This post is about how to NOT use social media. For some tips on how to best use social media for business, please read, How to use Twitter for Business.
A couple of times a week, I receive an email from Twitter happily proclaiming that I have a new Twitter follower! This is an exciting moment for me. I try to post relavent and insightful information on Twitter. A new follower represents an opportunity to connect with a person who may share some interesting new information, a funny joke, or make a valuable new connection. To me, a new follower on Twitter is like gold.
All to often, though, I am faced with an email like the one in the image about. Someone following over 1,600 people, with over 1,000 followers, but has shared nothing.
This raises two questions in my mind: What is their motivation? Why would I follow them?
What is the motivation to follow everyone possible, and not share with them?
While it is impossible to know for sure why anyone would be interested in following a thousand or more people on Twitter, but share nothing, you can probably make some assumptions. Sometimes, by viewing their profile, you can gain some insights. Usually, when I bother to take the time for further investigation, I find one of three possibilities:
- They represent a business that is trying to build up as big of a following as possible, with no regards to quality.
- They are selling an unseemly product (like porn).
- They are trying to lure people to a malware site or other scam.
That is not to say there isn't the possibility this is a legitimate person who just has nothing to say. My wife follows a couple of people on Twitter just for the entertainment of it, but doesn't actually post anything. Mostly celebrities and people who post really funny stuff (see @Oatmeal). But, my wife has no desire to aquire followers or connect with people on Twitter. She is a heavy Facebook user and has more friends than I do :).
A bit of warning, before you decide to investigate a new follower, beyond viewing their profile, make sure you are on a secure computer, as there is a possibility the site listed in their profile is hosting malware.
Why would I follow a person / business with no Tweets?
So, this second question drills down to a more fundamental question. Why do you use social media? If it is merely to build up the biggest audience for you to send out various marketing and other messages, you may be tempted to follow anyone and everyone. You may even have an "Auto-Follow" service established, where by you will automagically follow anyone who clicks your "Follow" button. I warn about this policy in How to use Twitter for Business, as there are some risks. My personal policy is to manually review a follower for value to me before I follow them in return. I prefer to follow a smaller group, as I find it more valuable to me.
What not to Tweet is as important as what to Tweet.
Where does the value in following a person come from? It's the Tweets you dumby!
Ok, a little common sense is neccessary when using social media. What you Tweet says something about you. Whether you are sharing some content you found on the Web or a funny quip you just heard, people will judge you by what you tweet. For a business, this is doubly important.
As a business, you must maintain a level of professionalism. This is a challenge, especially as every social media "guru" I encounter talks about how we need to humanize and personalize our businesses. This as a whole is true, I think. People would rather do business with a person than a department or corporation. That being said, people expect a certain decorum from businesses.
Here are a few topics and ideas to avoid on Twitter:
- Contraversial issues - nobody needs to know your political or social views, unless it pertains to your business. Even if we agree fundamentally, I will view you and by extension, your business, as reckless.
- Negativity - being negative turns off others. There is enough negativity in the world. If you disagree with something, put a positive spin on it.
- One way marketing - people resent feeling like they are nothing but a dollar sign. It's ok to share, but be interactive with your audience.
- Un-orginal Content - sharing news stories for the sake of posting content is lame. I see some people grab news feeds and Tweet everything that comes across the wire. Boring.
How about some ideas for better Tweets?
- Share posts and updates from your industry, you may help someone who would otherwise be unaware of changes.
- Positivity - make someone smile for a change, try a positive quote. My friend @jaywhitelending posts a good morning every day. It is nice to wake up to, "Rise and Grind".
- Promote others - your customers and potential customers will appreciate the exposure you give them. You are helping their business, and others will respect you.
- Original Content - show you are a thoughtful person, come up with something new. Share an experience, write a blog post and share it. Make the world a bigger place!
Golden Rule of Social Media
"One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."
It is so simple, it may even seem trite. But don't take it for granted. It is not to say that everything you share on Twitter needs to be something that you think everyone will immediately lock onto and adore. It doesn't even need to be very important. In fact, at times it is fun to be silly. Just think before you post, "would I be annoyed, dismayed, or think less of someone else if they posted this, or its oposite."
Applies to All Media
This post focuses heavily on Twitter and social media, whereby the nature of social media's immediacy, it is most relevant. However, I think the ethos of this message is relevant to all media, and all business and, to some extend, all communications.
I hope you found some value here and choose to share. If you would like to share a case of "Social Media Abuse", please post it in the comments, it could be a fun discussion.