A reminder – next week starts our official countdown to Writers Worth Day on May 14th. Mark your calendars! I promise tips, sage advice, and maybe even a prize. I’ll get you a widget soon – I’m without my PhotoShop and I need to find out how to get a URL embedded.
I say here a lot that Twitter has become a really effective marketing and networking tool for me. I wish I could say the same for other people, who probably don’t get the same results, and in some cases I can see exactly why. Just a reminder to Twitter peeps:
If you say it, show it. Ironic, but it seems all these people promising superb interactive marketing or coaching don’t bother to retweet anyone else’s tweets. And they think we don’t notice that?
Repetition gets you dumped. I’m all for self-promotion, but if your only posts are repeats of the same stuff you’ve posted a dozen times prior, you’re not in it for the connection.
Automated responses that want me to visit your site instantly will be met with my wave buh-bye. This is almost as annoying as tooting your own horn incessantly. Just. Don’t. If you can’t interact with others in a genuine way, stay the hell off Twitter.
You’re allowed to be political – I’m allowed to unfollow you. Truth be told, people who beat a political drum constantly bore me no end (except those who blog or write about politics, in which case that’s just their thing). But lacing your tweets with ridiculous charges about any political party makes me tired.
Twitter as a porn circulator? Really? Maybe I don’t understand people who promote porn. Then again, I don’t understand spammers or Nigerian kings needing my help.
To be retweeted, shorten the messages. If you’re over that 140-character limit, I can’t retweet you. I’ve tried. Don’t tell me how to adjust my settings so that I can do it. Just say less, okay?
If you post ten things in two seconds, you’re hogging and I’m leaving. Way to lose your message in the noise! Think about it – if you create that much residual noise, no one will hear anything you say. Brevity. Resist the urge to overshare.
What Twitter networking faux pas do you see most often?
11 responses to “How Not to be a Networking Twit(terer)”
Yep, all of the above, although I have to say i've found some really great political tweeters. and dumped the ignorant morons.
I HATE it when someone retweets the same "buy my whatever" link multiple times in a day. buh-bye.
So agree with your point about writing political messages. I encounter this on facebook a lot more, but maybe that's because I have more connections there.
Thanks for the tips! As a twitter newbie, it's always good to hear this kind of stuff 🙂
Opps! Sorry to put the url in place of my name. Is it the end of the week yet?
LOL Sarah, it's fine. If I haven't been following you, I will now! I think I have. I don't know – it's Friday and I'm toasted. 🙂
Devon, exactly. Interact, don't spam us via TweetDeck.
As much as I loathe following the bandwagon, I probably should consider Twitter and Facebook for business applications.
I've never followed trends (never set them, either), so I have a natural resistance to participating in anything so popular. Time to get over it I guess.
Paula:
I thought I was reading about myself. 🙂 I think it's the fact that I am the middle child of 7 and that's why I am so averse to "following the crowd."
Until I found Hootsuite and Twitter developed Lists, it drove me crazy opening my Twitter account to find it swallowed up by one Social Media guru. I like SOME of the info. but was on the verge of "Unfollow" until these came along where I could better control when I see it.
I'm still not completely sold on Facebook, which of course, puts me way outside the masses. 🙂
I have to agree with you both on Facebook. I don't do business there. That's my "me" time. Twitter was the one I resisted most, and darned if it didn't turn out to be the most rewarding in terms of new business.
I'd love to hear some tips on how Twitter has helped find/retain clients and promote your business. I'm on Twitter, but still feel hopelessly ignorant about it.
I'm relatively new to Twitter and still trying to get the hang of it. I recently said "see ya later" to one account I was following when I had to hit "more" three times to get past their status updates. How annoying!
Brevity. Absolutely.
My twitter is thenormalmiddle for personal, LindseyLohrCox for business.
🙂 I don't tweet a whole lot business wise yet because I'm starting up.
Great post. I agree with everything here! I'm still relatively new to Twitter, and I'm finding so much good info and so many nice people. I really find that personal interaction is the best way. I appreciate it when people are willing to take the time to say hello.