Warning: This article may potentially be offensive to Twidiots.
I must say, I am embarrassed to be a marketer sometimes when I see the way some folks are conducting themselves on Twitter. I am embarrassed for all of us, and for the industry as a whole. There are so many marketers doing a BAD job on Twitter, making themselves out to be smarmy used-car salesman types (excuse the gender reference). Then there’s the ones who just don’t get it at all… Flogging each and every blog post or dry corporate announcement, with ZERO effort to connect with others or share anything of any value.
Sorry that was a rant wasn’t it?!
Okay, so rather than another lame article on how to build influence on Twitter. I’d like to run down a few things NOT to do on Twitter, since people seem to have missed that memo.
1. Don’t accept EVERYONE that adds you
If you live in Toronto, do you really want to join a car club in New Jersey? Do you care about a local seniors group in Idaho. No and you shouldn’t, because it is irrelevant to your life and business! Some people will add you that you would never have any need or desire to connect with, so don’t! Just add the people who you think can add value to your life, people who you’d like to learn more about, or gain something from knowing.
2. Ditch the personal sounding auto responses
I know some may argue with me here, but I find it incredibly annoying to receive those friendly “thanks for following – check out my ebook on how to make money on Twitter” auto-responses that “thank” me for following somebody. Many times people try to fool you into believing that it’s not an automatically generated response by saying things like “hey there, interesting tweets, you seem cool… etc etc”. In my opinion, these people need to be kicked in the teeth.
If you use my name, I’ll assume you took the time to write to me personally, and will appreciate you for that. If you didn’t, I’ll assume you’ve sent me a generic mass-distributed auto-response. They are meaningless and are a waste of space. If you have something to say to me personally, about my business, posts, or industry. Get personal and do it on a one-to-one basis.
The point of Twitter is to connect… Not have a robot stand in for you.
3. Stop being a self-promoting narcissistic JERK
You have a great company, an awesome blog, and a plethora of awesome content. Good for you. So does everybody else. It’s okay to promote an exceptional blog post every once in a while, especially if it’s of interest to your group. It’s even okay to post something about yourself or your business daily. But if all you’re doing is standing on your soap box annoyingly shouting out “hey look at me and my business” people are just gonna tune out!
I’m not suggesting you NOT promote your content or business. That would be dumb. I’m just saying, that shouldn’t be ALL you do on Twitter. You will get a bad rap for being an a-hole. And you don’t want that.
Take an interest in others. Post links to great articles. Comment on others articles or content. Share whitepapers. Get silly. Show your personality. Engage in dialogue with others. These are the things that will most enhance your Twitter experience.
4. Don’t obsess over your follower count
If you enjoy being on Twitter and post regular decent content, your follower count will grow organically along with your number of tweets. It’s okay to add people who are of interest to you and to search directories to find people you want to add. But when you are sitting there hour after hour adding as many people as you possibly can so you can impress your clients and friends with how many followers you have. Well, you’re just an idiot aren’t you?!
The content and the quality of your Twitter network is far more important than the actual number of followers you have. Anyone can add thousands of followers. But it’s what you do with your network that counts.
5. You are a Human… Not a billboard.
This is most often seen with people who just don’t “get” Twitter. They spend hours thinking of the perfect tweet to broadcast out to their group of followers, spending far too long thinking about what to say and how to say it. Every tweet they post is dry and robotic with a lack of human quality. The tweets usually relate to their business, service, offering, or some other pat on the back for themselves.
Stop treating your Twitter account like a press release distribution system, an ad or a corporate messaging board. You are a human being and have a personality. Show it! How is anybody supposed to connect with a corporate robot?! Nobody will want to. Loosen up, have some fun. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. If you need a drink to do that, then go ahead have one on me!
So hopefully this article has been both helpful and entertaining. If you were offended by it, then you clearly need to change your Twitter strategy! Sometimes a hearty helping of brutal honesty is just what the doctor ordered.
Have fun out there… and for f*ck’s sake, be real.
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