Fake followers and bots on Instagram and other social networks: a detailed guide

Instagram

"The future belongs to bots"?
How to connect a chatbot builder?
Is it possible to connect it in parallel to other social networks?
When thinking about robots, images from the movie "Terminator: Judgment Day" come to mind: world domination, enslavement of people, and the like. But, until that happens, bots (short for "robot") are used in factories and on social networks to simplify business tasks. For example, they pretend to be a "live" user and like people's posts, comment on them, and respond to users' private messages. How does it work? Let's take a look now.
A bot is an autonomous program for managing accounts on social networks according to a special algorithm with a prepared scenario that simulates user behavior. In August 2021, Instagram officially launched chatbots in its application to automate dialogues in the messenger. Let's consider the possibilities of this social network's chatbot?
So, Instagram provides two ways to work with the bot:

1. These are automatic responses in direct messages;
2. Reactions to any actions with your account. For example, a comment on a post or a tag of your account in a story. The purpose of such a bot is to facilitate business operations: saving time; speeding up processes of working with clients; self-promotion of the page, - and all of this works without stopping, 24/7.

Instagram provides two ways to create a chatbot algorithm. If you have your own developer, you can write a script for the bot's work at your discretion - in this case, unlimited possibilities open up. If not, you can use a constructor service, for example, on these platforms: Netrox SC, Onicon. Additionally, Instagram chatbots can be easily integrated into Telegram and Facebook, which is convenient if you conduct business in multiple social networks.

Let's start by connecting the built-in chatbot in Instagram:

Change the account to "Business"

To do this, open the app and go to "MENU". In the "SETTINGS" section, click "ACCOUNT", and "SWITCH TO PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNT".
You should receive a link "CHANGE ACCOUNT TYPE". In case you previously connected the "AUTHOR" status, you need to change the status back to "BUSINESS". Upon successful connection, you will be asked: "DO YOU REPRESENT A COMPANY?", this is necessary for connection to Facebook.

Linking Instagram and Facebook Business Accounts.

Follow these steps to connect your business accounts on both social media platforms:

1. Go to the Facebook homepage, then click on "Pages".
2. Select "+ Create New Page", and enter the name and category.
3. To link the two applications, go to "Settings" on your Facebook profile, navigate to "Instagram" and "Connect Account".
4. Verify the connection after changing the status.
5. If you accidentally connect the wrong profile, click "Disconnect Profile" at the bottom of the settings page, then connect the correct account.

Connecting to Direct Messages on Instagram.

In "Settings", go to "Privacy", then "Messages". Allow access to messages and connect the chatbot constructor for Instagram.

In "Integrations", click "Connect" and authorize with Facebook. If you receive an error message, follow these steps:

• Switch the account status to "Personal" and back to "Business". Verify Facebook's connection to Instagram. If successful, start using it. If not, proceed to step 2.
• Click "Connect" in the "Integrations" window. The chatbot constructor will be successfully connected.

Choose a chatbot builder based on your needs:

• Netrox SC, Onicon – online consultants with a wide range of tools, from automatic message responses to integrations with website forms; LiveChat, Streamwood, Webim – popular chatbots for online stores, entrepreneurs, and agencies;
• Chaport, Chatra – chatbots with CRM system integration for sales and support automation;
• Jivo, Mango Chat, ManyChat, RedHelper – for messaging and communication in mobile apps.

Telegram

Currently, this is the fastest growing application in Russia. According to "Statista" (a German company specializing in market and consumer data), in 2022, Telegram had 500 million monthly active users. To not miss the opportunity to promote your business on this platform, let's take a look at what bots are available on Telegram and how they can be used:

• "Classic" chatbots - an artificial interlocutor that conducts dialogues according to a predetermined scenario. Optimizes the team's workflow and stabilizes pressure during stressful situations;
• "Administration assistants" - the name speaks for itself. The bot collects statistics, adds reactions to posts, tracks user activity in the chat, and configures anti-spam filters;
• "Shops" - a good robot that allows you to purchase goods through the Telegram app and pay for them immediately. Here, you can transfer your entire range of goods to make it easier for customers to purchase;
• "Search engines" - familiar channels with music, books, series, and movies. Yes, all of this is available through one bot, can you imagine!?
• "Entertainment" - a chatbot for those who love to watch and share memes and play various games.

Great, now that we understand why bots are needed in Telegram, we need to figure out how to connect them. The interesting part is that to create a bot, we need another bot. Yes, that's how it works, don't laugh. So, here's how:

1. Open the Telegram app and log in to your account. In the search bar, enter: @BotFather.
2. Select the bot you need, for example, "Stores" or "Entertainment".
3. To activate the bot, press "START" on BotFather. You should receive a list of commands for managing the robot.
4. Select the "NEWBOT" command and confirm by sending it.
5. Choose a name for your bot - so that customers can recognize you immediately when they contact the bot. By the way, your "artificial" nickname must be unique, such as Dracula's Castle. Remember, the word "BOT" must be written at the end of the name, otherwise, it won't work.
6. When all the steps have been successfully completed, you will receive an SMS with a link to the bot, a complete guide to usage, avatar setup, descriptions, and a list of commands.

VK:

Speaking of social networks in Russia, "VKontakte" is the leading platform in terms of content volume and number of authors. According to Brand Analytics, in March 2022, more than 27 million authors published over 468 million posts and comments.
VKontakte - and this is more than on all other platforms combined. The indicators for the second quarter of 2022: a record 75.7 million Russian users per month and 2.35 billion views of VK videos per day. If you still don't know how to get your own personal assistant on VK, let's fix that.

What are the possibilities of a VK chatbot?

• A bot for introducing your company, products, and services to the customer;
• Quick feedback. 24/7 - it is the workability of your employee, besides, it saves the customer base and processes them without lunch breaks and weekends;
• Leads the customer to the "I want to buy" status. Of course, with the help of a pre-written scenario;
• Does not require a manager, sells by itself;
• Reminds customers about the company after a set time after purchasing the product;
• Analyzes sales and exports data to external services;
• Conducts various interactions with subscribers: contests, quizzes, and so on. In return for participating, participants receive prizes and various gifts with your company's logo or the like. The plus in such interactivities is the increase in the company's attendance, sales, etc.

Let's connect a chatbot to VK:

1. Configure the community:
• Go to Settings → Management → Messages → Bot Settings → Enabled → Save. Now the business page can see the bots.
2. Create a bot:
• Go to SENLER (a tool for communicating with the target audience) in the chatbot section. Click on "NEW BOT" and write the name of the bot in the window; the key is automatically generated. Next, you will see the "EDITOR," where you will need to write the script for the bot, and its logic - phrases that the bot will respond with, add different images and buttons.
• Once you are done, click on "PUBLISH." To add the bot to your work, click on the "+" in the lower right corner, where you will insert the necessary options.
3. The bot is ready. Launch it:
• Click on the "START" button - your bot is activated. Then there are a couple of directions on how your "artificial" manager and client will communicate:
1. The first method is through a group of subscribers. That is, only after a person has subscribed to your community can they start a dialogue with the bot. This is necessary for system filtering, so as not to answer all people with the same script. To enable this, go to "SETTINGS," specify the "NAME," and "ADD A BOT."
2. The second method is through triggers. This method allows you to start a dialogue with bots through keywords. To connect such a chatbot, you need to go to the "TRIGGERS" section, add a "NEW TRIGGER," give it a name, and select the "APPLICATION TYPE," for example: "NEW NOTIFICATION." That's it. When a user writes something in the community, your bot will automatically start.

Now, taking over the world with bots doesn't seem so scary, does it? Of course, new technologies bring new opportunities!