TikTok is a video-sharing social networking platform owned by ByteDance that allows users to create, watch, and share short videos. It was originally launched in 2016 in China as Douyin before expanding overseas as TikTok in 2017. TikTok has seen tremendous growth and popularity, especially among teenagers and young adults.
As of Q3 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it one of the most popular social media platforms (Source). TikTok’s algorithm is known for quickly determining user interests and preferences to deliver personalized, engaging content. This creates a highly addictive experience that keeps users coming back.
With TikTok’s popularity, many users are interested in buying TikTok followers to increase their audience and visibility on the platform. This allows creators to appear more influential and reach more potential fans. However, buying followers comes with risks and may violate TikTok’s terms. This article will examine the value, cost, and alternatives to buying 500 TikTok followers.
TikTok Follower Counts
On TikTok, your follower count has a significant impact on the visibility and reach of your account and content. The more followers you have, the more people will see your videos in their ‘For You’ feeds when you post new content. A higher follower count also lends credibility to an account, signaling that other users find your content engaging and worth following.
According to Meet Sephora’s 2022 #SephoraSquad, the average TikTok follower count for sponsored creators in 2021 was around 500k. However, follower counts can vary dramatically depending on the type of account:
- Personal accounts: Typically have 500-5,000 followers
- Micro or hobby influencers: Usually have 5,000-50,000 followers
- Professional influencers: Tend to have 50,000-500,000 followers
- Celebrity accounts: Often have over 1 million followers
In general, 500 followers is considered a solid starting baseline for a personal TikTok account. But for branded business pages or influencer marketing, most look for accounts with at least 1,000+ engaged followers before considering paid partnerships or promotion.
Value of 500 Followers
Having 500 real and engaged followers on TikTok can provide several benefits for creators. With a follower base of 500, creators may start to gain more visibility and discovery on the platform. TikTok’s algorithm favors accounts with higher follower counts, so having 500 followers can help get your content seen by more users.
Additionally, 500 followers signifies that you have an engaged community of fans who enjoy your content. This can lead to increased engagement in the form of likes, comments, shares, and new followers. Accounts with good engagement rates tend to get promoted more by TikTok. Having 500 true fans who actively interact with your videos can help boost your account.
Reaching 500 followers requires creating content that resonates with viewers. Putting in this work to gain real followers shows TikTok that people genuinely appreciate what you post. Simply buying 500 followers would not have the same effect. The key benefit of gaining 500 true followers organically is that it reflects your content’s value.
While 500 followers alone may not lead directly to money, it is an important milestone that shows potential for future growth. With some consistency and optimization, creators with 500 engaged followers can leverage that audience to unlock monetization opportunities. But the biggest value is in the credibility and sense of community that comes from those original 500 fans.
Buying Followers
As TikTok has grown rapidly in popularity, some users look to shortcuts like buying followers to quickly boost their accounts. There are a few reasons why someone may consider purchasing TikTok followers:
Gaining followers quickly – Buying followers can help new or small accounts appear more popular and established right away. This perceived popularity can attract real, organic followers.
Increasing discoverability – More followers generally leads to more views and engagement. So buying followers may help get more eyes on a user’s content.
Boosting social proof – Large followings imply social validation and influence. For users focused on growth, buying followers provides instant social proof.
However, there are significant risks associated with buying fake or bot followers:
Low engagement – Purchased followers are not real people interested in your content, so they do not like, comment on, or share posts.
No marketing value – Fake followers due to buying do not offer real marketing opportunities or brand partnerships.
Potential ban – Violating TikTok’s terms against inflating followings with inauthentic activity can lead to account suspension.
Reputational damage – Having an inflated following with low engagement looks disingenuous and erodes trust.
Waste of money – Purchased followers often drop off quickly, so the growth is rarely sustainable long-term.
Cost to Buy 500 Followers
When looking to buy 500 TikTok followers, prices can vary significantly depending on the provider. Research shows that costs typically range from $7 to $25 for 500 followers.
Some of the cheapest services charge around $7.99 for 500 TikTok followers, but the quality may be lower. These budget services often use bot accounts or inactive users. While the initial follower count will increase, engagement is unlikely.
Higher-quality services with real, active followers tend to charge $15-25 for 500 followers. For example, SocialBoss charges $9.19 and SocialViral charges $19. These services guarantee real, targeted followers that are more likely to engage with your content.
When comparing providers, ensure they offer real accounts, drip-feed followers naturally, and have guarantees like money-back refunds. While tempting to buy followers cheaply, quality is better for long-term growth. Evaluate reviews and testimonials as well before purchasing.
Alternatives to Buying Followers
Instead of resorting to buying followers, here are some authentic ways to grow your TikTok following organically:
Leverage trends and hashtags: Research popular hashtags and trends related to your niche. Create fun, engaging videos utilizing trending audios, effects, dances or challenges. Using relevant hashtags expands your reach to new audiences. As this article notes, hopping on viral trends is key for growth.
Collaborate with others: Consider collaborating with other creators in your niche. You can guest star in each other’s videos or do a split screen duet. This cross-promotion introduces your content to their followers. Look for creators with a similar size audience and complementary content.
Engage with your audience: Make sure to engage with your existing audience by responding to comments, doing live streams and using features like duets. This fuels algorithmic growth by increasing watchtime and retention. Ask viewers questions to spark conversations.
Optimize your profile: Craft an appealing, professional profile that describes your niche. Use SEO tactics for your bio, videos and hashtags. Include links to other channels and websites. An optimized profile makes it easier for new viewers to find and follow you.
Post high-quality content consistently: Consistently posting entertaining and high-quality videos tailored to your target audience is key. Analyze performance data to guide your content strategy. High retention and engagement signals to the algorithm your content is resonating.
Maintaining Purchased Followers
One challenge with buying TikTok followers is that the purchased followers often drop off after some time. This happens because many sellers use bot accounts or inactive users to fulfill follower orders. These types of followers are not authentic and may be deleted or removed from your profile over time.
According to one analysis, over 60% of purchased followers were lost after just 30 days [1]. Another study found drops of 20-50% in purchased followers in the first month [2].
To try to preserve purchased followers, some recommend engaging with the purchased followers through liking comments, following back, etc. The hope is to convert them into active followers. However, this may have limited effect since many of the accounts are not legitimate.
The only real way to maintain a stable follower count on TikTok is to earn authentic followers through compelling content and engagement. While buying followers may offer a short-term artificial boost, it does not guarantee lasting results.
TikTok Community Guidelines on Fake Followers
TikTok has strict policies against artificially inflating follower counts or engagement metrics. Their Community Guidelines expressly prohibit any attempts to increase popularity through fake accounts or engagement. While not illegal, buying followers or likes on TikTok is considered a violation of their terms of service.
As stated in TikTok’s policies, “Platform manipulation and spam: Don’t artificially increase your popularity on TikTok, such as by using third-party apps or services to boost your account with fake likes, followers, comments or views.” They actively work to identify and remove fake accounts from the platform.
TikTok cautions creators against purchasing followers or engagement from third-party sites. Fake accounts and activity can lead to a negative experience for real viewers. TikTok aims to provide an authentic community, so inflated numbers from artificial sources undermine the integrity of the platform.
The TikTok guidelines warn that buying followers or gaming the system to boost popularity can result in account suspension or banning. While the temptation to take shortcuts is understandable, using fake followers or engagement methods ultimately risks damaging your reputation and presence on TikTok.
Case Studies
Some influencers have shared their experiences publicly after buying TikTok followers. For example, influencer Danielle Bernstein revealed she spent over $10,000 to buy 150,000 TikTok followers in 2020. She saw a boost in engagement at first but then had to keep buying more followers to maintain growth (source). Another creator, Audrey Peters, bought 10,000 followers and found it temporarily increased her views and likes. However, the bought followers soon dropped off and her engagement declined back to previous levels (source).
Overall, case studies show buying followers can provide a temporary vanity boost in follower count. However, purchased followers are often fake or inactive accounts, meaning they do not meaningfully interact with content. Maintaining bought followers requires constantly spending more money. Once the buying stops, the follower count and engagement tends to decrease again.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while 500 TikTok followers may seem like a small amount, this number of engaged followers has the potential to kickstart growth on the platform. However, buying followers comes with many risks and should generally be avoided. It’s better to grow your account organically through high-quality content, optimizing your profile, using relevant hashtags, engaging with your audience, collaborating with others, and leveraging TikTok’s algorithms to reach new viewers.
If you’re set on gaining 500 followers quickly, focus on follower exchanges, shoutouts, contests and incentivized follows instead of outright buying bots and fake engagement. But beware – none of these growth hacks produce the same value as real, organic followers. Patience and consistently creating shareable content tailored to your niche will prove the best path for long-term TikTok success.