Why Are You Trying to Get Followers on Twitter?
03.20.09
Thoughtful Thursday
“Why are you trying to get followers on Twitter?”
(Okay, I know…Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are missing for this week. I had a family emergency this week and the blog took a backseat. I’ll have the blog back on track next week.)
And, yes, I know it’s Friday, but I feel an urgent need to post yesterday’s Thoughtful Thursday. It will make sense in a moment.
“Why are you trying to get followers on Twitter?”
I ask this question because I have seen more and more workshops, teleseminars, programs, and articles written about how you can increase your followers.
Why?
The overwhelming answer is (once you dig past the deflections)…so I can make more money. Really? Is that what you want to do when you follow someone? Do you want to give them money?
The last time I checked, that was called “Push” marketing. It’s cleverly disguised with links to interesting articles. Though with a little bit of digging, you can discover that they are usually written by the push marketer or from one of their buddies.
I know, I sound jaded. And in all fairness, I must confess that I originally bought into the idea that I had to increase my numbers as fast as possible.
Why?
Because, that’s what everyone said you were supposed to do.
But here’s what happened. Twitter became overwhelming, I had trouble keeping in touch with people I really wanted to (yes, even with Tweetdeck). And, I started to feel inauthentic.
Why?
Because I followed everyone that followed me.
Now, whether you follow someone that follows you is the source of many heated debates and in the past, I’ve typically fallen on the side of the debate that seems to appease the masses. I auto-followed everyone. I mean, isn’t that the nice thing to do?
No, not if you want to truly build relationships and offer value. (In addition, do you realize that when you follow someone, you are putting your stamp of approval on that person? Think about that for a second…)
So, there it is. I’m sticking out my neck today. I will no longer auto-follow anyone.
WHAT??
“Deidre, don’t you realize you’re going to lose followers?”
Oh, I’m planning on it.
Yes, you heard it right and you heard it right here. I will no longer auto-follow anyone. In fact, I’m changing a number of of things about how I use Twitter.
I call it my Personal Twitter Guide.
My Personal Twitter Guide is based on what I believe are the 5 main components of Twitter: what I tweet, what I retweet, who I follow, who I unfollow and whether I auto-follow or not.
I’ve actually had my new background ready to post on Twitter earlier this week, but alas, Twitter has been sickly and I haven’t been able to upload the new background.
So, in lieu of being able to post it on my background…here it is:
Deidre’s Personal Twitter Guide
Please use these guidelines to decide whether to follow me or not:
I work with:
Speakers and authors looking for a “BUZZologist” that understands their point of view and helps them to speak and sell more online!
I tweet:
Links to my blog entries
Links to articles that I find interesting (and will help my clients)
Upcoming events & presentations
Links to interviews with authors on ”Author BUZZ” on BlogTalkRadio
Messages of encouragement/motivation
Occassional songs from Blip.fm
I retweet (RT):
Links to articles that I think would be beneficial to speakers and authors.
Messages of encouragement/motivation
I follow:
Clients
Friends
People that offer value to me or my clients (i.e. links, conversation, potential partnerships)
I unfollow:
People who fill my stream with affiliate & “make money now” links
I do NOT auto-follow, but I’m VERY accessible! If you send me an @reply or a DM, I will respond to your request as soon as possible. I am also available by email. (My email address is located on my site.)
Wow. In a nutshell, there it is. And as soon as Twitter lets me…the new background will be in place.
Please post comments about my guidelines idea…
P.S. As of the date of this blog post, Twitter stats:
This should be interesting.
I’ll post an update on this next week.
Deidre Hughey
If You Enjoyed This Post, Check These Out:
Crossing a Line in Social Media
Is That What Social Media is About?
More Thoughtful Thursday Posts
Looking forward to it. You are one of the most authentic people I’ve met, and I think you’ll cause others to rethink their ‘goals’ for twitter. I await the countdown!
Alleluia! I’ve been having this same dialogue with myself lately, as I’ve been deluged by so many tweets from “i can make you a success” folks. I’ll add one more to it: is there such a thing as the “overtweeter?” If someone tweets 20+ times a day, I find it distracting and a bit annoying. First of all, I already struggle to filter information all day long… this only adds to it. And, now, I have to scroll through them just to find the rest of the comments from other people….. this is especially annoying with the 20+ tweets are links to news! It makes Twitter into a news feed and not a social dialogue. Am I crazy? (probably!).
I agree with Deidre and the comments here. I have never really believed in the theory of get a lot of followers and they will automatically want what you have to offer…it started on MySpace – get lots of friends! – and then came the theory that having friends that YOU would want to be friends with (the authentic business types) was much preferable. I agree. Same thing with Twitter – why do I want a bunch of tweets from people who have a message I either don’t agree with or don’t care about? As Sharlene says, It just adds to the annoyance factor! Add the spam in our emails everyday, it wastes time!
Thanks Deirdre to this common sense approach with how to focus our efforts on Twitter – and a guideline to the rest of our dealings online (and offline too)!
Michelle, Laurell and Sharlene: I’m glad you enjoyed the post and I sincerely appreciate the comments! Let’s have a decluttered, focused year and use social media to build the relationships we’re supposed to build.
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