Generation Z uses Instagram much more than other networks, making it especially relevant to Marketing professionals, since this is the new generation of consumers.

Instagram has evolved and has become much more than a photo gallery. It is now a platform on which brands can interact more closely with their followers and connect with the public in an innovative way. However, managing an instagram profile can be a time-consuming task. That's the main reason why many companies turn to automation tools.

Automation tools, or bots, have the ultimate goal of increasing the number of followers. These bots can be programmed to act in a variety of ways, from liking other user’s photos, following other profiles or even commenting on your behalf.

These actions are usually directed based on specific hashtags defined by the companies that use these tools. The bots are meant to increase engagement with real users, as opposed to buying followers, which usually results in "buying" fake profiles that add nothing to the brand's engagement.

In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of automation and reflect on its use by companies.

Pros

Save time

Manually searching for photos and videos on Instagram to leave comments or likes takes a long time. Using bots to automatically like photos with certain hashtags or following Instagram accounts saves a lot of time, which is advantageous.

Online 24 hours a day

It would be great to be able to spend eight hours a day interacting with other Instagram users, but this is not practical for most professionals. Using Instagram automation tools, you can define the actions you want and these will be performed 24 hours a day.

Increase the number of follower

One of the most common reasons that marketers use Instagram automation tools is to increase the number of followers. These platforms allow you to follow hundreds or thousands of accounts automatically in the hope that some will follow you back. A major drawback of this tool is that you end up following many accounts that you are not really interested in and that will "flood" your feed from uninteresting posts.

Cons

Inappropriate Comments

One of the great "cons" of Instagram automation is related to the inappropriate comments left in photos of other users. It is not uncommon to read comments like "Excellent!", "I liked the photo" or "Great content" in profiles and think that they are completely generic and decontextualized. There are countless reported situations of bots that leave comments of appreciation in photos of tragic events or that depict situations that have nothing to do with the comment left.

With automation, you lose the human element that determines if certain comments are appropriate, which can lead to embarrassing situations.

Possibility of being banned

The biggest and most serious disadvantage of Instagram automation tools is that they violate Instagram’s terms of use. By using aggressive settings to leave hundreds of likes, comments and requests to follow daily, Instagram may detect that you are using bots and punish you, and may eventually banish your profile.

When it is time to make decisions about using automation tools, you should weigh these positives and negatives. If you decide that this is this solution is for you, despite the cons we pointed out. If not, you will have to opt for less time efficient methods, but that is the most authentic and what will make you closer to your audience.