↵

Show DN: We made an Instagram bot to market our iPhone app and drive thousands of downloads by getting photos on the Popular page(mobileinc.co.uk)

over 8 years ago from Murat Mutlu, Product Designer, co-founder of @marvelapp

  • Andrew LucasAndrew Lucas, over 8 years ago

    Marketing or spam?!

    I always think it's a bit spammy, when you see accounts that follow way more people than they have following them. I always think, are they that into everyones pictures? Or, are you they just trying to get their followers up.

    But, you got lots of traffic, so you obviously achieved what you set out to do : )

    Interesting anyway.

    2 points
    • Murat MutluMurat Mutlu, over 8 years ago

      What if you saw those accounts with more followers than following? Would you still class it as spam? Would you feel happier about them following you?

      I'm just really interested in this behaviour and perception, lots of possiblities

      0 points
      • Andrew LucasAndrew Lucas, over 8 years ago

        I certainly wouldn't assume that they were spam accounts, in that case. I'd probably think about following them back, as I'd know that there's the potential for real interaction.

        0 points
        • Murat MutluMurat Mutlu, over 8 years ago

          That's great to know.

          It's interesting you say that because it would be pretty easy to make the bot unfollow people after following them for a week or two, bringing the count down.

          Then in turn more people would be inclined to follow back believing theres a chance for interaction, potentially generating more app downloads.

          1 point
          • Andrew LucasAndrew Lucas, over 8 years ago (edited over 8 years ago )

            but that's also what I'm talking about, those type of accounts piss me off! From your business point of view, yes that would make sense. But I think this type of thing has a negative effect on social media. Whether it's eBay bid snipers, fake Twitter accounts, or Instagram accounts that follow and then unfollow you to inflate their own figures, it's all negative and spammy.

            2 points