Such followers do not represent the target audience that brands would want and therefore working with such influencers is futile for brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2. How can you tell if an influencer has fake followers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> There are several manual checks that you can do to identify fraudulent influencers with fake followers. The first way is to look at their social media accounts and look for a sudden surge in followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, you can check their social media posts to see what kind of engagement they are getting. Usually, a fake influencer will not get much engagement. And, some even use bots to automatically post irrelevant comments, which makes it easy to identify such accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if you do not want to do this manually, you can use an <a href=\"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-platforms\/\">influencer marketing platform<\/a> to find influencers. Such platforms easily identify fake influencers and make sure that you don\u2019t waste your time on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q3. Why are influencers so fake?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> Not all influencers are fake. In fact, there are many genuine influencers out there who could help you achieve your marketing goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q4. Who has fake followers on Instagram?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> People who pay for getting more followers in an attempt to become an influencer have fake followers. Such influencers may fool a few brands to win collaborations but are usually detected and stopped by social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q5. How many followers do you need to be verified?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> There is no fixed number of followers that is required. In fact, the eligibility criteria for being verified is a bit vague and considers people who are famous, which is subjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q6. Will Instagram know if I buy followers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> Yes, chances are that it will be able to identify any sudden surge in followers or bot activity on your account. Most social media platforms are equipped with technology to identify such fraudulent activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q7. Can you get banned for fake followers on Instagram?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> Yes, you can get banned for buying fake followers or using bots to drive engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q8. How do you evaluate an influencer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> There are many important metrics that you should consider when vetting influencers. Some important ones include engagement rate, relevance, number of followers, past brand collaborations, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q9. How can I spot fake Instagram influencers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> You can either do manual checks or use automated tools to identify a fake influencer. If you use an influencer marketing agency or platform to find influencers, they will do the job for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q10. When looking at starting a partnership with an influencer what is one thing you should consider?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> The most important thing to consider is whether or not they are relevant to your brand. Relevance is more important than vanity metrics like the number of followers or popularity. However, you must also ensure that the influencers you work with are genuine and not fraudulent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fake_Influencers_Whats_Next\"><\/span>Fake Influencers: What\u2019s Next?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve thoroughly covered the topic of fake Instagram influencers and provided you with several tricks to identify them. Use these tips in your influencer vetting process for your next campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you accidentally partnered with a fake Instagram influencer? Do you think these tips will help you filter them out next time? Let me know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the rise of automated accounts and businesses that let you buy fake followers, there are a lot of fake Instagram influencers out there. This isn\u2019t surprising considering just how&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5872],"tags":[1038,3193],"table_tags":[],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":5872,"label":"Instagram Marketing"}],"post_tag":[{"value":1038,"label":"Influencer marketing"},{"value":3193,"label":"instagram marketing"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/5-Ways-to-Identify-Fake-Instagram-Influencers-Free-Tool-Inside.jpg",790,390,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Shane Barker","author_link":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/author\/sbsuperx\/"},"comment_info":13,"category_info":[{"term_id":5872,"name":"Instagram Marketing","slug":"instagram-marketing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5872,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<p>Instagram marketing is all about using the app to connect with more customers and build relationships with your audience. You can use it to share your brand's story, post attractive visuals, and drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\r\n<p>Check out these posts to learn the best techniques for marketing your business on Instagram.<\/p>","parent":0,"count":87,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5872,"category_count":87,"category_description":"<p>Instagram marketing is all about using the app to connect with more customers and build relationships with your audience. You can use it to share your brand's story, post attractive visuals, and drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\r\n<p>Check out these posts to learn the best techniques for marketing your business on Instagram.<\/p>","cat_name":"Instagram Marketing","category_nicename":"instagram-marketing","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":1038,"name":"Influencer marketing","slug":"influencer-marketing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1038,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":132,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":3193,"name":"instagram marketing","slug":"instagram-marketing","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3193,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":95,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16928"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77348,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions\/77348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16928"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanebarker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=16928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}