John Bender, the character played by Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club said, “So it’s sort of social. Demented and sad, but social, right?” Is this true for your Twitter usage? Demented? Sad? Are you questioning whether or not it’s really “social?” If so, check out the top ten reasons you #Fail at Twitter:
10. Twitter is not a fax machine.
Don’t do that. Yes, you. The person who publishes tweets as if they are fax blasting in the 80′s. You’re ruining it for everyone else. Social media is a give-and-take relationship.
9. Failure to share.
Yes, we’re thrilled you have content, but so does everyone else. Sharing builds your credibility. Do it. It’s not negotiable.
8. Failure to engage.
We ask you questions. You ignore us. You ask us questions. We reply. You ignore us.
7. Scheduled tweets.
Don’t think that just because technology offers the ability to schedule a tweet, that you should do it. If you have to schedule tweets, the only good excuses are because something happens at a specific time or you’re in a meeting and you have to spread out your content. If you must schedule tweets, you must be readily available to respond to any engagement you generated.
6. Poor following strategy.
You follow anyone with a pulse. You follow people merely by location. Dig deeper. Seek out the people who are talking about your brand or your industry. Find the influencers. Engage with these people when you follow them. Send an authentic message directly to someone who follows you.
5. Automated tweet responses
“Thanks for the follow – check out my newsletter (LINK).” That person who took a personal interest in you got an impersonal response. You treated
them like a number. Would you treat a customer that walked into your store or called you that way? Show them there is a human behind the Twitter handle.
4. You tweet too far off topic, too often.
If you tweet about Oreo cookies or other minutia too much, people will unfollow you.
3. You tweet quotes all day.
I’m glad you’re inspired by a quote, but it means nothing to me out of context. If you have to quote someone, add your own take as to why you’re quoting that person and how it impacts you or me today.
2. Your message doesn’t match the medium.
Again, technology services are great, but just because you can post on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter at the same time doesn’t mean you should. People on Twitter seek knowledge. People on Facebook know you personally or love your brand. People on LinkedIn want business related content. For example, if you’re a business, Tweet about an industry related article. On Facebook, post a message about what your brand is doing for charity. On LinkedIn, start a discussion or a group that will attract people interested in what you have to say.
1. You don’t have a strategy.
This is especially true if you are a brand, but even individuals can fall victim to having no reason for being on Twitter. Have a reason to exist on Twitter.
If you’re doing any of things often, you probably now know why your follow count isn’t higher and that attempt at an ROI report looks so bleak. Remember that Twitter is about conversations. That’s why it’s special. Anyone can put up a billboard or run a television spot. The best companies and people are those that truly engage with their customers in meaningful conversation.
What do you think? What’s missing from this list?
Author: Josh Fleming
www.lessingflynn.com
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Those who follow for a day or two and then unfollow if you don’t follow them. I’m looking at you @OneSocialMedia
Meta tweeters – those who tweet only about twitter. “hey lets text back and forth about text messaging.”
people who’s entire twitter feed it 4 square check-ins
Hadn’t thought about following/follower etiquette. Interesting observation. On your tweets about Twitter – I think so many people get consumed in social media in general, they have little else to talk to. Those typically aren’t the people leaving their house to meet offline.
After reading this, I think I need a refresher course in how to use Twitter. Do you think so?
No way. If you did, I’d have told you personally or unfollowed you long ago. I am guilty of some of this too. I need to do a better job of personally recognizing folks who take an interest Lessing-Flynn. So I’ll give myself the #semi-fail at Twitter! : )
I don’t necessarily have any new additions, for this is a pretty definitive list, but I will reinforce several of the points made above:
#2. People who Tweet about how they just posted new pics on Facebook. If I follow you on Facebook, I already know. If I don’t follow you on Facebook, I don’t care.
#10. People who recycle Tweets to publicize the same article/blog post they’ve already Tweeted about 17 times. If I didn’t click thru the first 17 times, the 18th won’t lure my in, either.
#8/9. Failure to express gratitude for re-Tweets. If someone digs your blog and takes the time to share it with his or her followers, thus giving you free additional exposure, you should take the time to type this @NicePerson Thanks for the RT!!! How hard is that.
good stuff. I’ll also add #11 – linking your tweets to Facebook to link to another Web page. Never really understood that one. Often bail out early if that happens.
The only thing I would add…if you’re going to “Call Someone Out” let’s not do it with a (@) mention…let’s use a DM. That also applies to discussions that escalate into fights….I like drama like my favorite reality show (Real Housewives)..but I don’t want to see it in my stream.
Great post Goose
Thanks for the input Katie, and I’d suggest you reconsider your television viewing habits. : )
Good stuff Admavericks, as always. I usually have to schedule my “push” tweets, meaning the ones that are advertising my new post, I do so three times a day for the 4 days a week we post. That said, I try to get out there and engage as much as I can and just be a human, which some organizations and people have failed to realize is a key to Twitter (being human).
Pete, I think you’d be the last one in the world I would suspect would be a scheduled tweeter. So, I appreciate you making your confession here. You engage like it’s going out of style, making Des Moines less boring in the process. Thanks for keeping it real and keeping it human.
Got another rule for you, AdMaverick, as inspired by the incessant re-tweeting of some self-proclaimed social media guru (aka self-absorbed attention pimp) I followed for all of six minutes.
Rule: Don’t re-tweet EVERY single article someone posts. There’s no way you can read 12 posts in as many minutes. Thus, you somehow managing to read, digest and then re-tweet 12 posts in 6 minutes is both mind-boggling and highly aggravating. It’s an unnecessary and entirely indecent assault on your followers. Take a breath. Re-Tweet ONLY the articles/links that are truly worthy. Or, in layman’s terms, the articles you actually read and found informative, educational or inspiring.
I like that Joe, good stuff. Call it 10 A. For me, that’s a pretty quick path to the unfollow button. 5 A.? Scheduled retweets.
This blog seems to really sum up the reason I have never been interested in Twitter. I realize that there probably are a lot of interesting “tweets” out there, but the the last time I tried to use it I couldn’t get passed the constant, “I just ate a PB&J sandwich,” updates. I am required to start a twitter account for my pr writing class this semester, so I’m really going to try to delve into the world of Twitter and see what it is that attracts so many people. BUT I will keep your tips in mind!
Hi Julianna, thanks for reading.
That was my initial concern when I jumped on Twitter a few years ago. But you’d be amazed at the value you can find when you only follow people and topics you are truly interested in. The kind of content you see is truly up to you, if you don’t like what you see, choose not to see it anymore. Let us know if you jump on the Twitter bandwagon and we’ll try to earn your follow.
side note: I occasionally tweet about good BBQ in Des Moines so forgive me in advance. : )
Great post, loved it. Gave me lots of “Yes! It’s not just me! Someone else understands!” moments. I have an addition:
#11. Don’t fill up my screen with nothing but links to every single website which came up when you did a Google search on your favourite keyword. If I’m following 272 other people, and can’t see any tweets from anyone but you, you’re tweeting too much.
(re Julianna and others above) – I think anyone on Twitter should make this their motto – “Thou shalt not tweet unless thou hast something to say!”
Thank you Josh, for your suggestions on what how to use Twitter to it fullest potential and accomplish specific goals. The section on "poor following strategy" resonated with me the most. We tend to get caught up in the entertainment of tweets, that it is often easy to offset our focus. "Dig deeper. Seek out the people who are talking about your brand or your industry. Find the influencers. Engage with these people when you follow them. Send an authentic message directly to someone who follows you." Your suggestion to include commentary when posting quotes of other people was also good advice. I completely agree, a quote means nothing to followers when out of context, without explanation. Its fine to tweet quotes that will increase the understanding of a message, but without a reason as to why readers should care about it.. it means nothing.
Thanks for reading and for your thoughts. I think Twitter is different for everyone on whether they see it as value or entertainment. But, focus, as you've highlighted is key. I need to do a better job of sending the personal messages to those that follow and take a personal interest in us!
Josh, I just wrote about this, particularly the part about automating everything. Must totally agree with these. It's not missing, but one point that's inherent in many of these: putting in the work.
If you're not really planning to engage, i.e. just using it as an IM for your 30 friends, or a "celebrity" just updating the world on the flavor of your latte; if that's your strategy, then there's less work. Less need to engage, to share, follow or worry about topics. If however you're trying to build a network, develop friends and relationships, then Twitter is work. Everything you recommend takes work, takes time: time to read, reply, respond, retweet; a plan to follow, to share, to participate.
You can't stare at your Tweetdeck 12 hours a day, but if you're only giving it a cursory glance 10 minutes a day, you're not really going to get much out of it. I just think Twitter, and social media in general, gives back a percentage of what you put into it. FWIW.
I love your comment, "Twitter is work." – I have a hard time explaining that to clients as well as my wife! Commitment to social media is essential – you nailed it. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks Josh. I also wrote a post with that exact title "Twitter is Work, [explitive]!" I don't care if it's social media tools or your favorite hobby; actors, athletes, writers, everyone keeps learning, rehearsing, training, growing as professionals. If you want to get "good," you're going to have to put in the practice, the work. Without the work, doubt your golf game improves much, right?
Twitter is only work if you use it for work. I see people using twitter in all types of ways that have much to do with communicating but no so much to do with work. (Unless your definition of work is "doing stuff"). If you are going to use it for work, your guidelines are good ones.
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