Lindsay Casey

5 Reasons to Kill Your Auto DM’s

I know it looks like I’m on a Twitter etiquette rampage this week and, you know what, maybe I am. My timelines seem to be filled with my social media pet peeves this week and if they annoy me this much, I can’t be the only one. So think of these rants as helpful posts that show you what not to do and I’ll promise to write some “what you SHOULD do” posts soon.

Today’s culprit? The Twitter scourge known as the Auto DM. Possibly the worst Twitter fail in existence, the Auto DM has been proven to cause up to a 245% increase in unfollow rates but people still keep doing it.

1. It’s pushy. When I follow someone, it means I’m interested in what they’ve posted on Twitter. It doesn’t mean I am open to unsolicited messages selling me products or trying to direct me to a website.

2. It’s lazy. If you’ve set up an Auto DM for every time someone follows you, turn it off. Send a public @reply saying hello. Be friendly. Be a real person. This especially goes for you ‘social media gurus’ who do this all the time. “Hi! Click this link to magically learn all the secrets of social media success!” Yeah, right.

3. It’s spam.  Auto DM’s look like spam, read like spam and will get you reported for sending spam. They will also swiftly erase any credibility you had with your follower.

GrumpyCatautoDM4. You will lose followers. I unfollow every account that Auto DM’s me. It tells me right off the bat that the person behind the account is not genuine and since I have no desire to follow robots on Twitter, it’s an automatic unfollow from me.

5. It’s just plain rude! I bothered to follow you because I’m interested in either you or the content you share. Don’t waste my time by pushing a bland, generic message  at me the second I hit the follow button.

The bottom line – don’t do it. It’s ok to want to thank people for following you, but either send a public tweet yourself or skip it. A few quality conversations over content that interests both of you will build a much stronger connection. And that’s real.

Do you send Auto DM’s? Why or why not?

 

 

Lindsay Casey

Why You Shouldn’t Link Facebook & Twitter Posts

In a world of artificial communications, people are searching for an authentic conversation. Brands who don’t invest the time to provide this to their audience are missing out. I have a few social media pet peeves, but my biggest by far is automation between Facebook and Twitter.

Today I saw a tweet advertising the fact that that the poster was on Twitter. I won’t name and shame the culprit, but take a look at this.

lametweet

If you want to maintain any sort of credibility on Facebook and Twitter, do NOT link the two. Just because Twitter makes it easy to do, doesn’t mean you should.

1. It’s Irrelevant. Often if someone likes you on Facebook, they will also follow you Twitter and they expect a different experience on each platform. Constant regurgitation of the same content will make them jump ship. Think about it. Do you want to see the same thing everywhere you go online?

2. Choice. When you link your Facebook and Twitter accounts, you have no choice in which posts are duplicated, so when you @ reply to someone on Twitter, that comment is also posted as an update on Facebook. where it makes no sense to your audience. Another huge downside to this is the use of hashtags, which currently have no place on Facebook.

3. Character Limitations. Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters. Facebook posts are not. I see so many brands posting updates to Twitter that make no sense because they are cut off halfway through.

4. Traffic. If you’re a brand who is linking all your Facebook and Twitter posts, you could be missing out on traffic. Wouldn’t you rather send people to your own website instead?

5. It’s just lazy. If you want people to engage and interact with you, don’t be so lazy as to assume that they don’t know what you’re doing. Have some respect for your audience.

Hopefully this post has convinced you to disconnect your Facebook and Twitter accounts. You can do that here. Trust me, your fans will appreciate it.