Have you ever heard of that old saying fake it, until you make it?

Well, this saying has been used as the current currency for online social accounts in order for big brands to buy their way into the market. Even-high-end brands such as Sephora and MAC Cosmetics have been caught buying fake followers, likes and fake story views. When you buy into a big name brand online, usually you think, wow, I wish I had that brand’s current status and yet status doesn’t always equal sales. 

Here are ten beauty brands who are currently faking it: 

Too Faced Cosmetics – 49%

Brands with the highest percentage of fake followers are:

Kylie Cosmetics – 49%
Anastasia Beverly Hills – 48%
KKW Beauty – 47%
Sephora – 46 %
NYX Cosmetics – 46%
Benefit Cosmetics – 46%
Tarte Cosmetics – 46%
MAC Cosmetics – 45%
Urban Decay – 42%

The above data was supplied by a digital marketing company that used a Fake Follower tool and Instagram audit tool to discover the percentage of fake followers on Twitter and Instagram. At this point as a social marketer, it’s my job to remind you that investing money into buying friends for a brand in order to be “like” the bigger brands can actually be a brands downfall and here’s why: 

1. Cheating the system can actually decrease your engagement and destroy your reputation online, creating a spam reputation instead of a real authentic brand. People want to be a part of something real instead of being bought. 
2. Fake likes do not equal real business. Engagement is important but content, real, clear creative content is always king over any status of popularity. 
3. Instagram will punish you by blocking your user name, even blocking you if you are using bots online 
4. Fake likes and bots can never buy into your business and will end up hurting your brand, your online presence, and even the working economy. If you need help, hire someone who knows the industry.
5. Use call-to-actions to interact with you and tag your location because posts with tag locations have  79% of higher engagement than those without.

It’s important within our industry to not be intimidated by brands with a higher number of followers, but instead, celebrate and own your own authenticity through your online presence. The question always rests with you – do you want real invested followers, instead of the status of popularity. The decision is up to you, but we know that it’s the everyday content and consistent posts that focus not only on gaining your followers and in creating real authentic community and consumers who want to invest in what you do.