Top 10 Reasons You're Not Being Followed Back on Twitter
Posted on 06. May, 2009 by Joshua Ferris in Blog, Featured, Industry
When you follow someone they often want to reciprocate the follow by learning more about who you are. After all, you’re interested in them and maybe they could be interested in you. Because Twitter is open to interpretation on how it should be used to your benefit I’ve picked up on the ways I think others misuse it. Here are ten reasons why people aren’t following you back on Twitter:
1. You don’t have enough updates. - Typically the first sign of a spammer, having only a few updates (especially all in one day) makes it hard for people to gauge what kind of person you are. Are you interesting? Are you worth following? One update that says “college apps” or “sunny day today” won’t convince the masses that you have something to contribute.
2. You tweet too many links. - A pet peeve of mine and many others, posting too many tweets linking to something off Twitter can give others the impression that you have nothing unique to say. People follow you on Twitter to hear what YOU have to say.
3. Your tweets are mostly inspirational quotes. – All aboard! Twitter’s 140 character limit seems ripe for quote abuse. The number of Tweeters hopping on the inspirational quote train is staggering. If I want to be inspired by a quote I’ll google inspirational quotes. Live by these words: You offer zero value if you just tweet quotes from other people.
4. You are only promoting your business and everyone can tell. - I don’t mind it when someone promotes their business on Twitter when appropriate. I selectively pimp my real estate projects, Darren Rowse tweets his blog articles and so on. But if you overdo your Twitter page with outlandish get rich blogging or SEO guru crap no one is going to listen to what you have to say. Loud backgrounds/tweets are like loud words and no one likes being yelled at. Especially when it’s a sales pitch!
5. Your username sounds like a company. - An almost instantaneous decision not to follow someone happens when I get a follow notification from someone with the username of a company. This is even more true when it’s a company I’ve never heard of or done business with. Unless you’re @mailchimp showcasing cool uses for email marketing or @comcastcares following me to help solve my cable problem I’m not likely to be interested in what your company is all about.
6. You ARE a spammer. – This really should go without saying but people aren’t stupid. We know when we see spam on Twitter (lately the GirlNameDateofBirth username types). You’re wasting your time, no one cares.
7. Your bio is empty. – This rings true with new users more than established tweeters but knowing who you are and what you’re about is a big deal to other Twitter users. Fill out your bio with truthful details about who you are and people are more likely to take an interest in you. By the way, “Follow me to learn how to make…” is not a good way to make a name for yourself on Twitter. Just sayin’.
8. Your following/follower count is unbalanced. - Nothing says self-interest more than the guy/gal following 30,000 people and being followed by 8. I don’t endorse monitoring your following/follower ratio constantly but your count also shouldn’t look like a cliff when compared.
9. You don’t have an avatar. – Another signature of spammers and shady types, no avatar makes it look like you are new to the service or have something to hide. You don’t need a Paul Wall grille shot but having an avatar matters. Go get one!
10. Your tweets are overly negative. – Much to the chagrin of pessimists everywhere, tweeting the bad side of things isn’t exactly going to brighten someone else’s day when they read your tweets. Bad stuff happens but your Dottie Downer tweets shouldn’t outnumber the funny/positive things you have to say. I’m guilty of over tweeting the negative myself so I sometimes opt not to tweet at all.
Twitter is like a giant conversation and everyone has something to contribute. Using the tips above you can increase your chances of finding and engaging other Twitter users who like what you have to offer. And yes, that’s good for business too.
Image Credit: Noël Zia Lee
Did I miss anything? Add your tips in the comments below!
Someone is ripping you off!
http://econsultancy.com/blog/4024-ten-reasons-not-to-follow-people-on-twitter#blog_comment_9712