How to spot the bot?

So you’ve been thinking of that popular personality and the huge followers on his or her list? Stop! Because, according to recent news, many of these “followers” and likes are bought by the person! While speculations about paid followership has been around for a while, looks like influencers in town are (finally) ready to address the elephant in the room — as even the e-rat race — the number game surpasses all. We talk to popular names from the industry to give us their take and how they choose to deal with it...

“I don’t think others buying followers have affected my business or reach — because I have never chased numbers. I strongly believe in the saying ‘class is the new mass’ – as in a small niche organic audience is way more valuable than a million bought followers, who may hardly have any connect with your brand,” begins Dr Nandita Iyer, a popular Bengaluru blogger who has verified accounts on social media.

There is also no denying that numbers play a huge role in upping one’s brand value. Influencer Anjalli Sukumaran opines, “I’ve seen so many influencers who’ve a great following but zero engagement and activity on their profiles. And this is largely due to fake bots,” shares Anjalli, who currently stands at 56.4K followers. Addressing the challenges, she further adds, “It’s hard for people who are trying to make organic content since day one. Because, out of the blue someone comes and buys 30-40k followers overnight and that makes it super hard for the rest of us. Now, tools such as Social Blade help one easily assess what’s original and what’s not. But, I hope it becomes a standard practise.”

Vouching for the same, Nandita shares, “The least that brands and social media agencies representing them can do is to do a check of the kind of followers the accounts have.”  Clearly, adequate research is the need of the hour. “Promoting a high-end luxury hotel or car brand via someone whose followers are in their early 20s is going to be a complete waste. More research needs to go into the quality of the reach rather than quantity, which is what everyone seems to be blindly pursuing.”adds Nandita.

Cut-throat competition is the prime reason attributed to bot-followership; but there is improvement, believes Nilu Yuleena Thapa, a blogger. “Clients are getting a lot smarter. That serves as a respite for those who want to wait it out.  Also, PR professionals and brand marketing analysts are practical now – 80 percent of influencers who have shot up to a lakh of followers in a week cannot have it done organically unless you’re a celebrity. There’s more emphasis given to the quality of work given by an influencer now, so there is hope  that good work pays.”

Expert speak: Sachin Tantry, a new media consultant adds, “Engagement is a critical aspect of being an influencer. While an influencer must not engage one-on-one, healthy engagement is pivotal per post. Without which,  the number of followers mean nothing. Brands must take note of that for a clearner e-environment.”