The Following is a Guest Post by Erin Palmer (also check out her bio below) – she contacted me and wanted to write a guest post, I said she could if she could make me laugh, she did – it took McDreamy to do it – here it is…

I was a nerdy kid by default. I had to wear gigantic red glasses when I was a child. Glasses that my tiny nose could barely hold up. Glasses that magnified my eyes to thrice their normal size. The point is, I didn’t stand a chance of becoming cool until I got my first pair of contacts in seventh grade.

What do my childhood scars have to do with buying Twitter followers, you ask? It’s pretty simple. When my birthday rolled around every year and my mom gave me cupcakes to bring to the class, suddenly everyone was my friend. The cupcakes bought me an entire classroom full of buddies, but as soon as the tasty treats were gone, so were my new pals.

Buying Twitter followers is like a real life version of the eighties classic “Can’t Buy Me Love.” In this film, a pre-McDreamy Patrick Dempsey pays a cheerleader to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to get popular. It works at first, but then it backfires (the way that only a gloriously cheesy eighties movie can). Poor Patrick Dempsey lost his real friends and his fake friends because his plan shattered his credibility. Purchasing Twitter followers cheapens your brand and can cause your actual followers to lose trust in you.

Twitter is about communication, so why pay for a following that won’t lead to genuine interaction?   Patrick Dempsey’s character was better off with his handful of loyal geek friends than the huge group of fickle popular kids that turned on him right away. Having thousands of followers that aren’t reading your Tweets is like putting up a billboard and covering the ad with a giant sheet. If no one sees it, it isn’t promoting anything.

Also, many of the sites that sell Twitter followers make you follow back. Nothing sullies a brand’s reputation faster than a bunch of followers hawking discount medications and “free” cruises. If you want your brand to reap the benefits of Twitter, then you have to do the work the old-fashioned way.    Tweet regularly and make it interesting and relevant. Reach out to people and companies that will find your brand meaningful. Reference eighties movies as often as possible (ok, so this might not work for everyone, but it will make me follow you).

Patrick Dempsey’s character makes a moving speech in the cafeteria when he realizes that what really makes a person cool is to be yourself. Tweet from the heart, not the wallet. You and your brand are special just the way you are.

This guest post was written by Erin Palmer. Help Erin prove that reaching out is the best way to gain followers by following her on Twitter @Erin_E_Palmer.  When she’s not watching bad eighties movies, Erin works with Villanova University’s online programs. University Alliance and Villanova University can help you earn your HR degree or HR certification. For further information about these programs, please visit http://www.villanovau.com.