Social media is full of promises like, “Gain 500+ followers in one day.” They’re designed to grab attention because everyone wants to grow faster. Before trying any “hack,” it’s worth asking a simple question:
How does it actually work?
The Claim
This Reel instructs users to:
- Follow the creator.
- Unfollow them.
- Follow them again.
- Like the Reel.
- Comment “Done.”
- Follow five people in the comments.
The promise is that this process will result in hundreds of new followers.
What’s Really Happening?
The strategy isn’t based on Instagram rewarding a secret sequence of actions. Instead, it relies on thousands of people participating in the same activity at the same time.
Every person who comments “Done” increases the Reel’s engagement.
Every participant scrolling through the comments spends more time on the post.
Every follow notification encourages additional activity.
The creator has essentially built a large engagement exchange where participants interact with one another.
Does It Work?
That depends on what you mean by “work.”
If your goal is simply to increase your follower count, participating in large engagement exchanges may produce some new followers.
However, that’s different from saying Instagram rewards the follow-unfollow sequence itself. There is no evidence that following, unfollowing, and following again is a ranking signal used by Instagram.
Instead, any growth comes from exposure to other participants in the challenge.
The Hidden Assumption
The Reel implies that the sequence of actions causes Instagram to recommend your account.
A more likely explanation is much simpler:
Thousands of users are all looking for new accounts to follow, and some of them choose to follow each other.
That’s a networking effect—not necessarily an algorithmic one.
Questions to Ask Before Trying Any Growth Hack
Whenever someone claims they’ve discovered an algorithm trick, ask:
- Is there evidence this is how the platform works?
- Is correlation being mistaken for causation?
- Could there be another explanation?
- Who benefits the most from people participating?
Those questions often reveal more than the hack itself.
The Bigger Lesson
Not every marketing strategy is fake, and not every viral tip is useless.
The important skill is learning to separate observable results from unsupported explanations.
A Reel may genuinely generate followers.
That doesn’t automatically mean the creator has correctly identified why it worked.
Understanding that distinction is one of the most valuable skills in digital marketing.
Fitz Creative Solutions 