Six things you must know before signing up to an Instagram Growth Service
Hi, I’m Sofia! I’ve been working as an Instagram Growth Expert at Social Boost for the past five years.
When it comes to follower growth, the most important factor is quality. Your followers should be real people who engage with your posts, stories, and reels, not bots or fake accounts.
Below, I’ll outline five key red flags to watch out for, plus how to identify services that deliver true, organic growth.
1. Big Promises
If a company promises 1,000 to 10,000 new followers every month, that is almost always a red flag. These numbers are usually achieved with fake accounts or bots that will not engage with your content.
Instagram’s algorithm favors slow, steady, organic growth. Real results typically mean 300 to 500 relevant new followers per month. Anything faster can put your account at risk of restriction or even permanent suspension.
2. Bot Accounts – How to Spot Them
Bots are often easy to identify once you know what to look for:
- No profile picture, or random stock-style images
- Empty feeds or only a handful of posts
- Unrealistic ratios (for example following thousands but having just a few followers)
- Generic or spammy comments
Quality Check Process: Always review the accounts that follow you each day. Real followers should have active profiles, their own posts, and genuine engagement on their feeds.
3. People-Powered vs Automation
Lower-cost services often use automation tools to like, comment, or follow on your behalf. This is risky because Instagram can detect automation and suspend or shadow-ban your account.
The safest growth happens when real people manage engagement manually. A good provider should be transparent about their process.
Pro tip: If you are unsure about a service, ask to jump on a quick video call. A legitimate team will have no problem showing you how they work.
4. Reviews
Before signing up, check reviews on platforms like Google or Trustpilot.
- Look for 100 or more reviews from genuine customers
- Watch out for companies that only show testimonials on their own site since these can easily be faked
- If a service is delivering fake followers, you will almost always see complaints about bots and poor engagement
5. Pricing & Subscriptions
Scam services often push 6 or 12-month plans upfront without making it clear. This locks you into paying for low-quality results.
Another common issue is that many of these companies do not offer refunds. You will see this mentioned repeatedly in their reviews.
It is much safer to start with a rolling monthly plan and make sure the service offers a clear cancellation policy before you commit.
6. Influencers & Testimonials
You will often see influencers or “success stories” in promotional videos claiming that a company boosted their followers.
Be cautious. Most of these are paid endorsements. Companies pay influencers with high-quality accounts to record positive testimonials, which does not mean you will see the same results.
Do not fall for the illusion that you will suddenly gain the same number or quality of followers.
When choosing an Instagram growth partner, focus on quality over quantity. Real, organic growth is slower but far safer and it leads to long-term engagement, sales, and community building.
If you have questions about how to check if a service is real or fake, feel free to reach out in live chat. I’ll be happy to help.
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