(…in 2018! …and probably the most honest and concise one :))
When it comes down to SoundCloud promotion you have a few choices. Googling this term usually brings up several kinds of websites. These can be summed up as websites for;
1) Purchasing followers/plays, etc.
2) Purchasing an app that will help you with your SoundCloud promotion tasks (bot)
3) Exchanging reposts
4) Using download gates or funnels
5) General SoundCloud Promotion tips
There is also a sixth option which is going through paid music channels with thousands of followers and getting them to promote your music (similar to option number 3), but for the average SoundCloud user, this option is unattainable in most cases ñ or reserved for the more established artist.
Because of this we will deal with the first five options mentioned;
1) Purchasing followers/plays, etc.
2) Purchasing an app that will help you with your SoundCloud promotion tasks (bot)
3) Exchanging reposts
4) Using download gates or funnels
5) General SoundCloud promotion tips
1) Purchasing followers/plays
The first option on our list usually delivers non-organic (fake followers) or plays. The use, the actual value of these is debatable. It can be useful if you are in the numbers game and need a quick surge in your followers count. If you have a good mixture of real plus fake followers, purchasing a certain amount of fake followers can work ok.
Otherwise if you are a new artist, wanting to get those first 1000 followers, it will look strange if your followers are all named JHJ001 or JOHNMSHB298126 with 0 tracks, 0 followers and no profile picture. It will be very obvious that something is not right.
For artists that want their first 1000 followers, I would personally reccommend to choose another method.
These artists are those that want their first exposure and a reaction from a real listener, a sincere comment or a like. And they want a decent profile to show off to potential record labels, and a follower count is very important for this.
For these artists, I highly reccommend they beef up their accounts with a bot. And this is sincerely spoken, not just because we sell one. The author of this text was in this situation himself and can relate very well.
Also please note, fake followers are not true listeners, they will not buy your latest track, they will not be interested in your music, they will not play your tracks. This is just for numbers only. Also these packages are often expensive and can come from shady sources. Be careful.
As far as fake plays go, these are a slightly better deal than followers, since you cannot trace these as fake.
Please visit this article for pros & cons on purchasing plays.
Also please note that SCHelper will be adding this feature (plays) in its next version as a free update to all web-app users.