The third most popular social network in the world after Twitter and Facebook, Instagram records the creation of several new accounts on a daily basis. Most personalities, celebrities and companies looking for better visibility are on it. It is therefore a large potential virtual market. With the risks associated with the cyber space, it is therefore not incongruous to find in this social network, false influencers. By this we mean fake virtual communities that are real scam accounts with fake characteristics. Here are some tips to detect a fake influencer on Instagram.

The number of followers of an account

This is the first element that attracts an influencer seeker. However, this element, although not negligible, is not sufficient to believe that one is in the presence of a real influencer. Indeed, the fake influencer can easily buy followers as soon as he opens his account. This is why it is preferable to examine other characteristics of the account. Also, it is important to check if each follower has a minimal activity on his page.

The engagement rate of fake influencers

This is the rate of interaction subscribers have with an influencer. The fake influencers generally have a very low commitment rate. The latter is often strictly below 4%. This index is more reliable than the previous one in that it is not entirely easy to buy engagement. The reason for this is simple: it is very expensive to buy engagement, as is the case with followers. After their purchase, followers become passive and the logical consequence is a decrease in the engagement rate of the fake influence.

Reactions to influencers' posts

Genuine influencers' posts always have "comments" from the community with constructive questions, "views" and "likes". The fake influencer, on the other hand, has almost no frequent posts from their followers, who are in fact passive followers.

The verification badge

The verification badge is the blue dot next to the names of public figures and official company accounts. It is also used to detect, without too much research, that it is indeed the personality or the company whose name appears on the account.

The date (duration) of the account creation

Accounts are increasingly reliable when they have a life span of several months. It is therefore important not to rely on  Influencers with newly created accounts. 

Using certain platforms to help make a good decision.

Some platforms are also indicated to distinguish real from fake influencers. This is the case of HEEPSY which provides some relevant analysis elements to conclude whether an influencer's account is credible or not. This platform allows, for example, to see the evolution curve of the number of subscribers in the account of the influencer you have targeted.

Conclusion

Several tips exist today to help unmask false influence on Instagram. First and foremost, the high number of active followers or likes of a the age of the account and the use of a complementary platform such as HEEPSY. A combination of these elements then leads to an optimal analysis of an influencer account.

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