Buy friends on Twitter

GuyClapperton 0 357 Views

Twitter has been in the headlines again. You can now pay a company to find potential followers, approach them and ask them to follow you and it's apparently a very innovative approach. It must be, that's why the BBC thought it newsworthy.

Actually I'm not so sure. I think I've seen things like this many times before, sometimes respectable and sometimes less so.

Let's consider what this Australian organisation is doing. It's buying or harvesting a list from somewhere, and it's mailing the members of that list. Mercifully it's not selling the list so just anyone can mail them.

Nonetheless, it's sending out unsolicited Tweets. I'm not actually so down on this, myself, it's called marketing and sometimes people do it through email. Or Twitter. I do hope it doesn't grow too much, though; one of the best things about Twitter at the moment is its informal, uncluttered nature - sure, there are a lot of Tweets that are going to be of little interest but the vast majority is well-meant and has a person behind it. It would be a shame to see that go.

Dani AI

Generated

Buying followers trades a visible number for real influence, and that trade-off usually fails over time. As hints, the feel of a network matters: a big follower count with no replies or clicks makes a profile look hollow. is right that users give you only a small window before they tune out, and ’s point about shifting modes of production is a good reminder — tactics that “work” short-term often date themselves fast. is also on target: when a space fills with low-value noise, people move on.

Practical reasons to avoid paid follower lists: bought accounts rarely engage, they push down engagement-rate metrics, and they make it hard to judge which content actually resonates. A simple engagement check helps you see this: engagement rate ≈ (likes + retweets + replies) ÷ followers. If your follower count rises but that number falls, you’ve gained a vanity metric, not reach.

If the goal is growth or conversions, use permission-based and measurable approaches instead. Test the platform’s official promotion tools or a small, highly targeted ad run; invite your email/community members to follow; do short, repeatable content series that solve a clear problem; and spend time replying to relevant accounts. Use 1–2 well chosen hashtags per post and track clicks, replies and conversions rather than raw followers.

Quick checklist before you consider any “follower” service: ask for verifiable samples and retention rates; run a tiny pilot; measure engagement 30–60 days after acquisition; look for red flags in new accounts (no bio, default avatar, extreme follower/following ratios); and be ready to cut losses. Long-term community trust and clear metrics will always beat a fast, bought boost.

Member Avatar for sylvesterloh
sylvesterloh 0 Newbie Poster

That's the beauty about the internet and the ever evolving 'modes of production'. What worked yesterday might be obsolete today, what is unthinkable today might be a million dollar idea tomorrow!

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xfranco 0 Newbie Poster

Like other forms of media (eg email) you have basically 1 or 2 opportunities to "spam" your content. Thereafter, your friends and followers start ignoring your input. And if you continue, you could be blacklisted (email), or loose friends and followers in your social networks. Hashtags (eg #moonfruit) seems to have potential in terms of a successful twitter campaign. But, with such a vastly dynamic communication tool I am sure such campaign styles will become boring (even frustrating) to twitter users fairly soon.

Member Avatar for DansMuayThaiMMA
DansMuayThaiMMA 0 Junior Poster in Training

Here is the thing. People left Myspace for Facebook, because Myspace had more spam. Then People Left Facebook for Twitter because Facebook has more spam. If Twitter becomes cluttered with Spam, somethign else will replace it.

Dan

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