I’ll warn you now, this is going to be a little bit of a rant as there are two things that have really been getting under my skin. Lately it seems like I’m getting more and more DMs from people I’m following on Twitter. So I thought would write this as a public service announcement on how not to suck at twitter or get Unfollowed by me.
Pet peeve #1 just because I follow you, it does not mean I “like” you, it just means I’m checking you out to see if we might hit it off on Twitter. I’m hopeful that I might learn something from you, and maybe offer you something in return.
If I just started following you on Twitter and you ask me to like your fan page on facebook I can’t help but wonder if you missed the fact that I choose to follow you on Twitter, not Facebook. If you can’t hold my attention on twitter, I am not going to expose myself to more from you. Sending a DM to someone who just followed you, promoting anything is just bad form, and an express ticket to being Unfollowed, because it shows me you don’t understand social media, although it does flag you as a potential lead for Head of Lettuce Media. If you work for a social media company and you are doing this, you look like a real dope offering me classes in social media, especially if you are demonstrating by your actions that you just don’t get it.
If you have a fan page or website that you want to share, be interesting enough to make me want to connect further with you, I will look at your Twitter bio to find out more about you, place your link there, but don’t cram it down my throat and don’t make it a condition of getting to know you. Even if you tweet a shameless plug once every 4-5 tweets, you will be less annoying.
Pet peeve #2 So-as-So uses TrueTwit validation service. To validate… I can not think of a more annoying thing to do to potential new followers then to make then jump through the stupid hoop of TrueTwit validation. I understand the basic goal behind TrueTwit and believe it has some merit, however the way it functions now is more annoying then a social virus. They give you the option to sign up so you don’t have to endure validating yourself again, however now according to Truetwit “If you are TrueTwit Basic user, a new follower who you aren’t already following and who is not already a TrueTwit user will get sent a validation request.” this means they will be bugging everyone who goes to follow you.
If there is a moral to this rant, it is this…social media is a communication platform of convenience, and making people jump through hoops before they even know if they really want to know you is not the way to make a first impression, in fact, if you use it, it is an express ticket to being unfollowed by me. #KillTheAutoDMs
Big Props to SocialOomph.com for providing an opt-out on their auto dm’s http://bit.ly/nPXV26
Up to a point I understand why some people get annoyed at auto DM’s. However to blanket every auto DM with equal disregard is stupid in my opinion; and then to publish them on your twitter stream is juvenile and smacks of a person who was spoilt as a child. There is so much snobbery around auto DM’s, which I find mystifying.
Most people use an answer phone message to respond to callers when they are not available to answer the phone, this is an auto DM isn’t it? As for my Auto DM’s, I took great care in considering what to put on them and I decided on one’s that were similar to what I would say if I was able to answer every single follower, which I’m not.
I currently average over 100 new followers per day, so to respond to every one of these, every single time, would be very difficult and too time consuming. Therefore I created well though out, sincere responses to people who decide to follow me, because I am grateful when they do.
I think it is far more disrespectful to ignore a new follower than to create a sincere auto response designed to acknowledge the connection. Anyway, experience has shown me that you will never be able to agree with this point of view, and you will either not allow this response to be published or you will go into a rant, (which I hope you don’t do because it will reinforce my spoilt child theory).
I still don’t understand the publishing of those who have responded to your follow with an auto DM, it’s the same as those people who publish the names of the people who unfollow them… how ridiculous.
John, as you can see I posted your reply in it’s entirety 🙂 the only stuff I edit out or block is spam or offensive material, I respect anyone who can express their opinion as you have.
Believe it or not I was once a fan of the auto DM’s and I argued the same as you do here, but ultimately I came to the decision that I would rather not hear the auto DM’s. Instead I would rather someone I follow just keep an eye out for me, and look for opportunities to engage me in conversation, and I would do the same.
Having 100 people a day follow you, and sending them all an auto dm is like posting a tweet once a day; “welcome to all my new followers” or announcing to a room, Hi everybody, in my opinion, you are better off looking for somthing to talk about with individuals. I coach people to look for authentic opportunities to engage their followers. I will not remember an auto dm as it gets in the way of the people I am trying to have a dm conversation with, This is what I find really annoying. Imagine getting 100 auto dm’s a day. Instead I prefer a conversation like you and I are having.
If I embarrassed you with my post I am sorry, I usually only post them if I can not DM someone, which many people seem to be in the practice of. They follow you till you follow them back, then they unfollow you. Not saying that was the case as I don’t know for sure.
Lastly there are some cases for welcome DM’s, but more often then not if your telling me to friend you on FB or like your page, then see the article above. Either way, thanks for taking the time to write and share your opinion, and I hope we hear some other thoughts on this from others. John, nice to meet you 🙂
Tony — you are ‘da man!’ Thanks for the advice on how to furhter succeed in ‘social media.’ Also, it was great meeting you and your brother, Joe, in Tampa.