The 10 Don't(s) in ManagingTwitter!
I am going to start with the don’ts! It’s more important to
create good habits before doing the harmful things you may be engaged in right now,
which you may not even be aware, that's impacting your
followers’ twitter experience. These are by no means all the
“don’ts” but these should be a great starting point and
all of which you can implement immediately.
1. Don’t be too aggressive
It’s very tempting when you get started on Twitter or even if you
are using it for quite a while to follow as many followers as
possible so that you can build your Network. Don’t do this!
When I started, it resulted in me getting one of my accounts
suspended and it is seen as a serious breach of the rules. There
are no specifics numbers available from twitter at the moment
as they vary depending on how many followers you have. My
advice is when you get started, do not follow more than 200
people than are following you until you have over two thousand
followers. From then on, somewhere between 200 – 250 more
followers that are following you, I have found to be safe.
Twitters specific guidelines
are as follows:
1,000 total updates per day, on any and all devices (web,
mobile web, phone, API, etc.)
250 total direct messages per day, on any and all devices
150 API requests per hour
2. Don’t be annoying
The best way to get unfollowed, blocked or worst of all,
reported to twitter by a follower, is through spamming.
For a
start, it’s extremely annoying for the user and secondly, the spammer is not going to sell anything using these tactics! The
real worry is the number of tweeters who see this tactic being
used, assume it works and then repeat it themselves creating a
never ending trail of destruction for the rest of us!!
By following the simple pointers I will show you what to Do, you can avoid spam but achieve what you want. This will not only make your twitter experience a whole lot
better, it will also help you gain more followers and potentially
convert local followers into customers.
3. Don’t just send tweets that are attempts at making sales.
If you only send tweets that are blatant attempts to sell to your
followers, they will very quickly recoil and most likely will
unfollow you.
There are ways to
advertise on Twitter to convert followers into customers, but it
needs to be padded with plenty of good tweets and valuable
information.
4. Don’t send followers directly to a sales/sign-up page.
To be
successful at this, do not send a link directly to a sales page or
an optin page which can be considered even more annoying
than a sales page. There are much more subtle ways at trying to
encourage your followers to buy from you which will get you
fantastic results.
5. Don’t waste a tweet on rubbish.
Never ever send tweets to your followers that could be
considered rubbish. Make sure whatever you recommend it's a top quality product or service.
6. Don't use DM Autoresponders.
More often than not, DM Autoresponders are used poorly. Unless you have a good reason to use them and know what you're doing, consider avoiding them altogether.
7. Don't tweet in bunches.
You know the guy who always sends out a couple dozen tweets in rapid-fire succession? Don't be that guy. Sending lots of tweets in a short period of time is just downright annoying
8. Don't oversell.
This is 'social' media. Just as nobody likes the person who is constantly selling vaccuum cleaners at the cocktail party on Friday, nobody likes the person who is selling via tweet 24x7. So even if you're using Twitter for business purposes, don't go overboard with the pitches. Maintain the successful ratio of 80% natural tweets and 20% Pitch tweets.
9. Don’t expect miracles!
Think of your twitter as a work in progress. Don’t expect to
have 10,000 followers in 10 days or even 30,000 in 30 days!
This is not normal and requires very careful methodology and
expertise to do so without breaking any rules.
Likewise, don’t
expect to join Twitter and start making a sale a day within 2
days!! This, in general, does not happen. Enjoy your experience,
take your time and good things will happen for you.
10. Don't tweet before thinking.
You are what you tweet. So think twice before saying something dumb. There are plenty of ways you can put your foot in your mouth in 140 characters.
So keep your shoes on and your feet on the ground by thinking before you hit 'update'.
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