11 Things You Need to Know Before You Buy Instagram Accounts

As the fickle Instagram algorithm updates, the harder it becomes for businesses to break through with new accounts. The current state of affairs focuses on users who have already demonstrated considerable engagement from their followers and continue to keep them engaged. If your account is new, your content is pushed down in favor of more established users — and it’s a hard fight to get to the top.

Reports show that up to 70 percent of Instagram posts don’t get seen on the main newsfeed.

To avoid the challenges a brand new account presents, many businesses opt instead to buy an Instagram account versus building one from scratch. This method is faster and helps funnel marketing dollars back into their budget.

How to Buy an Instagram Account Safely – Like a Pro

Buying an Instagram account isn’t as straightforward as a handshake deal and exchange of cash. Before you get too far into the deal, it will help to have a list of questions that will guide you in making the right choice.

#1: What is Instagram’s policy for selling or buying Instagram accounts?

Instagram’s terms do not endorse the buying, selling, or transferring of any aspect of an account “(including its username) or soliciting, collecting, or using the login credentials or badges of other users.”

TL;DR Instagram is saying, “no way Jose.”

But since you’re reading this post, you probably plan on going against that. Or maybe you haven’t decided yet. 

So what are the implications of buying an Instagram account? 

Legally, there are none as there aren’t any laws against the “buying, selling, or transferring” of social media assets, including Instagram accounts. So, to be clear, going against Instagram’s policies doesn’t correlate to breaking any laws. 

And you’re probably concerned about that. You should be. Unlike the various repercussions associated with going against Instagram’s terms of service by buying Instagram followers or likes and improperly obtaining usernames (neither of which we encourage) – Based on real-life experiences, policies against buying Instagram accounts are not known to be enforced. Potentially because the accounts that are frequently traded also function as a form of ad revenue for Instagram by consistently sharing content that keeps and brings a considerable amount of users back to the platform – intern resulting in more active users for Instagram to monetize through ad selling.

This though means that you can’t complain to Instagram if your seller scams you — you would just lose your money. That is if you’re not careful.

#2: Why should you buy an Instagram account?

There is one main reason persons chose to buy Instagram accounts: to skip the line.

Many individuals and brands have built their accounts from scratch, and continue reaping the benefits of their hard work. Except perhaps for celebrities and viral stars, it usually takes a significant amount of time, effort, and dedicated consistency to grow an Instagram account to the point that it can contribute significantly to your overall marketing efforts.

Let’s be honest: you’d probably prefer to skip this foundational drudgery to land at the point where you just have to focus on keeping your pre-grown audience engaged – This is what buying an Instagram account affords you.

#3: What’s the difference between buying Instagram accounts and buying Instagram followers?

Buying Instagram followers should be a violation of your company policy. Don’t do it, and don’t let anyone in your team consider it at any time.

Why? Because there’s a fundamental difference between when you buy an Instagram account and buy Instagram followers.

Instagram says it’s “built machine learning tools” to help detect accounts that artificially inflate their presence through fake likes and followers and restrict the reach of content from these accounts.

When persons chose to purchase Instagram accounts, they’re simply taking over charge of an already engaged audience. Similar to that of buying an established website or business. You want to take over an audience that will appreciate your message — a niche audience.

Buying Instagram followers doesn’t take into consideration what type of content they like or if they are even real in the first place.

Its main objective is to showcase the number of followers without regard for engagement levels or conversions. It’s a complete waste of time and the higher expectations that are associated with a higher follower count will likely work against you.

#4: What are the risks associated with buying Instagram accounts?

Surely, acting without the support of Instagram exposes you to the risk of being scammed by unscrupulous sellers. However, there are ways to minimize this risk (we’ll discuss some shortly).

#5: Does the Instagram account niche actually matter?

In a few words, yes, the niche absolutely matters. 

The point of buying an Instagram account is to have a ready audience for your content. This means you cannot simply buy any account based on the fact that it has many followers — then expect it to help your company’s marketing efforts. 

If the content doesn’t match the audience or shows inconsistency, users will likely start unfollowing you or will disengage with the account.

The value of your new Instagram account will ultimately relate back to audience behavior. Before you make your purchase, you want to make sure that the audience is already engaging with the type of content you intend on sharing.

#6: Where can you find Instagram accounts for sale?

There are two main ways to buy Instagram accounts: directly from sellers and through a third-party.

When you buy directly from a seller, you handle everything from negotiating the price, to obtaining the account details, to the mode of payment.

Be sure to do some kind of background check to ensure that the person talking to you has the authority to sell the Instagram account, determine the authenticity of the account’s audience, and the current audience engagement. This will help with both avoiding scams and negotiating the price. You can often find Instagram accounts for sale on platforms like eBay and various forums which generally contain a mixture of both legitimate and unreliable sellers.

When dealing with someone who sells Instagram accounts, be extra critical and watch out for any signs of an ongoing scam.

When you use a third-party, you’re better protected from scammers. While we may be the ones bringing you this article, there’s no denying that Viral Instas is a trusted seller in the space, facilitating instant transfers for niche accounts with thousands of followers, supported by in-depth analytics, resources to maintain, grow and monetize your new influence, and complementary support giving you peace of mind if you have no experience managing an established account.

#7: How do you determine Instagram follower authenticity?

An authentic account has real followers. They probably have a few inactive followers too, by no fault of their own. You can’t stop all of them. However, an account with a follower count purposely inflated by bot followers is basically the same thing as buying followers outright. 

You want an Instagram account that not only has real followers but also a good amount of engagement. The engagement level (not followers measured alone) is a true measure of the quality of the audience.

#8: What size account should I buy?

Although this factor on its own shouldn’t determine your purchase of an Instagram account, it’s worth noting that accounts are sold by size (the number of followers).

Find an account within your niche with the greatest potential for growth. You can determine this based on the average engagement rate on the account’s posts.

#9: How can you ensure safety during the transaction?

To ensure that no one takes advantage of your chancy position, use an escrow service to handle the transaction. 

If you use PayPal, you have some options for recourse if a transaction isn’t fully completed by the seller. Make sure to use the Goods and Services distinctions instead of Friends and Family for better protection.

If you use a reputable third-party service, you can take comfort in services that offer a satisfaction guarantee.

#10: Do you need to draw up a formal contract to buy an Instagram account?

Once you’re ready to buy, draft a contract. This is a formal agreement between you and your seller regarding the transaction details, including the identity of the parties and payment.

It will spell out certain terms and conditions that must be fulfilled.

#11: What happens next after buying an Instagram account?

Once you have completed the transfer of the Instagram account from the seller to you, change the credentials associated with the account, including the email, phone number and of course the password. Unlink the account from their social platforms and link it to yours.

With these basic steps completed, you’ll want to have a Instagram marketing strategy ready to hit the ground running. 

Take some time to go through the existing posts and take stock regarding how users react to them. This will help you better understand your audience and properly frame your content and captions.

Final Thoughts: 11 Things You Need to Know Before Buying an Instagram Account

While it’s not illegal, persons that buy Instagram accounts directly from sellers can end up putting themselves in a pretty risky position. If you’re thorough with the process, opting to buy an Instagram account can turn out to be a wise marketing decision. On the flipside, carelessness can lead to loss of important marketing resources. 

It’s best to make a data-driven purchase decision that results in positive ROI versus just winging it. To this end, Viral Instas provides in-depth audience analytics for each account alongside a custom hashtag research tool tailored to your account.

If you’re going to purchase an account, we have Instagram accounts for sale related to various industries. In conduction with Instagram account brokering services that allow us to use in-depth audience analytics to source, negotiate, broker – acquire on your behalf using our own funds – and privately list the most calculated account option for you to purchase, based on your target audience location and demographic (minimum 100k audience)

With regards to accounts currently listed for sale, we suggest that you compare our accounts analytics against your brand’s unique target audience requirements to buy an Instagram account that makes the most sense for you.