Twitter bot followers: what to question before you act

By “bot-follower offer” we mean an offer to add automated or artificial accounts to your follower list. We do not recommend buying them or using a free follower bot.

Our test: would you want to read these accounts' posts and talk with them? If the offer is only about reaching a follower total, we would pass.

Ask these questions before accepting an offer. When reviewing an existing follower, write down what you saw instead of calling the account a “bot.”

• The pitch promises a follower total. Ask what you want from those followers, for example a discussion about something you make. Our concern is the gap between buying a count and seeking a conversation. The promised total says nothing about any single account.
• The headline says “free bot followers” or “free X followers bot.” Read what you would need to provide or authorize first. We would decline rather than grant access for a follower count. “Free” is a price claim, not a reason to trust an offer.
• You cannot identify whom you would want to follow back. Ask what kind of audience the offer describes. The reason to stop here is audience fit, not a claim that unfamiliar accounts are bots.
• A profile looks empty or its posts look repetitive to you. Note that specific observation and ask whether there is anything you want to respond to. Do not turn an impression into a public accusation of automation.
• Your count changed and you want to explain it. Start with the account-level changes you can review, such as new followers and unfollows. Keep “the count fell” separate from “these accounts were bots” in your notes.

Before you spend money or authorize access, write down what you expect to get. “More followers” is a different goal from “people who want to discuss my work.”

The same goes for your existing audience. Decide on follow-backs account by account, based on whether you want to hear from that person, instead of giving everyone a real-or-fake score.

Instead of a follower package, try this routine:

1. Choose a subject you can discuss from your own experience.
2. Find a post on that subject and read the conversation before answering.
3. Reply with a useful detail or a specific question. Skip the follower request.
4. When someone follows you, read their profile and decide whether you want to keep talking.

It does not promise follower growth. Judge it by the conversations you want to continue.

Bangerkit's X follower tracker imports your follower list and shows new follows in an activity list. Beside replies, it shows whether you follow each other, so you can decide whom to answer or follow back.