Should you buy followers on LinkedIn?

At first blush, it doesn’t seem very risky–maybe even some positives (We’ve found repeatedly that LinkedIn Ads perform better when companies have more followers, so it’s not just a vanity metric.)

I remember lots of years ago when several tools were released to show who had fake followers on Twitter, and it was embarrassing for those who had purchased to be publicly outed. But Twitter is an open system. LinkedIn is not. So I don’t see tools like this being released to embarrass companies or individuals who’ve purchased followers here.

BUT consider the real risks.

When you buy followers, they’ll be fake and won’t engage with your content. The organic algorithm pays attention to the % of followers who engage in order to determine how many others to show your post (and future posts) to.

So by having a big chunk of followers who don’t engage, you’re actually shooting yourself in the foot. You’re teaching LinkedIn not to show your posts to as many people.

When you get followers organically, they engage at-or-above-average and it helps your virality.

You can also run and by advertising, they’re real, active users made up of your ideal target audience. Not only does it help your vanity metrics, but it also signals to LinkedIn that your content is valuable and it should show your content to more people.

Whether you gain followers from sharing awesome insights and value organically, or encouraging your ICP to follow through ads, you’re winning twice: You get the vanity metrics & you’re helping your future content virality.

Plus, when they follow you or your company, you get to remind them how awesome you are without paying, so that’s a major win.

What do you think? What cases might it be worth it to buy followers? Have you seen results from it?

If you haven’t met B2Linked yet, we help B2B companies maximize their return from LinkedIn Ads by minimizing waste from poor targeting, bad bidding, and inefficient campaign setup.

If this would be helpful to your company, consider booking a free discovery call. We’d absolutely love the chance to get to work with you!

–AJ Wilcox
Host of the LinkedIn Ads Show Podcast, Founder B2Linked

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