I realize that upon doing this review of Stim (because technically it's a "bot"), it may raise some eyebrows. But before you jump to any conclusions, hear me out!
Over the past couple years, using "bots" on social media has become frowned upon because they can come across as inauthentic or even "cheating". I would have agreed with you! However, I have been testing out Stim for the past 6-8 months and have had a very good experience with it. Every day, tens of thousands of brands/blogs/companies/etc are spending millions of dollars on online ads. You cannot get on the internet without seeing "recommendations" or "places near you" or any host of ads spewn onto the internet. This is completely normal to us. But is it "authentic"? Not really. But that's not really the point of online ads. The point is to reach new potential customers, get their attention, and entice them to come see more on their website. You probably don't even think twice about it anymore. Once you're on their website, it's their job to NOW be authentic, provide value, and make your day better.
Stim uses this same concept. Let me explain. I pay my advertising/membership fee to Stim so that my Instagram profiles (@influencer.marketing & @u.tah) get shown to new people that would have otherwise never found me. This is the same thing that companies do on the internet EVERY DAY. Stim does this by either "liking", commenting, or following other users that fall within my targeted demographic and geographic areas.
Take my @u.tah account for example. I created this account to share about Utah companies and what they are doing to be successful. So in my Stim dashboard settings, I setup my account so that it follows and engages with Utah-based Instagram accounts. The goal is that these users will see that I followed them, they will check out my account and if it appeals to them, they might just follow me back. That's it!
If the Instagram account that I followed does not follow me back, then my settings will tell my "bot" to unfollow them after a couple days. If they do follow me back, I won't unfollow them. It's that simple. The funny part is that people do this manually all the time. It's like they think that if they do it manually then it isn't "cheating". 🤔 More power to you! I just don't have 5 extra hours a day to do this effectively.
There are other functionalities that Stim offers that I don't utilize such as "liking" photos, commenting on posts, and sending automatic DMs. I like to stick with just the "follow" method.
Stim is simply a service that helps get your IG account in front of new eyes. It doesn't force anyone to follow you back. If they do, its because they have chosen to do so!
-IMPORTANT Once you do get new followers, I would highly suggest that you begin engaging with them manually through comments and likes. Now that they follow you, it's totally up to you to produce great content so that they will stick around! Same goes with any type of advertising. Instagram has become one of the most (if not thee most) competitive social platforms in the world. Simply hoping others will stumble upon your account just won't cut it anymore.
If you are having trouble reaching new followers, I would recommend trying Stim. Start slow and get the hang of it so you can dial in your targets. Nobody likes a spammer, so the better you set up your dashboard, the better you will perform. And the more likely people won't even know you are using an automated service.
That is my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth! I am not a writer so this is probably all over the place...But you get my point 🙂 Hopefully you understand my point of view and perhaps you'll even give Stim a shot 🙂
Get STIM: https://stimsocial.com/?tracking=JKN
BTW: If you want to see some screenshots of my Stim Dashboard so you can see they types of customizations you can do to make sure you are following the right types of accounts: http://www.jakeandash.com/dont-knock-it-until-youve-heard-me-out/