Member Avatar for MktgRob

I just read a blog about how some companies are buying twitter followers and paying them to tweet about their products. The companies mentioned are relatively large but would you pay a small number of people to tweet about your product for a short period of time to build a following? In the SEO world this would be grayhat or possible blackhat activitiy.

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Good question, — and timely even years on. Paying people to tweet or buying followers can look like a shortcut to social proof, but it creates both platform and reputation risk: X/Twitter’s rules and developer terms prohibit activity intended to artificially amplify accounts or manipulate metrics, and enforcement can limit reach or terminate access. was right to flag transparency as a differentiator. (developer.x.com)

There’s also a regulatory side. U.S. guidance says paid endorsements are advertising: any material connection (money, free products, discounts, employment) must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously in each post — burying disclosures in a long tag list or a “more” line is not acceptable. Use plain labels (for example “#ad” or “Paid partnership”) in the post itself. (ftc.gov)

On performance: bought followers tend to be bots or inactive accounts, so they don’t engage, they skew analytics, and platforms periodically purge them — producing sudden follower losses and misleading ROI. Independent audits and tools exist to estimate fake-follower rates, and large bot sweeps on the platform have caused visible follower drops. Those outcomes usually make purchased follower strategies counterproductive. (sparktoro.com)

A practical, lower‑risk approach: run a small, transparent influencer pilot rather than buying followers. Work with vetted micro‑influencers, require an explicit disclosure on every post, insist on trackable links or promo codes, and measure real outcomes (traffic, conversions, engagement). Quick checklist:

  • Vet: check engagement rate, follower growth pattern, and run a fake‑follower audit.
  • Contract: deliverables, disclosure phrasing (e.g., “Paid partnership / #ad” at the start), rights to repurpose content, reporting cadence.
  • Track: unique UTM parameters, short links, or promo codes to tie activity to conversions.
  • Pay structure: consider performance elements (CPC/CPA) or multiple small flat fees across several micro‑influencers.
  • Archive: keep screenshots and records for compliance and reporting.

Micro‑influencer programs typically deliver better engagement per dollar and keep messaging transparent and defensible — a safer, more measurable path than buying followers. (blog.hubspot.com)

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

This approach you mention is very similar to what companies were doing years ago with recruiting bloggers to evangelize their products. I do know bloggers who were paid in form of free product in exchange for the plug. But what made the difference between gray and white hat was the transparency factor. This factor really mattered to the readers of the blog.
Thus, this could also be a factor with Twitter promotion and whether these Twitter members mention they are getting paid.
There is a new service that allows for Twitterers to get paid.
http://www.adjix.com/WebObjects/Adjix.woa/

Member Avatar for manomanjudotcom

I had the same question in mind

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I was wondering about the transparency aspect and I absolutely understand what you are saying about the bloggers working with manufacturers. I had a similar issue in a previous life when I wrote for a tech pub and my group reviewed products on a weekly basis. We were very upfront and as we were looking at multiple products each week we were able to maintain a reputation for objectivity.

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