I love social media. 80% of my business comes from posting and advertising on social media. It allows businesses to get seen and recognized, good or bad. On my Instagram, unlike most all of my "followers" are organic. I do know for a fact that many buy their followers to make them look good. When you have a no body, that no one has ever heard of with 10, 15, 20 and even 40k + followers, it's usually bullshit. Since i post mostly about my athletes with either pics or videos. I don't get that large of a following. It's just not that popular as say metrosexual fitness posts or fitness chicks with great asses. However, when I get "likes" on a pic or video it's usually from peers, hashtags, clients and friends.
A "like" is a sign of approval. Last night I posted a video from our speed development camp from...yesterday. Now I'm not a big soccer fan but I know the players and sometimes watch. That being said, getting a "like" from Lionel Messi is huge lift of approval. Going over my other videos. He "liked" 6 more. I'm doing my job!