SMM Panels. What are they good for?

Hi. New here. As I was scrolling frontpage I saw about 10 SMM panel ads and marketplace is full of them.. But why do they exist?
I tried googling and answer was basically "fake social image to make social media accounts look better". Is this really it? Does it really not have any other useful functions? It cant have real positive impact on marketing since all social media platforms see that as fake engagement, and it seems like they are all acknowledging that it is just fake views/likes/followers, so why do people buy them? Is it just a noob-trap?

I am not trying to mock anyone here, just trying to learn and understand why it is such a big market.

MakeMiracles said:

It cant have real positive impact on marketing since all social media platforms see that as fake engagement, and it seems like they are all acknowledging that it is just fake views/likes/followers

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Maybe it’s something only you, or a small group of people can really notice. Like when I saw that guy with the video about “keeping homeless people on the street,” and then he tells the guy to click a button on a gambling app. He’s clearly promoting it, but most people just see it as a funny video, not an ad. Then on the comment people will say thank you for the promo code on the bio. There's a lot of people who will think it's true and this will push their curiosity. All these comments are made from an SMM panel =)

Hunter spirit said:

Maybe it’s something only you, or a small group of people can really notice. Like when I saw that guy with the video about “keeping homeless people on the street,” and then he tells the guy to click a button on a gambling app. He’s clearly promoting it, but most people just see it as a funny video, not an ad. Then on the comment people will say thank you for the promo code on the bio. There's a lot of people who will think it's true and this will push their curiosity. All these comments are made from an SMM panel =)

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Alright this is actually pretty cool answer. Did not think about it that way, so fake engagement, but in real functional way it is to make already existing viewer/clientbase to act in some sort of way.
So messages and comments have real value. However a lot of them do sell fake viewers and followers, is this one just bloat?

They exist to make your social media stand out and look more reliable.

There used to be some with youtube views to rank/boost yt videos but they don't work anymore

Yoram said:

They exist to make your social media stand out and look more reliable.

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But if there are no real following, wont it kill the growth when follower/view ratio is off?
I can understand this as a social proof that you are credible, but do you need who panel to fake follower count?

MakeMiracles said:

Hi. New here. As I was scrolling frontpage I saw about 10 SMM panel ads and marketplace is full of them.. But why do they exist?
I tried googling and answer was basically "fake social image to make social media accounts look better". Is this really it? Does it really not have any other useful functions? It cant have real positive impact on marketing since all social media platforms see that as fake engagement, and it seems like they are all acknowledging that it is just fake views/likes/followers, so why do people buy them? Is it just a noob-trap?

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Yes, it is. Some buyers use them for vanity metrics, however, there is more to it. Many people use SMM services for initial social proof, testing campaigns, or making content look active before running real ads or organic promotion.

Also, agencies sometimes use them for things like engagement testing or helping content get early visibility. So, it serves as a support tool alongside real marketing.

It's used purely for visual purposes. It makes real people more relatable.