I’ve recently been giving lots of thought to my use of Social Media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
A lot of what I’ve considered will most likely result in some change, but I’m still in the process of considering what my appropriate responses ought to be.
But one of the things I’ve concluded is that there are several reasons why I refuse to follow some people on Twitter.
There were lots of them, but here are just 10 reasons why I won’t follow YOU on Twitter:
1. You don’t have a profile picture
The first reason I wouldn’t follow you on Twitter is that you’re invisible.
I’ve grown out of having imaginary friends (well, not really) so unless you intentionally want to remain elusive, which by the way is okay as long as you make that clear, please ask a friend to take a nice picture of you and update it to your profile.
I’d prefer to see who I’m following on Twitter but if the best you can come up with is a picture of your pet hamster, I know enough about you already…!
It’s really easy to upload a profile picture to your Twitter account, but click here if you need some help.
2. You don’t have a bio description
Again, I’d like some idea of who you are, so unless you’re a secret agent who needs to keep their identity covert (in which case you’d probably not be on Twitter anyway) it would really help to give some idea about who you are, what you do, and your purpose for being on Twitter.
Take a few minutes to write something that gives me a sense of who I’m interacting with. Unless you have a bio I’ll not know whether you’re actually flesh and bone or a robot – and that doesn’t help at all.
A few things you could consider for your bio:
- Tell me (and other Tweeters) what you do
- Reveal to me something of your personality
- Be a little personal – I don’t need to know your shoes size though!
- You may want to avoid things that are exclusive e.g. politics, religion or sexuality
- Include a link to your website, as if you have one I’d like to see it
3. You follow 1000′s, but have few followers
If you have few followers, have an enticing image of yourself in a bikini, and are a follower of thousands, you’ll always raise alarm bells for me, as this suggests one thing – you want me to look at your porn site!
No thanks. I’ve been there, done that, and really don’t want to wear that white t-shirt again if I can help it!
No, seriously, this can be a real issue for guys in particular, so don’t just block these users, report them to Twitter and run a mile – or two!
4. You claim expertise, but never post any related content
If you claim expertise, at least give some information or content that supports your claims.
There is a lot of noise* on Twitter, so sharing information and pointing me in the direction of useful resources will not only get my attention, but it’ll keep me coming back for more.
People like @Leadershipfreak (Dan Rockwell) and my friend @BCWLindsay (Ben Lindsay), actually tweet things that relate to their area of expertise.
5. Your tweets only serve to promote you or your service
Marketing is important, but self-indulgence doesn’t fair well with me at all – in fact, I twitch profusely when I sense you’re all about yourself.
In fact, nobody likes people whose only aim is to serve themselves, their own agenda, or their own interests. One way of preventing this cardinal sin is to post links to useful information, whether they’re from you or someone else – and be sure to give them credit too!
If you look beyond yourself and add value, I’ll more than likely follow you.
6. You beg for followers
There’s nothing more annoying or cringe worthy than a tweeter who actually asks for people to follow them. Stop it – please!
7. You tweet too much
Not that there’s a hard or fast rule about how often you should tweet, but don’t overdo it.
If I constantly see you in my feed, you’re history! I also get really annoyed if you tweet random rubbish about stuff that adds no value, for example ‘I’m about to get in the shower.’
Who actually cares?!
Okay, you can have fun, and I’m not saying that I don’t on occasion tweet things that are inconsequential, but come on! As a guide remember this: random tweets are permissible if tweeted randomly.
8. You don’t tweet
If you never tweet, why would I need to follow you? Your lack of contribution adds no value, neither does it give me any reason to think, question, or indeed respond – and that is not good!
9. You’re not on Twitter
Really obvious, but I’ll say it anyway. If you’re not on Twitter I can’t follow you – why? Come on… need I say more?
10. You have a protected account
If your account is protected I can’t check you out. Therefore, why would I follow you? It’s common sense really.
But besides not being able to see what you’ve actually got to say, you’re protected account could communicate negatively in 3 ways:
- You’ve something to hide (can I therefore trust you?)
- You’re so special I can’t share in your world (you’re potentially a smug git!)
- You don’t want to be sociable (fair enough – I understand – boo hoo!)
These of course may not be true of you, but it’s worth thinking about anyway, as the question is, do you want to communicate these things? I doubt it!
That’s it. I follow people who share interesting, informative and inspiring things. When you have something to say, I’ll listen. When you tweet, I’ll follow.
Well, that’s once I’ve checked all of the above.
*people chatting foolishness
Receive post updates by RSS Feed.
How often do you say what’s really on your mind in the immediacy of the moment?
