A few weeks ago I received an email that for one brief moment had my undivided attention.
It was from an individual who had seen my Instagram profile and loved my photos. The individual went on to say that she wanted to promote my photos to her fans and link back to my Instagram account.
My first thought was this might be worth replying to because I had decided she's a female interested in supporting other female entrepreneurs.
I never once gave a second thought to the fact she had somehow gotten ahold of an email address, one nonetheless that wasn't even connected to my Instagram account.
Instead, I replied to her email with a huge "Yes, let's do this!" unaware of her true intentions.
Of course, I was excited about her opportunity and shared it with the world as I waited anxiously for her reply. That reply came in like a slap in the face as I realized I had just been lured into her big catch.
"Okay! I charge $200 for one photo promotion that will guarantee you, followers."
Wait! What? Yep, there was a catch and a big one. She wanted me to pay for traffic on my Instagram profile. Not only had I been sucker-punched, but it was a huge blow to my already stoked ego I had envisioned from that first email.
Now let me just get something very clear. I have not and will never buy traffic. In my opinion, it is a huge waste of money and time. Not to mention, your followers are not there for you and Instagram knows this! In fact, most social media platforms are very aware of this marketing ploy.
And suddenly gaining a ton of new followers won't get you anywhere but to the bottom with social media platforms like Instagram. Organic traffic is and always will be the best way to improve your rank with social media sites.
When you have an organic following, it tells Instagram and other platforms that your fans are genuinely interested in what you share on your profile page.
Bottom line, you will get more attention on your social media profiles if you focus on your real fans versus someone who doesn't know you, doesn't want to know you, and most likely won't stick with you until the end.
And as for my reply to the individual who wanted me to pay for traffic? I replied with a simple, "No, thank you." then smiled as I was reminded of a quote made famous by Paul Gleason in the movie, The Breakfast Club. -
"Don't Mess with the Bull Young Man, You'll Get the Horns."
