Don't buy your Twitter followers!

I can’t believe I’m writing another post about Michael Jackson. However, Mashable reported this morning on a press release by Usocial that someone in the Michael Jackson camp was trying to buy Twitter followers.

What?

That would be like telling Oprah and Ashton that they weren’t popular enough to build a follower list naturally. Not only is buying followers against Twitter’s policy, it’s freaking lame! I mean, you’re Michael Jackson (or you were Michael Jackson), arguably the most famous person in the world. Access to follow Michael Jackson would have made all those screaming fans of his flock to Twitter. The King of Pop would have become the King of Tweets. Shaq would have been knocked of his pedestal if Michael Jackson was part of the Twitter community.

Yes, I realize that Michael Jackson was in “comeback mode,” but if he went out and tweeted: Just ate a grapefruit, he would have had millions of people following him in a matter of hours.

Don’t buy your followers, people! Twitter followers are like the people who opt-in to receive your email newsletters, or fan your page on Facebook, or subscribe to your YouTube Channel. If they aren’t interested in hearing from you buy opting in, then why would a blanketed message work?

I’ve never been a big fan of buying lists. Sure, it has its place from time to time. But the quality of the list is always the true question mark. I’d have to run a lot of tests to a list with multiple messages and selects before I would want to spend a lot of money on an unknown list.

For my money, give me the opt-in list, the people that have raised their hand saying: “Yes, I want to hear from you.” Brand advocates will do the dirty work for you. And when you attach the name Michael Jackson to what you’re saying, you make an average PR person look like a hero.

A lot of companies will argue that they don’t have a list. That they don’t have a strong CRM program. I say – get with the program! Turn your old brochure-style Web site into a lead generation tool. Use that email newsletter program, Facebook page, YouTube channel and Twitter account to build relationships with people.

The Michael Jackson puns here are endless, and you know I can’t resist. So I have to ask.

Why? why? Tell em that is human nature?

It may be Human Nature to take short cuts in your life, in your marketing and in your CRM strategy. But resist the urge.