Instagram announced today that they would be clearing up spam accounts and that follow counts may change due to that. With that- people have been posting that Instagram is also taking a hit to giveaways on Instagram.. and now Instagram will be viewing it as us "buying" our followers. This is going to take a huge hit to some bigger IG users and I wanted to kind of speak out about this from my personal views.
I've done my fair share of giveaways + I'm sure many of you have noticed I've been doing a lot more lately.. I enjoy being a part of giveaways because it's fun to give back to people who support you + yes, sometimes that means people will subscribe JUST for the giveaway. There's a high chance that they will stop following you once the giveaway ends + if they don't, chances are they won't be active. To me, I want to have people who truly love seeing my content and will engage. That's the fun about social media- meeting people who have the same interests as you and being able to talk about them.
Sometimes it's really hard to find those people, though. I will admit I get caught up in seeing my numbers jump- but it's clear that not every single one of those people dig my stuff.. or at least come back here to visit any other post beside the giveaway posts. That's okay- I understand my blog may not be for everyone. Joining giveaways is fun + that's why I like doing it. I know I'm going to gain numbers- but maybe not people who necessarily love my content.. and that's where it gets hard for me. I want to host + be a part of giveaways because it's FUN- but I don't like having such high numbers when those people aren't generally into my content.. if that makes sense.
I know that a while back, Facebook stopped allowing people to link it from Rafflecopter or something- so now it just says VISIT (page name)'s FACEBOOK on the widgets... I fear that eventually- we won't be allowed to do giveaways and that bums me out because I love giving back to you guys. I don't know if maybe I'm just overreacting to the situation but it seems like social media sites are making it harder + harder to host giveaways.
I join giveaways because it's fun and it also introduces me to NEW people who may really appreciate what I'm putting into the interwebz. I also really love giving back to you guys and I know that half of you are here JUST for giveaways + that's totally okay- I like winning free stuff, too. I've just really felt this weigh on me lately and today when I saw the things being posted about Instagram- I wanted to hear from others about this.
How do you feel about giveaway? How do you think it's going to hurt / help some IG users if Instagram shuts down giveaways?
I don't like the news. I love entering giveaways and that's how I find out about a lot of pages that have similar posts/interests. I'm curious to see how all of this will unfold.
ReplyDeleteI know- it's really upsetting. I understand they want the experience to be more.. genuine but it's reallllly upsetting.
ReplyDeleteThank Facebook for clearing accounts and not allowing giveaway hostings. They are also changing their privacy policy AGAIN starting the 1st of January 2015. Stopping giveaways will most certainly put certain IG-users on hold, thus practically crashing their stats. Have you thought about joined some Facebook blogger groups? I just joined two recently, and I have actually really enjoyed it. On one page, everyday there is a new "link party" that allows each person to post links to their newest blog post, Facebook page, etc. requesting likes, follows, and shares in return for the same. It's awesome!
ReplyDeleteI like these posts from you. They're entertaining, but they also let your readers know more about how you think. Plus, personal posts here and there are always the best to read.
I originally found out about your blog because of a giveaway but stuck around because I like your posts.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they should take down giveaways, that is ridiculous! I've found many new blogs through them. What they NEED to focus on are the spam sites like the girls who ask to chat and people who ask you to follow that gets annoying real fast.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they care!! Thats the part that boggles my mind - You can put ads up on my feed, but I can't post whatever I want?! I don't know. This whole thing rubs me the wrong way. How about you let the giveaways slide & go after the pedophiles & people stealing accounts and all those naked russians that keep requesting me.
ReplyDeletehahaha- i get those weird followers too, trust me. I've had to block / report so many accounts because of creepers... I don't understand why it matters so much either. It doesn't make sense to me.
ReplyDeleteYES! there are so many spam accounts that follow me / ask me to follow allll the time. THOSE are annoying.
ReplyDeleteawh- well thank you for sticking around, Kimberly! I'm glad to have you! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks Jordan! I have actually been in a few blogging groups actually- but I rarely post my link on there bc I'm a slacker haha.
ReplyDeleteI followed you on Bloglovin for a giveaway and now I am a fan! Would not have found you maybe without the giveaway so I'm happy for it. :)
ReplyDeleteYES. Nailed it.
ReplyDeleteI think that giveaways should be allowed to stick around.I have never unfollowed someone after a giveaway and typically I end up enjoying at least SOMETHING that they post (in regards to instagram) if not I just scroll past them but I still see their stuff and am aware of them which I think is the ultimate goal. At least in my opinion. I hope the rules don't change too much :/
ReplyDeleteI jumped the gun and believed rumors. They just cleaned out accounts- which I'm sure a lot of people know now. I lost 200 followers. that's a lot of spam accounts but I'm glad they're gone.
ReplyDelete