Twitter Followers: Quality vs. Quantity?

The battle for followers on Twitter can be exhausting. While my list of 13,000 remains nothing to be ashamed of, I still feel inadequate when compared to the networks of the Twitter business giants pulling in over 50,000 or more. Upon closer inspection, I discovered porn stars, spam bots, and other such fake accounts make up the vast majority of this following. Since I “hand” follow and constantly cleanup my follower list, I consider my network much more authentic than those seemingly endless hordes following other businesses. So the question at hand is this: On Twitter, in regards to followers, is it better to have quality or quantity?

In my opinion, having an authentic and active community of followers makes any Twitter account more influential. Last time I checked spam bots, porn stars and other useless handles spend zero time retweeting or acting as influencers or having any meaningful interaction with others on the platform.

So having 40,000 “followers” might be a wonderful way to convince potential clients that your Twitter page carries a hearty number of impressions, but beneath the veil of substance lays an inactive member pool.

So my advice before you become impressed by or envious of someone’s vast Twitter following is to dig deeper – realize that an army of robots or pyramid schemers or real estate agents will offer nothing beyond a hollow and lifeless viewership. So a high number might be the goal, but in the end, is any really listening?

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.