11 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Me to Unfollow You on Twitter
I love Twitter, no doubt about it. I have found it to be a fabulous tool, through which I’ve come to know countless brilliant and fascinating people. To me, Twitter is about building relationships. Like all social media tools, there is no one right way to use Twitter. I cannot control how others use it, but I can control who I follow and how I interact with them.
I follow most people back who follow me. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I do aggressively unfollow if your use of Twitter is not aligned with my own style. Of course, you are always welcome to similarly unfollow me if you feel my content is inappropriate or a bad fit for your twitterstream.
Just so we’re clear, here are some of the deal-breakers for me which will likely earn you a big unfollow from me:
- You’re naked (or nearly naked). Yeah, I don’t really know what you’re wearing, or not, when you’re actually tweeting, but please put some clothes on that avatar.
- You talk about yourself endlessly. This is where most of your tweets are just broadcasting links to your blog, your e-book, your teleclass, your LinkedIn profile…enough already. Way to take the “social” right out of social media.
- You tweet links for me to “Click here to make money on Twitter” or “….get 1,000s of followers.” I’m here because I want to know *you* – if the feeling isn’t mutual, that’s OK. We’re just not a good fit. And, I appreciate that you’re guaranteeing that I’ll make tons of money on Twitter; I’m still not interested.
- You recommend people you don’t even follow, including me, in a #FollowFriday tweet. What’s up with that? How can you recommend someone you don’t even remotely know?
- You include links which are misleading. I’m not talking about RickRolling here; I mean making it seem like there is really great content if you just follow this link, only to have it lead to promotional material or a squeeze page. This happens when you take advantage of the common convention of shortened links on Twitter and is a violation of the trust your followers have placed in you.
- Your tweets are automated and often post content repeatedly in bursts where suddenly my twitterstream is nothing but you. It may be easier on your end, but it is just rude for those of us on the receiving end.
- You don’t engage with others. When I look at your profile and don’t see any tweets which begin with an @ symbol, this means you are just broadcasting information, not actually talking or replying to anyone else.
- You don’t practice what you preach. There are some on Twitter with huge numbers of followers who preach about the importance of engagement, yet routinely don’t reply to others. When following huge numbers of people, this can become a challenge, but there are many who manage this successfully building their own credibility by walking the talk.
- You have tweeted twice, yet are already following hundreds of people. I sense you’re a bot, rather than a real person, and can already see spam on the horizon.
- You use TweetLater or some other service to send auto-DMs (direct messages) to me once I start following you. You are so excited that I’ve decided to follow that you tell me that I seem like a really interesting person or you offer me a free e-book or send me a link to take a survey for new followers to help you get to know me (yes, really!). I’d much prefer that you read a few of my tweets, interact with me and really get to know me. I don’t need to be bought with a gift for being your friend and, heaven knows, I surely don’t want a stranger selling stuff to me right out of the gate.
- You don’t get that authenticity is a key component of social media success. You have the default Twitter avatar or are using a photo of your dog. You haven’t completed your Twitter bio – come on, it is really, really easy to do. I don’t know your name and can’t find your blog, your LinkedIn profile or any other online presence. I’m here for networking and to get to know people. If you want help setting up your profile, all you need to do is ask, I’ve helped many others and would be happy to help you.
- Even on a list of 11 items, it is worth repeating #1 – Go put some clothes on. Seriously.
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While you’re here, you’ll also want to check out my 11 Tips to Thrive on Twitter.
What about you? Do any of these points sound familiar? What would you add to the list?
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117 Responses to “11 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Me to Unfollow You on Twitter”
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Great article!!!! How about an article about LinkedIn? The recruiters can be annoying.
I so agree with some of the contacts on LinkedIn which are really about “them” rather than “you.” I’m working on a post about Facebook, just might get to one on LinkedIn, too.
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Great points. I get this one a lot: I mesireables following me. Like I menention something and I suddenly have 50 undtioned Lady Gaga and lots of porn hawkers started following. Or I mentioned something about losing weight (legitimately, with some intelligence, especially since people ask me questions and I’m an expert at this subject) and I’ve suddenly got a jillion (obviously autobot driven) followers talking about instantly zapping belly flab when everything I teach is SO NOT THIS QUICK FIX CRAP!!
You’re savvy. Do you see any way around this? At this point, I just block… or report for spam… what’s best?
Pat Barone, CPCC, PCC
Pat, you are not alone. This happens to all of us. In the big picture, do you care which accounts are following you? Chances are very high that these are automated accounts, not real people actually managing the account. Not all of the accounts following others based on keywords, which is what you’re experiencing, would meet Twitter’s definition of spam. If they do, then definitely go ahead an report them. I personally don’t see much use to block accounts since my tweets are all public and can be seen even by those not on Twitter. Frustrating, I know, but there is so much value to be found on Twitter, I focus on those who are using it to connect and learn and ignore the rest.
Can I just say, “Ditto!”? There isn’t a point made in your post that I don’t agree with. The only thing I would add is profanity. Use a dictionary, seriously!
Thank you Irene, for a great post.
Very good post Irene! I’ve felt #5 and 10 several times and am hugely disappointed. A few I’ve unfollowed just because there content is misleading. On the other hand I’ve gained great knowledge and tips from those worthy of following. Although slow to start a year ago once I got it I’ve become a big fan of Twitter.
Thanks!
Great points. About the bots, porn stars and others who follow who are quite spammy, I do block them. Just don’t want them on my list.
But with true conversational tweeps, I do my best to engage and be helpful. Those are the kind of people I want following me.
I’m with you, Brian. I also try to be helpful and engage!
The only one I don’t use is the @ symbol, which you say is one of the NO NO… not too sure why this is so important???? People who follow me get my tweets & my retweets, right? I use twitter mostly to get information & relate information, but am not too savvy on twitter, so possibly I’m missing an important facet of twitter.. May be you can explain when & why I should use @ and to whom.
Another question: I find it time consuming. I see some people using tweetdeck or some other form to tweet. Went on those sites & couldn’t really understand????
Hi Mireille. Tweetdeck and some of those other applications are used primarily by heavy Twitter users, many who are following a lot of people. It is one of many tools which make it easier to keep track of different groups of people more easily. If using Twitter.com is working fine for you, I wouldn’t worry about which tools others are using. It’s just preference.
The @ symbol is extremely important if you want to reply to someone’s tweet or send a tweet that you want them to see. If you include @irenekoehler in your tweet, it will come directly to me in my ‘mentions’ – which is the Twitter equivalent of an inbox. Otherwise, I may never see that tweet that you wanted me to see.
Thanks for the quick reply Irene. Love your post by the way. Very informative.
What are your thoughts on the frequency at which you tweet? How much is too much, and how often is just the right amount of content? Do you think it depends on the number of followers?
great post!
Two and a half years later, and sadly this post is still as relevant as ever, if not moreso! When will people learn?!
Hi,Super post, Need to mark it on Digg
Amen! I use these rules exactly as she stated them. Good stuff.
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It’s handy to have a post like the one Irene did, to point noobs at.
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