Twitter Fails
I believe that everyone has something of value to share and I don’t care if you have a million followers or just one, I will follow you on Twitter and hopefully be able to engage with you. Unfortunately, I have several “Twitter Fails” that will force me to either not follow you or unfollow you. Here they are:
1. No bio – You want me to follow you, but you cannot take the time to write a short bio on who you are and what you are about? If you are not willing to take that time why should I by following you?
2. Bio – Your bio is supposed to tell me something about YOU, it is not supposed to sell me something. If you bio contains links with some self serving copy like, “Start making money today” or “Download my ebook” most likely you will not get a follow back from me and I would guess others as well.
3. Your picture – If you have no profile picture, a scantly clad woman or a picture of money more than likely I will assume you are spam and not only will I not follow you, but you will be blocked.
4. Auto DM’s – I hate auto DM’s. For anyone who is not familiar, you can setup Twitter to automatically send a direct message to someone when they begin following you. Usually these auto DM’s say something like, “Thanks for the follow! I look forward to getting to know you better. Friend me on Facebook here and check out my website here.” In most cases, you don’t know me, our first true interaction on Twitter is a cold auto direct message that you send to everyone and you are already asking me to do something? This does not work for me and recently I have begun unfollowing people I just followed because of their auto DM’s.
I wanted to provide five Twitter Fails, but to be honest, these four are the best and only ones worth sharing at the moment. What did I miss? What are some of your Twitter Fails?
Great list Cord.
I would add those who have a stream full of contest entries trying to win stuff.
Or those who tweet 30 tweets all at once and then don’t stick around to answer the replies.
-Greg
Thanks Greg. Good additions, I could not agree more. Awesome Freezerburns last night. I only got to watch the first 45 minutes as my internet went out I guess from the storm. Was wondering how you were feeling today after all that ice cream?
But what if I am a scantily clad woman?
Seriously though, I hate seeing Foursqyare check-ins. I can’t think if an instance where they provide value to me. I also dislike “Good Morning” and “Good Night” tweets because they scream “Look at me I’im here!”
Jay Dolan´s last [type] ..Where is your Emotion
I’m with Jay. Foursquare check-ins are for losers. Unless of course, I could always make mine say “I’m on a boat.”
Jay, you are right, if you are a scantily clad woman, go nutty with the pic. I agree with you and Anson, the Foursquare tweets can get annoying. I have stopped announcing when I check in. Thanks for your feedback Jay and Anson as always.
I think check-ins are OK when used selectively. Similar to posting to LinkedIn. Checking in at a major event or something unique that you want to share on Twitter is OK. Also announcing that you’re at an industry event to LinkedIn you may meet some new people or connect with someone you were not aware that was there. But pushing all announcements out to all networks is overkill and for those that you are connected to on multiple networks it’s a bit spammy!
Brian McDonald´s last [type] ..Can Your Marketing Manager Do This
TwitterFail #8: People who DM me several times but who aren’t following me, so I can’t reply via direct message. It’s good to double-check that every so often…
Speaking of auto-DM’s, I’ve gotten one clever one, from comedian @TheKevinButler: “I welcome all my new fanboys, fangirls, fanmen and fanwomen with a very personal, computer-generated message. Thanks for the follow.”
Karl Sakas´s last [type] ..Read this book- “When I Stop Talking- You’ll Know I’m Dead” by producer Jerry Weintraub
I’m like you in regard to that DM crap. I find it almost offensive that I would get a message from someone I don’t know which sounded as if we were familiar with each other.
Talk about impersonal.
Thanks,
Mike
Mike Helton´s last [type] ..Are We List Building or Name Collecting
I just followed you on Twitter Cord, so lets see if I make the cut. LOL!
I find it very interested and entertaining that you would make a list of Twitter fails. We as people can be so self-serving sometimes can’t we, it’s great that you’re letting people know that spammers aren’t welcome.
And can someone please tell me why there are so many people who continue to think that Twitter spamming (Auto DM’s and Auto-Follows) is effective? Why do people even do it?
Michael Priceless´s last [type] ..Provoking Conversations to Create Brand Loyalty
You made the cut Michael. Thanks for your kind words and your follow. Look forward to speaking with you further.
Thanks for writing this. Now I don’t have to. I’ll just retweet the heck out of it until PEOPLE GET IT. I follow the exact same Twitter rules.
Fadra´s last [type] ..A Love Story- Part 2
Long Twitter handles. Cuts into the 140 when you reply.
marty´s last [type] ..Bad parenting