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Did the Social Media marketing company I hired buy fake likes?
I recently took over the marketing for a nursing staffing company. I’m in no way professional but I feel like I can find my way ok. Our Instagram account has 4,200 followers. The company I took over from would boost the posts they created by spending $30 per boost.
I’m looking thru the history and finding anomalies like:
\- On one add spend the Reach was 650 and the Likes were 250, which equals 38% engagement.
\- Our followers are 85% female and the post engagement thru the ad boost was 80% male and 20% female.
To me these results seem fishy. Would this be a case of the marketing company buying likes to make it look like they were doing better than they actually were?
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1 Reply
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More like “that’s just how default boosting works” (ie. Has a chance of reaching rubbish audiences) – rather than the company specifically “buying fake likes”
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I’m into organic marketing, but based on theory and from what I learned from other ad gurus, boosting is a big no cause it does not have precise audience targeting which is prolly why you’re getting these anomalies.
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You hired them? Asked them.
Das a big no no.
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The only factor that should matter to you is your ROI. Those stats are approximations.
Do you really get clients from IG?!!
Why aren’t you running the ads yourself?
How do you track your leads ?
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As a marketing agency founder out of experience I can tell you that the anomalies you’ve discovered raise valid concerns. A Reach-to-Likes ratio of 38% is relatively high, and the significant discrepancy in gender engagement (80% male, 20% female) compared to your follower demographics (85% female) does suggest potential irregularities.
Possible Explanations:
Fake Engagement: The marketing company may have purchased likes or used engagement bots to artificially boost numbers, which can misrepresent the actual interest in your content.
Ineffective Targeting: It’s possible that their boosted posts were targeted at the wrong audience, resulting in skewed engagement demographics.
Content Misalignment: The content they promoted may not have been aligned with your nursing staffing company’s niche or the interests of your genuine followers.
To address this, consider conducting a thorough audit of your Instagram account and marketing strategy. Ensure that your content resonates with your real audience and employ more precise targeting strategies to avoid potential engagement manipulation. Genuine engagement is far more valuable in the long run than artificially inflated numbers.
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Yup happens all the time. Look at the accounts that are liking the posts, probably don’t have a profile pic. I’d have a conversation with said company!
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Why are you in charge of marketing if you don’t know what you’re doing, who you’re hiring, or what you’re paying for?
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Of coarse they did. How many real people would organically like a Nursing staffing agency?
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Can you see the analytics between the followers and non followers? That will tell you right there. Boost posts hit everyone under the sun who’s more then likely not interested in your page. I’d go through meta ads manager as you get meta posts and IG posts for your $$.
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The engagement rate you mentioned does seem unusually high, and the gender split is definitely odd. While I can’t say for sure, it does raise suspicions of potentially purchased likes or engagement. Sometimes, companies employ tactics to artificially boost their social media metrics, which might not translate into genuine interest or leads.
When I encountered a similar situation in my previous role, I dug deeper into the engagement. I found that focusing on creating quality, relevant content tailored to our audience helped improve engagement organically. It might be a good idea to reset your Instagram strategy, keeping it authentic, and see how your audience responds. Genuine engagement often leads to better results in the long run.
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Do you have the copy and the audience filter they were trying to reach for each of the boosts? What time of day were they released? Was there a pretty nurse in the graphics?
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