Getting followers pretty much always increases credibility. I feel like in current times that many people are judged by how many followers they have. It’s kind of wrong, but true.
I actually manage social media for a small business and I found a pretty unique company that “sells” Twitter followers. There are many websites that do this (surprisingly!) but this particular one has targeted followers too: http://www.mysocialanswer.com
PS- Just don’t tell your boss you bought the followers 🙂
@Lamar – thanks for the comment, even though you are clearly in the Twitter follower sales biz – you make a relevant point. People do want credibility. But they can get it in a lot of other ways as well. This may take longer, but it’ll guarantee that their Twitter followers actually interact with them in the end.
In reality it depends on your intent and market on twitter. If your a musician or artist the number of followrs is HIGHLY important!(example Articles that hail how many followers certain celebs have) I even took the time to examine a sample of some of the top celebs followers and found many eggs and non active accounts.Which really means their is a difference between followers vs active followers. we may want to say its quality vs quantity but depending on your target market they may see your lack of followers(ex music) as being that your not very interesting as a artist. In that category everyone wants to be the next person to say they discovered so and so first! So it really depends on your intent. In some circumstances “build it up and they will come” can apply well to buying followers.
@Thomas, well said. While buying followers is not usually a good idea, I can see how it would work for ‘follower’ sensitive musicians or artists. Just make sure that once you’ve paid for your followers, you work as hard to earn real ones 🙂 – John.
Buying those kinds of followers is a good shortcut, although not really for long term, some people buy followers just to show that they have followers, although fake but it can increase credibility.
“Thank you for a great article. I think people buying followers and likes without knowing what to expect is a big problem. Personally, I’ve found that purchasing followers and likes is the best way to avoid your company being seen as a “”failure”” on twitter which is important for larger, well known companies.
I’ve helped a few sector-leading organisations get set up on twitter and facebook and they all asked “”What will people thing if we only have a handful of followers in 6 months time …””. They all purchased followers and likes from sites like http://www.socialkudos.co.uk to put their minds at ease. These follows and likes will not have interacted with the companies, but that wasn’t the intention.”
@Marketing Monkey – that is a constant concern with brands, and social media followers are often mistakenly viewed as social ‘popularity’ – which isn’t always the case. I’ve seen many small 100-300 follower Twitter accounts that earn consistent revenue, far more than many 10000 follower accounts see. That said, I guess we all worry what others think of our businesses from time to time. As long as you know what you’re getting, I guess it’s alright. – John
@Craig – for the authentic companies, they place entry ‘ads’ on certain sites that will add users to these communities. IN order for the user to get into the site, or find a certain page – they have to agree to be part of the network. I’m sure there are other ways as well, like creating fake accounts. – John
@Jared – that ‘interest’ is what makes gaining followers so tough. But if you can overcome that obstacle, you can naturally gain 10K followers without buying them! The bonus of course, is that they’ll interact like crazy on your pages. – John
When i see musicians/artists visibly acquiring followers overnight by a fixed amount (some go from 18k to 28k overnight when then last few months they’ve gained 250 or so) it just looks bad. What even looks worse, is when they actually buy in small increments (10K) and then start losing followers really quick.
Stick to real followers. If people are not following, you’re not marketing your brand right.
That’s an interesting point; people’s perception of your brand is influenced by how many followers you have or don’t have. I don’t think customers check to see when a company jumped 10K in followers. Their competitors notice those things.
@Les – True competitors notice. For the most part however, buying Twitter followers is an awful idea. Any digging, and its easy to see that your account is pretty much fake. That’s not good for anyone. – John
We had a great experience using the services of http://addtwitter-followers.com .. We were a bit skeptical at first but when our order arrived 2 days later we didn’t hesitate to fully boost our Social Media channels.. Totally worth it if you ask me…
20 Comments on “Why Buying Twitter Followers is a Terrible Idea”
Getting followers pretty much always increases credibility. I feel like in current times that many people are judged by how many followers they have. It’s kind of wrong, but true.
I actually manage social media for a small business and I found a pretty unique company that “sells” Twitter followers. There are many websites that do this (surprisingly!) but this particular one has targeted followers too: http://www.mysocialanswer.com
PS- Just don’t tell your boss you bought the followers 🙂
@Lamar – thanks for the comment, even though you are clearly in the Twitter follower sales biz – you make a relevant point. People do want credibility. But they can get it in a lot of other ways as well. This may take longer, but it’ll guarantee that their Twitter followers actually interact with them in the end.
In reality it depends on your intent and market on twitter. If your a musician or artist the number of followrs is HIGHLY important!(example Articles that hail how many followers certain celebs have) I even took the time to examine a sample of some of the top celebs followers and found many eggs and non active accounts.Which really means their is a difference between followers vs active followers. we may want to say its quality vs quantity but depending on your target market they may see your lack of followers(ex music) as being that your not very interesting as a artist. In that category everyone wants to be the next person to say they discovered so and so first! So it really depends on your intent. In some circumstances “build it up and they will come” can apply well to buying followers.
@Thomas, well said. While buying followers is not usually a good idea, I can see how it would work for ‘follower’ sensitive musicians or artists. Just make sure that once you’ve paid for your followers, you work as hard to earn real ones 🙂 – John.
Buying those kinds of followers is a good shortcut, although not really for long term, some people buy followers just to show that they have followers, although fake but it can increase credibility.
@Socialyy – definitely not long term, I agree. They don’t interact and they won’t buy anything from you at all. – John
“Thank you for a great article. I think people buying followers and likes without knowing what to expect is a big problem. Personally, I’ve found that purchasing followers and likes is the best way to avoid your company being seen as a “”failure”” on twitter which is important for larger, well known companies.
I’ve helped a few sector-leading organisations get set up on twitter and facebook and they all asked “”What will people thing if we only have a handful of followers in 6 months time …””. They all purchased followers and likes from sites like http://www.socialkudos.co.uk to put their minds at ease. These follows and likes will not have interacted with the companies, but that wasn’t the intention.”
@Marketing Monkey – that is a constant concern with brands, and social media followers are often mistakenly viewed as social ‘popularity’ – which isn’t always the case. I’ve seen many small 100-300 follower Twitter accounts that earn consistent revenue, far more than many 10000 follower accounts see. That said, I guess we all worry what others think of our businesses from time to time. As long as you know what you’re getting, I guess it’s alright. – John
Building followers can definitely help companies get going and build there reputation. Its a matter of making sure you get quality followers
@Twitter, quality is best, without it – your page will have no interaction! – John
@add_followers, it’s good to see that you’re building your following the right way. Keep it up, and thanks for reading!
Hey. How do these companies get people to follow you? How do they create the communities they sell?
@Craig – for the authentic companies, they place entry ‘ads’ on certain sites that will add users to these communities. IN order for the user to get into the site, or find a certain page – they have to agree to be part of the network. I’m sure there are other ways as well, like creating fake accounts. – John
Completely agree, its pointless to buy followers as you want real accounts that are actually interested in your company.
@Jared – that ‘interest’ is what makes gaining followers so tough. But if you can overcome that obstacle, you can naturally gain 10K followers without buying them! The bonus of course, is that they’ll interact like crazy on your pages. – John
When i see musicians/artists visibly acquiring followers overnight by a fixed amount (some go from 18k to 28k overnight when then last few months they’ve gained 250 or so) it just looks bad. What even looks worse, is when they actually buy in small increments (10K) and then start losing followers really quick.
Stick to real followers. If people are not following, you’re not marketing your brand right.
@Cat – that’s true. And don’t forget, fake followers have no voice and won’t engage you on your pages either.
That’s an interesting point; people’s perception of your brand is influenced by how many followers you have or don’t have. I don’t think customers check to see when a company jumped 10K in followers. Their competitors notice those things.
@Les – True competitors notice. For the most part however, buying Twitter followers is an awful idea. Any digging, and its easy to see that your account is pretty much fake. That’s not good for anyone. – John
We had a great experience using the services of http://addtwitter-followers.com .. We were a bit skeptical at first but when our order arrived 2 days later we didn’t hesitate to fully boost our Social Media channels.. Totally worth it if you ask me…