There are tons of tricks and pieces of advice for the best way to get more followers on Twitter. Probably the biggest social network since Facebook, Twitter is steadily becoming one of the most prominent vehicles for public conversation and business promotion. But, with all these forms of advice streaming in about what to do on Twitter, not many people take the time to think about what not to do.
Just as there are tried and true methods to getting more followers, there are also many things that will hold you back from growing a true and beneficial presence on Twitter. Read on for the top four things you should never, ever do on Twitter. If you want to keep your followers, that is:
1. Only talk about yourself.
This is absolutely one of the worst things to do on Twitter. People may follow you initially, but will soon become bored with tweets that are constantly one-note. Never, ever, make the mistake of talking only about yourself on your Twitter profile. Besides, there is much more going on in your life, and in the world, than just yourself. Even if the sole purpose behind a Twitter account is self-promotion, the best way to do that is by offering the web something of substance, or something with entertainment value.
The only people who can really get away with only tweeting about, and for, their selves are celebrities and others who are already famous. People trying to become popular on Twitter will not likely do so by being completely self-minded.
2. Never reply to your followers
It’s great to have an active twitter stream. Most followers will appreciate having something new and interesting constantly popping up on their home page, especially if your tweets are entertaining or informative. However, if your followers are constantly responding to your messages and never get a response in return, you may start to lose that following. If you have a large amount of Twitter followers, no one will expect you to respond to every single interaction you receive. But, if you simply never respond to anyone, you could come off as disrespectful toward the people who follow you.
3. Secretly un-follow people to inflate your numbers
This is one of the most under-handed moves made on Twitter, and it happens much more than it should. There are many users who follow a large amount of people, receive a follow back, and quickly un-follow those users. The reasons people do this is because most Twitter profile managers have a goal of maintaining more followers than people they follow. So, this is used as a sly trick to rope people into following. Then, then un-follow to reduce their own “following” number and hope that no one notices.
This is pretty shady and just not a good business standard. The rules are simple, follow the people you want to follow, and produce content good enough to get follows back in return.
4. Blatantly market products
There are tons of people and companies who use Twitter for marketing. It could be argued that Twitter is complete promotion: if it’s not business, it’s personal branding. But, this can always be taken too far. In relation to the first rule for what not to do, if users are made to feel like all you care about is yourself, they will be much less likely to continue following you. Product promotion on twitter takes more than a single focus. The only way to successfully market a product is by including others in the conversation. After all, that’s what Twitter is all about.
About the Author:
Aniya Wells is a freelance blogger whose primary focus is writing about online degree programs. She also enjoys investigating trends in other niches, notably technology, traditional higher education, health, and small business. Aniya welcomes reader questions and comments at aniyawells@gmail.com.
Thanks, all those negatives you mention are distinct possibilities when someone’s expectations exceed what someone else can realistically deliver.