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Instagram axes millions of accounts to curb spam

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By Seb Joseph | News editor

December 19, 2014 | 3 min read

Instagram has purged millions of spam accounts from its social network, a cull that could see the follower counts of brands drastically plummet on the channel.

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The crackdown, dubbed “Instagram Rapture” by users, expels accounts the photo-sharing site has previously identified as fake. Like sister service Facebook, Instagram regularly deactivates accounts it deems “spammy” but until now it has not deleted them.

In a statement earlier this month it warned that it would be “deleting these accounts forever, so they will no longer be included in follower accounts.

“This means that some of you will see a change in your follower count”, it added. The fake profiles have been deactivated for some time but had not yet been booted out from the platform.

The move has already impacted some of the most prominent celebrities on the site, slashing some follower counts by as much as 56 per cent, according to reports.

Rapper Ma$e saw his followers fall from 1.6 million to just 100,000 and consequently terminated his profile in protest of the move. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian lost 3.5 million and 1.3 million respectively.

Instagram’s housekeeping sweep will likely impact advertisers. Brands have waded warily into the social network, which has only been serving ads since last October and has continuously stated its offering will be a slow burn as to ensure that campaigns do not knock the overall experience.

Instead of standard advertising, Instagram wants brands to be more innovative and contextual with their creative, trumpeting a proposition that requires brands to promote their photos, videos and accounts to drive engagement.

Social media experts believe the long-term advertising future of the four-year-old platform, which has already surpassed Twitter’s 284 million users with 300, is still bright. Indeed, brands that use the photo-sharing site generate nearly 50 times more engagement than they do on Twitter, according to Socialbakers.

Alec Boere, managing partner at Rufus Leonard, said: "Brands will have mixed reactions to Instagram's move. In the short term, brands will feel misled if they have invested heavily to gain followers and have trusted in data from Instagram.

"On the flipside, one of the key things you need to consider when setting your editorial agenda for your brand is who your audience is and this is only going to help you. Brands will gain confidence from Instagram making this change. All any brand wants are legitimate followers who are genuinely interested in them."

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