I judge you by you by your @ Replies….
I do. Guilty as charged. One of my quirks when it comes to using Twitter is that I don’t automate my follows or DMs. I try to follow people whom I think would be interesting and more importantly who might be cool to interact with.
Whenever I get a new follower notification, I at least check out their Twitter page to see what they like to talk about. So I thought I’d highlight some of the things I look for when I decide who to follow…
Bio – Even though Bios are short, it’s a great way to put your best foot forward and let people know what you like to talk about, link to your blog or website, and put a bit of your personality into play. If I found a tweet or a blog post of yours interesting – a fun bio that lets me know what I’m in for will more often than not result in a follow or click-through to your website.
Picture – For some reason I want to follow people that actually use a picture of themselves. One of the reasons that people are drawn into social media is because there ARE people on the other side of that screen and using a real photo helps me to put a face with the writing. Be authentic. Be YOU.
Replies – This, for me may be the biggest point of disagreement with many of you. These @replies are important. For me anyway, lots of them on the page tell me that this person is engaged. They’re cool with dialogue. They’re not just trying to sell me something. If you’re a person that just talks about themselves, doesn’t share links and accomplishments of others, or have dialogue, you’re less likely to get followed.
But that’s just the way I like to build my network. I also dig services like Mr. Tweet which will suggest new people to follow based on who you’re already following using recommendations and re-tweets. Check it out.
So… how do you build YOUR network? Am I overanalyzing this? What do you look for when looking for new people to follow? Let me know in the comments if you please…
@aarontitus
I think your points are fair, but I deliberately try NOT to do a lot of @ replies, because I know that EVERYBODY is watching. It bugs me (and at least some of my followers) to only get half of any conversation. I don’t pay attention to @ replies (unless they’re mine). Instead, I appreciate links to important stuff. So that’s what I try to give others… links to important stuff that they might care about.
@charliebudd
I agree with you totally. But different people have different uses for Twitter. I @reply people a lot, but I sometimes wonder whether people looking at my twitter page will think “it’s all @replies, he’s not saying anything I want to hear”. Hopefully when they visit my page, there will be one or two tweets in there that look interesting enough to follow me.
@ScarlettaMedia
I think this sums up how I like to use Twitter, you need a good mix up of dialogue and personally I get bored of seeing those who continually self promote their business without engaging with anyone or following anyone else. Just one way traffic! Also they are missing out on one of the fundamental parts of Twitter which is to connect and create dialogue.
@billymitchell1
Ryan, As many blogs about blogging and tweets about twitter as there are, articles like this are always helpful. There’s plenty of new people coming on twitter that can benefit from such clear advice and obviously too many automated users that should dial it back to a human level as you suggest.
I especially agree with you about adding a photo or at the very least, a unique image to your bio. That generic bird just isn’t working for anyone.
Thanks!
@MacswellHouse
I’m with you. So many spammers & bots that you have to look to see if they are using you for a number or to really connect. Nice post.
@kristenmwaddell
Ryan:
I completely agree with you that the sum of your online presence should be parallel to who you are as a person and is imperative that you combine equal parts personality with relevant content.
I would like to add that a pet peeve of mine is when @replies do not relate back to the message at hand, hence the @reply just becomes noise (i.e. I agree, @kristenmwaddell!). I always try to include at least part of the original message in my @reply so that others can understand the context of my response and may, in turn, gain more knowledge on the subject.
@chrisspagnuolo
You’re definitely overanalyzing this whole thing. Twitter is simple and I’m so tired of everyone giving advice on how to gain more followers etc. Just be yourself, share and be good. It’s how I got over 55,000 followers. I didn’t follow a formula or analyze how I got my followers. Twitter is just like “real” life and I don’t see too many articles out there on how to function in your day to day non-digital life in order to gain more friends. Just be yourself and relax! Geez!!!
@heiniulmanen
It is nice to read these thing because I’m new to Twitter. But I already have so called “twitter-stress”, I don’t know if anybody else has suffered from that.. and what I mean is “Do my followers like me, can I tweet this, am I violating some unspoken etiquette etc..” Or maybe I just think too much
@Gaelen2
Ryan, I mostly agree with you – I always favor the human interactive approach to Twitter. I *never* automatically follow a new follower without first checking out his/her page, the website link, the current conversations, and any ‘lists’ on which they’re included. In fact – no tweets, no profile, and a website link to your MySpace or FB page is probably an auto block from me.
I’ll sometimes put a question mark potential follow onto one of my lists – so that I can see his/her tweets without cluttering up my own stream. Then if their current page is just a misleading first impression, I haven’t wasted much effort – and I’ll remove the user from a list if most of his tweets aren’t appropriate for that list.
But the one thing I disagree with is the personal photo.
My avatar is unique, but it’s not my picture. My Twitter account isn’t my real name, either – it’s Gaelen2, the internet forum user ID that I’ve used for about two decades. My PSteer twitter ID is just a placeholder securing my real name in case I ever decide I want a personal twitter account and a business account. Meanwhile, my Twitter life is lived as Gaelen2…and I’d just as soon my bosses don’t immediately connect the Gaelen2 tweets to me for the 11 months I’ve got left to work here. So, no personal photo as my Twitter avatar. But hey, click the website link on my profile, and you’ll see what I look like. Meanwhile, my sunflower mandala identifies my tweets more uniquely than the little twit bird.
Others’ mileage may vary.
@TheJobQuest
I agree completely with the bio and replies line. Without a good bio line, I have no idea who they are and if there would be a fit. The content on the Twitter feed is also important. Don’t really want to follow someone who only tweets to promote themselves (some is OK, like informing folks about a new post on a blog, but not all the time).
I also disagree about the photo. If it’s a good bio, the quality of the tweets are there, and (if applicable) the webpage provided leads to something meaningful, I’m OK with not knowing what the person looks like. I’m getting value from what they write, not how they look.
@krenee76
I like @replies, it does let you know the person actually participates in conversations and retweets, but if the person has nothing but @replies that consist of lists of several @so-and-so’s – one after the other and never really saying anything of value – I tend to wonder about their whole purpose for being on Twitter in the first place.
@itstartswithus
This is exactly how I do it as well. Most important are the @ replies. Are they not just talking, but are they listening as well?
Good stuff, man.
@jeremyhoover
Charles makes a good point. I typically don’t follow anyone who doesn’t have a few @s on their first page. I also don’t typically follow anyone who doesn’t have an original, non-RT/non-@ on their first page, either. I look for a mix. Great article!
@realestaterita
I am new to Twitter. I try to post things of interest and I always relate it back to my blog. I usually stick to two tweets per day; but I have no idea about the @replies but it seems that they are very important – according to everyone here. There are related posts for the replies so I will do my homework.
@DowellTaggart
I agree with your list. To me picture is very important and their short bio. Next, I’ll look at their wall. If all they are doing is selling and not sharing and not sharing quality content, I’ll probably not follow.
@LiquidWholeFood
This is great for me to see, and generally how I build my network. I’m still not sure where I fall down on @ replies, though, because on one hand I’m annoyed that I have no idea what they’re talking about, but on the other hand I use them and don’t care that people are annoyed if I use them!
I won’t automate, do my DM “thanks for following” by hand, refuse to follow Twitter names with “semen” or worse in the name, and feel like I’m at a big cyber dinner party–some folks I’ll connect with, some I won’t, but I’ll be glad I came to meet you all and that you were there willing to be met.
@ryancmiller
Thanks for all the comments everyone.
Pat & Mellissa. Your points are well taken on the photo. just my personal preference – I think the pic helps me to get a sense of their personality.
Jeremy & Charles – Agree with you on the Re-tweets. I also look for some original thought. I feel like if it’s all RTs, its a sign of someone just automating their feed.
Chris – Lots of us (myself included) can over analyze Twitter and other SM services, but I’m fascinated by the different ways people engage and use these networks. At the end of the day it IS about being yourself. This post was meant to get people to engage more and hopefully help them avoid folks that just automate everything.
Thanks again for all the comments!
@berget
It’s interesting that you do such a detailed work when it comes to adding new followers. It might be the best way, but it sounds time consuming.
I never do it like this. I add the people that are adding me. But I only follow conversations that I care about, using lists and keywords. That’s how I filter it.
@ctreit
I am with you. @replies are very important to me for the same reason you mention. I want to actually engage with people. If you show hardly any @ tweets, I will probably not follow you. Same goes for people who have many followers and don’t follow back as much. I want to be on twitter for lots of two way information exchange and not just to listen to the awesome information these awesome people have to share with me.
@dariasteigman
Hi Ryan,
Always good to hear from a fellow conversationalist. While I follow a few people who mostly link, I also tend (and trend) toward people who use Twitter to reach out, engage, and be part of a community. I’m biased toward conversation, but I also want to hang with people who share–useful, fun, interesting sites, posts, and the like.
Avatars sometimes are okay, but a good bio is golden.
Have a good weekend,
Daria
@carlarose
I think we’re pretty much on the same page. When I get a notification that someone is following me, I check their profile to see if I would like to engage with that person. Though my account is about my business, that’s not all I talk about. In fact I think the amount of time I spend Tweeting about G & C is 20/80. I really enjoy the SOCIAL part of social networking.
@ciaomari
Bravo, good points. I agree with Kristen about too many @replies being ‘noise’ if there is no “in reply to” to provide context & invite others to join the conversation. If it’s a private conversation, why not use DM.
I don’t automatically follow people. I agree that it is best to check out their profile and, in my opinion, a picture is a nice touch as it helps to put a face to all those Tweets.
N
@melaniekissell
Short, sweet (or should I say ‘tweet’?), and to the point. Thanks, Ryan.
For me, someone’s photo is almost more important than their bio when I’m deciding to follow or not. I tend to decline the invitation if the person has posted a cartoon, a picture of their child, their company logo, cleavage, or they choose to remain “faceless” and have no photo at all.
@LiquidWholeFood
Melanie, I am sincerely asking this–do you automatically assume that a company logo means that the person who is managing the Twitter stream for the company won’t be conversational?
@BIZUSAONLINE
I’m totally in agreement with you, what is the sence of following someone who talks about sex, when your Twitter page is about small business opportunities and search engine marketing, there is no corelation to between either one of them!
@urbanartifaks
interesting! and then there are some of us who don’t @reply b/c they cant figure who’s speaking to who, and who sees what. i’ve replied to a couple and felt like i made a social blunder; like saying something at a party and the room goes silent.
i look forward to the social aspect of it but have no idea how to find like minded people…although i just found there’s a tweet deck directory! maybe that will help?
So, if i post something out there, does anyone even see it? does everyone that i see, see me? i dont think so, but am not sure. but seriously, who sees what?
@lisabraithwaite
I also look for lots of @replies. Not because I’m necessarily interested in reading their conversations with others, although I do find a lot of new people to follow that way, and sometimes join conversations in progress, like in real-life networking.
But I want to know that they will respond to me if I contact them. It means that they’re willing to engage. That’s what Twitter’s all about for me!