How to Identify Genuine Seller On Instagram ?

Summary:

Instagram also Known as IG popularly is more than a social network. Currently it facilities a lot of online individual sellers. Some accounts are genuine while some are fraudulent. This article provides a methodology on how to differentiate between a genuine account and a fraud account on Instagram.

Introduction:

Instagram gains immense popularity among young adults in India. It still gains new users although most of the social networks like Facebook is stagnant in terms of new users. It provides an opportunity to the folks who want to do business or those who have small businesses in India.

If you scroll Instagram, it is now flooded with creators and advertisements alike. Some of them are serious and some used it for fun. There is a high number of users who are just content consumers.

We found many items selling on Instagram. It ranges from simple handmade items to typical electronic items people currently selling on Instagram.

The Problem:

Since people saw items on Instagram with beautiful pics and videos, they are more tend to buy stuff from it. Some are due to the beauty of the pic while some people buy because of the non-availability of stuff near our local shop.

In a marketplace or selling platform like Instagram, there are all types of accounts. The main problem is how to distinguish good accounts from bad ones. Instagram itself does not provide any guarantee on the items sold on its platform like Amazon or Flipkart.

So, the question is what must be the criteria to identify them. Most people are lured by the tempting pics and reels and follower count. When even celebrities buy followers, what would be the criteria to identify bad actors with good follower count. How do you find that the followers of a particular account are genuine?

The solution:

Following methods may be useful to find the Instagram account is genuine in selling or it is just faking.

The number of followers does not count

The number of followers does not mean much. You can buy any number of followers on Instagram. There are some services and apps which you can use to increase your follower count. There are genuine accounts with 50 followers and fishy accounts with 50,000 followers. This must be not a criterion to judge the account.

How to find fake followers:

Look at the profile of some of the followers of the account. If they have random names and most of them have more abnormally following than followers then there is a high probability that the followers are fake or they are bought. This article describes the method to find fake followers in detail.

Engagement is the key.

Look at the engagement on each post. I have 115 followers on Instagram and got 9-10 likes for each post. An Instagram account with 10,000 followers must have some 100-200 likes on each post. Also, some people tend to comment on posts. If you did not find any comments or very few comments, this means that either the account deletes the comments or the followers were fake.

Also, check if the account responds to the comments on its post. Accounts with high engagement always reply to comment on their posts.

Do a pre-sales query

It is a necessary step. Always message the account before buying something from them. If a person is lazy in answering pre-sales queries, how can he/she give you after-sales support?

You may always ask where the account is based. What is his phone number? An honest account always tells you the phone number and physical location of his shop.

See the reviews

Most accounts put reviews on their Instagram page. Most of the time, they tag the user who gave them the review. See if the profile of the user is real or it is some dummy one. Check the number of reviews. If an account is actively selling for some time, it must have a good number of reviews.

If the reviews came from Instagram accounts, the account must tag the person who gave it the review. If the same person is tagged in a number of reviews, this means either the review is fake or paid.

No problem in asking weird questions

Most genuine sellers patiently listen to customers however weird the query is. You are not an expert in identifying the product and services. You must ask all the questions that come to your mind however weird the question is.

Some of the example questions may be

• Why do I buy your product?
• Where are you based?
• What is the mode of payment?
• When will you dispatch?
• Send me the pics of the items before dispatch
• How much time will it take to reach at my place?
• What is the tracking details of my order?
• Do you have GST?
• Can you make this item according to my given size?

These are some questions a customer may ask before buying a product.

Conclusion:

Seeing and tempting to buy so many things on Instagram is normal. You must not judge an account by the number of followers. Do not buy anything impulsively. Do your research before buying anything directly from an Instagram account.