Claims have emerged that a number of Married at First Sight Australia 2022 stars could possibly be buying their Instagram followers after regaining control of their accounts.
It’s no surprise that those who emerged from the latest season as fan favourites have copped followers en masse. At the time of writing, queens Domenica Calarco and Ella Ding lead the charge with over 550K and 570K followers, respectively.
However, some — should we say, not-so-fan favourite — contestants might be gaining followers in a less than ethical way.
As discussed in episode 182 of the So Dramatic! podcast, ex-MAFS groom Liam Cooper alerted host Megan Pustetto to some dodgy Insta behaviour during a Patreon-exclusive episode.
“Someone was telling us that some of the contestants, when they didn’t have their accounts, were buying their followers,” he said. “Channel Nine had to step in and contact them to be like, ‘Guys, we’re flagging this because your followers are too high and we know you guys are buying them’.” #Awkward!
Naturally, Megan did a little digging and uncovered some interesting information.
Social Blade Statistics Support Claims That MAFS Stars May Have Bought Followers
The tea that several Married at First Sight participants have bought their Instagram followers is further bolstered by the data reflected on Social Blade.
The site, which essentially tracks follower and engagement analytics across social media, indicates that Olivia Frazer and Carolina Santos may have paid cash money for fans online.
Generally, the number of followers an account gains per day is usually relatively consistent. However, as seen on Social Blade, both Olivia and Carolina have seen unusual follower spikes over the past 30 days.
Across April and May, Olivia was gaining followers at a steady pace from anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 a day. However, on April 24, that number skyrocketed to over 9k followers.
Coincidence? We think not!
Similarly, Carolina was averaging less than 1,000 new followers per day, aside from two particular dates where she suddenly gained over 5,000 new fans on the ‘gram.
These suspicious numbers are in stark contrast to Domenica and Ella’s rapid follower growth.
For example, the Italian bride has consistently amassed anywhere between 3K and 10K followers. Meanwhile, Ella ranges from 5K to around 14K. Keep in mind, that these figures are higher to reflect their total following being 5-6 times larger than the other brides.
Do Engagement Rates Give Away the Truth About Whether People Are Buying Followers?
As mentioned by Liam, if the contestants’ goal is to become brand partners and gain sponsorship deals, buying followers is actually the worst way to go about it.
“If you buy your followers… your engagement is going to be shit and then no one’s going to work with you,” he said. “Because you won’t be able to tell [that you have a good audience].”
AKA: the more fake followers = the lower your engagement!
According to a social media specialist in the So Dramatic! Facebook Group any engagement rate of “anything between 2-3% is deemed good”.
So, where do MAFS 2022‘s biggest players sit?
At the time of recording, Megan detailed that Olivia was at 3%, Tamara Djordjevic was at 1.8% and Carolina was at an all-time low of 0.06%, according to engagement calculator Phlanx.
Samantha Moitzi sat at 3.3%, Domenica at a whopping 13.7% and Ella levelled out with 11.6%.
Keep in mind that a number of these engagement rates would be higher than usual given they’ve all just stepped off a high-rating reality series. This is coupled with the fact they’ve also gained back full autonomy of their accounts.
Still — food for thought!
Want even more goss? Listen to episode 182 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!
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