Does social media marketing even work anymore?

[nuclearrap]

You just follow 20-30 people on Instagram or X, then you get warned, eventually punished or banned or limited somehow...!!!

Bullshit. Does social media marketing shit even work anymore?

 

[Nate Holl]

Yeah, social media isn’t dead—it’s just shifted gears. People still spend a ton of time scrolling, with over 76% saying what they see influences their buying decisions (and that jumps to 90% for Gen Z). The trick now is to lean into short-form video, authentic storytelling, and native content—trying to auto-post across every platform or using cheesy sales pitches? That won’t cut it. 2025 is all about creating genuine engagement, platform-specific creativity, and delivering real value

 

[rodrimar]

It works, but it's a different era. More accounts and fewer actions are needed now, more content, etc.

 

[NirvanaWolf]

Doing follow unfollow is not 'social media marketing'.
It was just a blackhat way of getting followers which the platforms plugged.

 

[papadigico]

You just follow 20-30 people on Instagram or X, then you get warned, eventually punished or banned or limited somehow...!!!

Bullshit. Does social media marketing shit even work anymore?

From my experience:

• Limits are much tighter now. Following 20–30 people back-to-back in a short window can look automated. Platforms don’t like sudden patterns, even if you’re just doing it manually. I’ve had better results spacing things out and mixing actions (likes, comments, reels, etc.) instead of hammering follow buttons.
• Content carries more weight. Organic growth from reels, shorts, and engagement-based posts is still strong. When I switched focus from aggressive following to just dropping 1–2 reels daily (with solid hooks), reach was much healthier and accounts stayed safe.
• Warmup is underrated. New or inactive accounts need a “settling in” period. Browsing, interacting slowly, and looking natural for a week or two before pushing harder has saved me from bans multiple times.
• Yes, it works. I’ve grown accounts recently without paid boosts, but it’s slower and more about consistency + avoiding triggers. If you treat the account like a real person would, you won’t get clipped as easily.

So yeah — the game changed, but people are still pulling results. It’s just less about brute force and more about blending in with the algo.

 

[xiaoguailolo]

Bro, it seems that you are following a lot of people in a short period of time, which is a warning. Only robots will do the same thing repeatedly. Don't do it, otherwise the algorithm will easily detect you. Just like you wouldn't let a troublemaker into your home. At least your account should look like a normal person.

 

[23dd32]

Paid ads and collaborations are more reliable today. The old tricks don’t get far anymore.

 

[lunaakter]

Yeah, it still works but not like before, spammy follow unfollow gets you flagged fast now. You need aged accounts, better content, and smarter methods if you want to stay under the radar.

 

[BoostGrams]

Of course, it works. Try not to spam. You also need to find interesting posts. You should be able to tell a story from social media.

 

[jackR789]

You just follow 20-30 people on Instagram or X, then you get warned, eventually punished or banned or limited somehow...!!!

Bullshit. Does social media marketing shit even work anymore?

Idk for Insta but on X the algo changed u can' just spam comments and yk cant fb too. Now you have to find good communities to grow.

 

[imccafey]

Considering the stats, social media marketing is even more effective than it's ever been despite the burnout of some older peeps. Thing is, with that effectiveness comes a flood of low quality accounts trying to capitalise on it which shifts the algo. You don't want to be lumped up with those so the strategies to avoid restrictions, flags, etc. requires adaptation and getting used to.

 

[Wynodi]

You just follow 20-30 people on Instagram or X, then you get warned, eventually punished or banned or limited somehow...!!!

Bullshit. Does social media marketing shit even work anymore?

You're generalizing things...

 

[VikingWannabe]

Every form of online marketing has gradually shifted towards the paid variant and that includes social media.

 

[wizard47]

nowadays everything has been tighter than it was and without paid ads its really hard to keep up

 

[juliatep672]

It still works, but the old tricks don’t. Follow/unfollow is dead. Now it’s more about mixing in good content, ads, and smart engagement so you don’t look like a bot. The game hasn’t stopped, it just changed.

 

[nuclearrap]

Then black hat is dead completely. Only white hat survived.

 

[rodrimar]

Then black hat is dead completely. Only white hat survived.

I dont think BH is dead. You just have to adapt to changes. Is it more difficult? Yes, increasingly so, but a few days ago, Adam Mosseri himself admitted that he expects there will always be bots; they will adapt, he said.

The interesting thing is that the WH usually always resists changes.

 

[Ralphoton]

It works, but only if you focus on real content and engagement instead of mass following.

 

[SMMWAWE]

Advertise to your target audience and do sensible advertising marketing

 

[Indescribable]

How the hell did you come to the conclusion that social media marketing is dead as you have attempted the one method that is guaranteed to give you a ban?

Black hat still works on social media lol. Seen a lot of people do it all the time with their affiliate links in bios and whatever. What are you trying to do in particular?