For Bots Sake! Instagram Update
It’s tempting to use 3rd party apps to hack your Instagram strategy, but it’s not going to do you any good. 🛑 Especially now!

🚨 Instagram just announced that they are going to crack down on accounts using ANY third-party app to like, comment, follow and unfollow accounts in order to gain followers or automate their Instagram activity.
This move is in response to accounts showing inflated popularity numbers (followers) on their IG profile and fake comments and likes on their posts. In short, those aren’t typically real numbers, unless someone has a certain celebrity status.
You'll want to be careful to not to opt in to click bait that promises to help you grow your Instagram following fast, and typically for a very little investment.

Here are a few things to watch for:
- Your average account that follows a few hundred people and has tens of thousand followers did not get those with an organic growth strategy, which Instagram now prefers. Don't fall for the sales funnel they're about to pull you into.
- Those awkward comments that often have nothing to do with the post, are generated by bots, not humans, and are therefore fairly worthless. Don't follow those accounts in response.
- When you see your numbers rise and fall...it's a follow for follow game, not authentic engagement. Don't worry about unfollows.
All of these tactics create activity that attempts to affect other people's perception of a profile and trick the algorithm into helping to serve their content widely.
So why does Instagram care if you are automating this process?
It’s something I’ve uttered many times....📣 Social media is for being social 📣

Social media is not for bots (although it’s kind of funny because they’re using a bot to spot other bots, so there’s that) it’s for humans! It's for humans to connect, collaborate, discover and yes - to grow their business. This can be done in a very strategic way, authentically and with success.
It cannot be done by trying to be all things to all people. You know the saying, right?
Fast, Cheap, and Good: You Can Only Pick Two

I like this move towards encouraging individuals to actually *BE on social media if they want to grow their business. I see the affects of authentic engagement every day with my clients’ accounts and with my own. It translates to actual connections, growing your community and yes - selling your products and services. * I also strongly advocate for healthy boundaries when it comes to being on social media. Which is why you get a strategy in place and/or hire someone to help you formulate one… Or even more so .... hire a human to take it off your plate.
It's also important to mention that I have tried many of these automated tactics myself as a matter of research and testing. Some with a degree of efficacy for social proof reasons (ask me more if you want to explore this). However, at the end of the day, when there is actual human activity, it shows and there are measurable results.
CONCLUSION: Do not use 3rd party apps to do what real people should be doing on Instagram. Grow an authentic + engaged audience mindfully, with intention and a plan, as niche as it may be. ~ Holly JustHolly Resources: https://www.engadget.com/2018/11/19/instagram-cracks-down-fake-likes-follows-comments/ https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/tech/instagram-fake-likes-comments/index.html
https://magazine.vunela.com/why-you-can-only-pick-two-when-it-comes-to-good-fast-cheap-products-services-23330517e0ac