Why Buying Twitter Followers Isn’t a Good Plan
Writing by Brick Marketing in Social Media
We get it. It can be hard to build up a Twitter following and it takes time. It can be frustrating to send out tweets that you think are informational, clever, and original if very few people are seeing them. This is why it’s so tempting for businesses to hand over some money and get a quick influx of Twitter followers in return. This is the wrong approach because you don’t just want any followers. You want the right followers, which any follower that you buy is not. Here’s why:
May not be human
You’d be surprised by the amount of Twitter accounts that exist that aren’t even tied to real people. They were created by these services that sell followers and are never used. Twitter can easily close these fake or duplicate accounts which means that the followers that you bought might not even exist over the long term. Some business owners aren’t concerned by this because at least it appears that they have a lot of followers. But what’s the point of tweeting to these fake people?
Probably an uninterested human
Even if a human is on the other end of the Twitter account, if they are paid for they probably could care less about what you have to say. It’s doubtful that they will even read, nevermind re-tweet or share any of your content. It’s likely that they might not even be seeing your tweets since they are probably following thousands of other accounts as well.
Twitter spammer reputation
Buying Twitter followers is technically a form of being an online spammer. It’s misleading. Twitter can ban “Twitter farms” that sell followers and can also ban the accounts that are spending money for access to these paid followers. It’s doubtful that all of your followers will be paid for. Some will come organically and the worst thing that could happen would be to have your Twitter account shut down after you’ve started gaining some traction.
It’s highly doubtful that buying Twitter followers will lead to any new business opportunities. Here’s what you can do instead to build an engaged following:
Promote and cross promote social accounts
If you are going to be active on Twitter, or any other social media outlet, be sure to promote your account within your other marketing activities. If you do any traditional marketing like direct mail, advertisements, flyers, etc.; tell people that they can easily find you in social media. Online, include a link to social accounts within your email newsletters and on your blog and website. Remember, only do so if your social accounts are active. Don’t promote a social account that hasn’t been touched in months.
Share great content
Content is the lifeblood of a social media campaign. By consistently sharing great content and using the right hashtags, your follower count will grow naturally. Followers will share your content with their followers and your content could show up in search. It’s certainly a marathon, and not a sprint, but it works.
Follow others
Spend some time looking for prominent Twitter users in your niche and follow them. Not only will you receive beneficial information by following them, but many people will follow back their followers. This is a good strategy if you are looking to network with other industry professionals.
