If you’re running any type of business, you’re probably already somewhat aware of how significant social media can be as part of your marketing strategy. It’s also critical for brand awareness and visibility. If you don’t use social media, you’ll miss out on potentially connecting with a broad cross-section of customers.
Part of finding customers consists of figuring out which social media platforms they use. For instance, the individuals you see on Facebook will likely be different from the ones that will be on:
- Snapchat
- YouTube
Which social media platforms you focus on will depend, in part, on the demographic you’re trying to target. You’ll have to look at your niche and work out who your ideal user is. That might involve looking at things like their age, race, gender, amount of disposable income, etc.
Targeting Twitter Users
If you have determined that you want to appeal to a Twitter audience, that means creating a Twitter account for your business (or yourself, if you’re an influencer). Composing compelling tweets is an art form, and it might take you a while to get the hang of it.
Of course, you also might elect to hire someone who can run your account for you. There are now professional writers who specialize in social media. Many athletes, singers, politicians, and other notable personalities don’t write their tweets.
You’ll Need to Build a Following
You’ll also need to work on establishing a Twitter following. If someone is trying to land a book deal or sell a screenplay, then often, the first thing a studio or publishing house asks is whether they already have a platform.
What they are asking is if you are already active on social media. If you can respond that you have 100K Twitter or 500K Instagram fans, they’ll know that you can market your products almost instantaneously.
That’s why influencers like the Kardashians can make hundreds of thousands of dollars just by mentioning a particular product on their Instagram or Twitter accounts.
Buying Twitter Followers: Is It Worthwhile?
This brings us to the question of buying followers on Twitter. Let’s start with some of the positives associated with this practice.
You can easily find a site where you can purchase Twitter followers. It is not particularly expensive, at least as compared to some other marketing and brand visibility strategies. Once you work out a payment structure, your Twitter account can be up and running with thousands of followers in a matter of days.
The biggest positive about Twitter subscribers that you buy rather than build up organically is that if your account already seems to have many followers, newcomers will interpret that as you being successful. They’ll think that your account and brand are worthwhile, and they’ll follow you to learn more about you.
If You Have Few Followers, You’re Seen as a Failure
The other aspect of the equation is that if someone comes upon your Twitter account and sees that you have followers in the single digits, they might pass on becoming one of them, even if they’re interested in your products or services. If other Twitter users are shunning you, then why should they buck that trend?
Buying followers means that you have instant credibility. You can then benefit from individuals jumping on the bandwagon.
It’s the same thing as fair-weather sports fans only flying their team’s colors when they’re winning. Everyone wants to be seen as backing a winner, and that applies to your brand as well.
What About the Negatives of Buying Followers?
The real disadvantage of buying followers for your Twitter account is that many are not going to be real people. This means that:
- Many of your followers will never buy your products or use your services
- They won’t engage with you via the platform.
If your numbers are artificially inflated, then there are ways of detecting that. You won’t wield as much online influence as you appear to have at first glance.
So, Is It Worth It?
Ultimately, it’s hard to say, “yes, it’s worth it to buy followers, or “no, it isn’t.” What’s undeniable, though, is that more brands and influencers have done it than not, and it hasn’t been a detriment to them.
The short answer is that it’s not a bad idea to buy yourself some Twitter fans if you’re trying to get your company or career as an influencer off the ground. It’s true that many of these followers can’t buy from you if they’re not real people. That doesn’t mean, though, that you won’t attract some real followers who will see you as already being successful.
What you’ll need to do if you buy followers is to prove to the real people who get on board with you that yours is a brand worth supporting. They’re likely to stick with you if you post tweets that have value and prove that you’re an up-and-comer within your niche.
Prove Your Worth on Multiple Social Media Platforms
You’ll keep the Twitter friends you’ve gained, and those on other social media platforms if you can consistently post thoughtful, original content. If your tweets are regurgitations of what other people are saying or they’re topical, but they don’t have any real value, you’ll likely shed all of the new followers you’ve obtained.
There are positive and negative aspects of social networking, just as there are to buying Twitter supporters. You could regard social media as a necessary evil at this point. You need it for your brand, but you can try to avoid the vapid cliches spouted by some companies and influencers.
Once you have a multitude of real followers via Twitter, and those on your other accounts as well, then fight to keep them. Ask yourself before you tweet or post anything about whether what you’re putting out there has meaning.
You don’t want to use the account to try and connect with your would-be customers if you don’t have anything compelling to say.