Why People Purchase Follower Lists

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Different business people have different opinions when it comes to organic versus paid lists of online followers. Some people feel that they want to earn their followers without any money involved and others want to have control and are willing to spend money.

The philosophy behind purchasing follower lists

If you consider your fans and followers as friends, it doesn’t make any sense to purchase a list (or multiple lists) . On the other hand, if you don’t view your fans and followers as friends and feel that there is nothing wrong with buying those lists, there are all sorts of deals out there. Interestingly, the practice of buying lists is becoming more and more common. To some people, fans and followers (and the number of fans and followers you have managed to accumulate) has become somewhat of a status symbol. The greater the number of followers, the more successful you and your business are perceived to be.

The advantages and disadvantages of buying follower lists

You might be asking yourself why someone would even want or need to buy followers. Some people buy follower lists because it allows them to gather a large number of followers without making much effort to acquire them. It is a matter of their wanting to achieve success and status as quickly and painlessly as possible. You are probably aware of the fact that it takes time and a great deal of effort to build up your lists of fans and followers when you first start connecting online. The success of social media is all about successful relationships and you can’t have any of those if you don’t connect with people on a human, emotional level. The only way to do that is to have followers who are willing to interact with you and you with them. When it comes to purchasing lists, it is not necessarily an all-or-nothing situation. You can buy a list in the beginning of your social media engagement (just to get you on  your feet) and then, once you have started to connect with people in a more profound manner, you can cultivate your relationships the old-fashioned way.

It is important for you to keep in mind that social media is a word-of-mouth tool and at some point you will need to engage in the traditional way for it to really work for you. When it comes to your followers, it is very important that you don’t lose sight of quality over quantity. If you have a huge number of followers but you don’t really have any relationship with most of them and you don’t have meaningful interactions with them, they aren’t really worth much to you.

A valuable online experience

Once you have built up your list of fans and followers and you have been interacting with them on a regular basis, you will start to  understand the value of social media and how much it can positively impact your business. Remember, if you put a lot into it, you will get a lot out of it too. You need to be careful when it comes to refining your lists of fans and followers once you have established them. Your followers should be people with whom you truly wish to engage because you feel that you will share a mutually beneficial relationship. What you can give to them is your ability to solve their problems. What they can give to you is their ability to boost your brand by becoming loyal advocates as well as turning their associates into loyal advocates.

How to increase your number of fans and followers organically

You know that there is no quick success method that will instantaneously appear for you. However, with persistent and consistent effort, you will have lists of fans and followers that you feel good about and proud of. The following are some tips for gaining more fans and followers that will hopefully work for you.

  • Monitor what is being said about you and your business and follow those people. Considering that you have come to their attention already, you have a really good chance of their becoming fans or followers.

  • Engage your existing fans or followers as much as possible. The more you get to know them, the more meaningful your interactions with them will be.

  • Prove to your fans and followers that you are a subject matter expert and that you really have valuable knowledge in your area of expertise.

  • Be consistent and persistent with your interactions. People will really appreciate the consistency and persistence. You will make such a positive impression on those fans and followers that they will want to connect with you regularly.

Conclusion

Even though buying lists of fans and followers may make sense to you in the beginning, it is important to remember that anything that truly holds value must be obtained through hard work and love. Success with social media is no exception to that rule. With that in mind, you should probably save your money for something else and obtain your followers the right way. Shortcuts may be quick and easy but they are not always the best way to go in the long run. If you follow the advice here, you will be left with a rich and solid target audience that will do anything for you because they are loyal.

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Author

  • Michael Cohn

    Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has decades of experience in IT and web technologies. Michael founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their visibility and reputation. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility. Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.

19 Responses

  1. Mark Vang says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Social Media Marketing
    Discussion: Why People Purchase Follower Lists

    If your post is true and this is becoming an common practice then there are a lot of people getting ripped off. Consider the following:

    .1. If you’re buying followers/likes to promote your business page – it’s unlikely that any of the people you just paid for are your target customers. What’s the ROI?
    .2. It’s possible that the accounts are fake or stolen and may end up making malicious posts to your page/stream – and infecting your real customer’s accounts.
    .3. If the social network detects this activity you may lose your account.
    http://www.facebook.com/help/281084665319172/

    There are no shortcuts to social media success. At a certain level of followers you may hit a “tipping point” where you begin to attract lots of new followers on a regular basis. You have to *work* to get to that point. Nobody is going to hand success to you. Though there are plenty of folks that will take your money and make that promise.
    By Mark Vang

  2. Nancy Gross says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: The NJ Networking Forum
    Discussion: Why People Purchase Follower Lists

    Great information on the pros and cons of organic vs. bought follower’s list. I see both sides of building and buying followers and feel that each company or organization will need to do what works for them. Buying has benefits but in the end building, cultivating and earning followers trust will be the goal. Buying followers is a temporary solution but done correctly can have a positive outcome. Either way no one can deny that putting 100% of effort into anything you do works best.
    By Nancy Gross

  3. David @THGM says:

    I am not a big fan of buying lists. I am not saying I would never do it, but I have yet to encounter a situation myself where I would do it (other than media contact lists).

  4. John Murphy says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network
    Discussion: Why People Purchase Follower Lists

    I really think that buying lists is a complete waste of time – it for vanity only and can damage you long term. If you want to build a business, then build long term real relationships. The conclusion to this article is correct – build your relationships organically and ethically.
    By John Murphy

  5. Ted Ewen says:

    +Ted Ewen via Google+

    If you want the special sauce of social media engagement, you have to milk the bull. Not always pleasant, sometimes dangerous, but nonetheless necessary.

  6. Richard Hill says:

    +Richard Hill via Google+

    Anyone here got tips that really worked for them when creating organic growth?

  7. John Murphy says:

    +Heather Fonseca via Google+

    If you’ve been around for a while as a blogger or social media user you can see a fake following a mile away. The Reason the bloggers I know do it is to look more appealing to brands. This is one of the reasons I advertise on Facebook to get more likes to my page. I’ve never bought followers though. I just do it the hard way!

    Richard the only thing that works for me unsocial media is consistency. Use it daily. Follow other people. Leave comments. Follow back.

  8. Ritu Rao says:

    +Ritu Rao via Google+

    I’ve been having a really hard time getting Likes on FB even though my blog subscriber count has been steadily (although slowly) increasing. A coach I was relaying this to DID suggest I buy Likes, but it never seemed right. Still struggling with Likes, but oh well. I’ll keep chugging along creating content that I feel good about.

  9. Heather Fonseca says:

    +Heather Fonseca via Google+

    Facebook advertising works well for getting more page likes, and it’s not expensive. I don’t consider it “buying likes” because it’s just an ad. People can decide if they want to like or not. Sometimes it’s just about awareness, and that’s hard to get on Facebook because it’s more of a closed society.

  10. DJ Thistle says:

    +DJ Thistle via Google+

    Exactly +Michael Cohn! If you buy your following you’re basically spending money on something that returns zero value.

  11. Solomon Kleinsmith says:

    +Solomon Kleinsmith via Google+

    AY-MEN brother. I just shake my head when I see people continue to look for shortcuts, when they’d get better results by doing it right the first time, and then laugh when they freak out as Google figures out their shortcuts and their websites tank in rankings.

  12. YourITgroup says:

    +YourITgroup via Google+

    I read a book by the founder of Constant Contact and that book repeatedly states never buy lists. It’s about the quality of the list not the quantity, you want to send info to people you’ve previously engaged with. Think of #newsletters and #socialmedia as relationship building tools.

  13. Kevin says:

    I don’t see the point in buying followers since they will never really interact with you. They are just a way to pretend to be more popular than you really are.

  14. CommonPlaces, Inc. says:

    +CommonPlaces, Inc. via Google+

    We’ve had a few clients ask us about buying lists of fans/followers and we always tell them that the best thing to do is grow your list organically. People who decide to follow or like you, are more likely to read, share, and click on your posts over those who are taken from a purchased list.

  15. Day2Day Printing says:

    +Day2Day Printing via Google+

    Has anyone here purchased followers? If so what was the out come. I’d like to hear some personal experiences.

  16. Day2Day Printing says:

    +Spencer Mitchell via Google+

    If you want true engagement and loyal followers you must build a relationship and those can not be purchased

  17. Gabriele Ervin says:

    Via LinkedIn Groups
    Group: Succeed: Small Business Network
    Discussion: Why People Purchase Follower Lists

    I totally agree. In my many years of doing business online, this question came up occasionally from a client. Buying lists is not something one should ever consider, whether it’s email lists or social media lists.

    With purchased email lists, your host will close your account after too many complaints and you can get black-listed by Google, etc. With social media lists you lose credibility, followers and can get your accounts closed. Word gets around quickly. After all, people following someone else didn’t sign up to follow you.

    Building a business using social media only works with soft sales: building relationships, helping people and thereby becoming a perceived expert. Yes, it is a long process with a lot of hard work, but this will be Your List and you will reap the benefits.
    By Gabriele Ervin

  18. Dianne Mower says:

    +Dianne Mower via Google+

    I am novice at all this malarkey. My gut feel is; I agree with you. It’s like buying friends – why would you? It’s not about numbers its about authenticity.

  19. Angie Phillips says:

    +Angie Phillips via Google+

    I totally agree with the article, 10,000 fans are useless if not genuinely interested in any respect of you or your business! That’s just back to “broadcasting” rather then targeted marketing! Waste of money for sure!