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SALT LAKE CITY -- Whether you are using Twitter as a marketing tool for your company, to link with other professionals, or just for fun, it’s important that you understand the proper etiquette of the tweeting world. The best way to earn more followers and create a strong network is by consistently posting interesting information about your field or interests, such as news articles, blog posts, facts, etc. There are a lot of ways that you can also lose followers as well. Here is a list of five annoying things you can do to get your followers running in the opposite direction:
Sharing irrelevant information:
Most people are not interested in what you ate for breakfast, the inside jokes you have with your best friend or that your kid threw up seven times last night. Although Twitter is a quick way to spread information, the dirty details about your personal life should not be included.
Tweeting too often:
Filling up your follower’s screens with too many tweets at one time is a huge turnoff. Try to limit yourself to about 3-4 tweets per hour. You don’t want to overload people with too much information at one time; users tend to skim through tweets quickly and pass by anybody who overloads their feed.
Abusing the “retweet” and “reply” buttons:
Although it’s appropriate to reshare information and respond to followers, it’s not a good idea to make this your primary source of post content. People follow you for a reason, and they want to hear what you have to say, not someone else. If you respond to a mention, try to include the question or comment that you are referring to. (For example: “@user Try visiting Hubspot.com RT Where do I go for social marketing help?”)
Inappropriate content:
Using swear words, posting inappropriate articles or linking to sights that are crude is a quick way to lose a lot of followers. Just because you find a joke or YouTube video entertaining, doesn’t mean that everyone else will too. If you are uncomfortable showing it to your grandmother, it is probably a good sign that it’s inappropriate for Twitter as well. Think twice before you post; you don’t want to offend your audience.
Spamming:
Direct messages sent to new followers are often viewed as a cheap way to get someone’s attention. You don’t need to thank everyone for checking out your account or mass message them about your company. Constantly begging people to follow you on Facebook, check out your blog or visit your website is a quick way to make them uninterested. Draw people in by linking to great content instead.
Katelyn is currently pursing an MBA degree at Utah State University and works as the social media expert for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. She received her undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
