Automated Direct Messages Are Pointless
There has been a disturbing Dodo minded trend that I have seen in the past few months related to automated delivery of Direct Messages (DM) on Twitter. The trend is that when you follow someone they use a third party service to auto-follow anyone that follows them (not wise). As soon as they follow you, they send you a Direct Message that usually looks like this “Thanks for following me. See you in Twitterville” or something equally pointless, annoying and non value adding. The other type of message that we see look like this where they point to you to a link “Thanks for following me on Twitter. Make sure you read my blog at www.xzy.com” or “You gotta see this www.abc.com”.
These types of Automated Direct Messages are frustrating to the large majority of Twitter users because they add no value and these messages start to feel like more junk in my Twitter “inbox” that I need to delete.
Telling me via an automated DM to check out your blog and giving me a link feels a bit like a hard sell; and by the way I already went to your blog (while looking at your profile on twitter) before I decided to follow you. It is insulting, annoying, a poor practice and actually reflects badly on the person sending the auto DM. Many people will actually choose to unfollow anyone that sends them an auto DM (myself included). Sending these non value added Auto Direct Messages shows lack of knowledge of the eco-system and some of the informal behavioral rules that exist on Twitter.
Best Practice: There are only rare exceptions where Automated DM could be percieved as valuable. If you are not sure if your use is the rare exception; most likely it is not.
Tip: Your first Direct Message to someone better add value as you get 1 chance to make a first impression.
Marketers like to be heard and want to “make people” pay attention. One of the really nice things about Twitter is the control is with the users; if I don’t want to hear your marketing messages, I simply unfollow or block you and you have lost the ability to communicate with me. Marketers can’t make people do anything on Twitter.
Tip: Focus on building trust, adding value and beginning a relationship first.
So let’s just hope that the non value adding Automated Direct Messages on Twitter will soon go the way of the Dodo bird and become extinct. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/rumford
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[...] http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-is-no-place-for-robot-behavior/ http://loiclemeur.com/english/2009/02/twitter-robots-killed-me-and-why-i-apologize-i-may-not-be-following-you-anymore.html http://www.twitterbusinessbook.com/index.php?p=754 [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 8:06 am -
[...] http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-is-no-place-for-robot-behavior/ http://loiclemeur.com/english/2009/02/twitter-robots-killed-me-and-why-i-apologize-i-may-not-be-following-you-anymore.html http://www.twitterbusinessbook.com/index.php?p=754 [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 11:59 pm -
I agree that the automated dm’s are a bit impersonal, and a bit tacky. I mean the whole point about twitter is not the number of followers you have but what you get from and give to your followers.
But what if the dm contains useful info to the recipient? lets say a tool that allows them to build their relationships faster or more efficient. There are lots of people that sit in front of a computer all day, or are full time internet marketers that have the time to respond personally.
I do not. I work 8-12 hours a day at a full time job and am trying to transition into a home business. For me the auto dm’s are essential. Yes I use them to acknowledge the follow and provide a bit of info that I is useful to the new follower/recipient. I then follow up with a personal dm when time allows.
Regards,
JDMarch 28th, 2009 at 3:54 am -
Thanks for this insight. I’m new to twitter and setting up an automatic welcome tweet was one of the first things I did. A little misguided I guess. After reading your post I decided to take it off again. I’m following you now on twitter.
April 12th, 2009 at 10:33 am -
I believe this can cut both ways depending on what composes your Auto-Direct Message. If you can include a Thank You along with a useful info this can work in your favor as long as you don’t abuse it.
I’ve been using twitter for about two month now and the number of people that are following me is running around 75 per day since June and it becomes very time consuming to contact each person personally when you have a full plate of many other things that you need to do online and offline.
That’s why I believe that using an Auto-DM application or service can be a helpful tool, that helps in engaging followers on what your aboust if used correctly.
Follow Me At http://twitter.com/xzendor7
June 12th, 2009 at 5:02 am -
Rodney,
Thanks so much for this post! I have been trying to explain this to people on my account for some time now and you would be amazed at how many people just don’t get it! lol You hit the nail on the head when you said that building trust, adding value and beginning a relationship first is key, but I would also add that LISTENING FIRST is key to being able to pull all of these off.
For those watching this post, I could explain what that entails, but this article will do just as good a job. The link is really long and ugly, so I shortened it for you using bit.ly.
Hope it helps,
NicoleSeptember 15th, 2009 at 6:46 am -
Well, I agree that auto-following is worse than hopeless, but personally I like to get a thank you when I follow someone - its kind of polite, even if it is automatically generated.
September 27th, 2009 at 12:44 am -
Automation tools (especially Twitter) have run a muck lately! The same business common sense should prevail when adding new followers as well. I think the 6200 followers I have now is much better than the 9000+ followers I had 3 months ago.
The TweeSearch site lets me see and click like minded Quality people vs. bulk follow tools like Twitseeker. I’d much rather connect and engage with others who are active in my niche Social Media Marketing vs. the run of the mill numbnuts who constantly post “but my Sh@t” nonsense.
October 17th, 2009 at 3:16 pm -
Hi Rodney,
I was Googling for a way to setup these type of automated messages, but after having read your post I completely agree and I think it has saved me from a lot of future embarrassment. It is indeed all about real personal communication.
Thanks,
Cornelis
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:08 pm -
You do not need to thank me for following you or convince me to stick around. I am obviously already interested in what you have to say. Unless your automated direct message contains information that cannot be shared publicly–like your home phone number and address–I do not need it.
Especially as all DMs go straight to my cell (useful for organizing meet-ups!), and automated services deliver them around 1am.
An automated “Thanks for following me!” DM at 1 a.m. makes me extremely uninterested in anything else you might have to say. Please do include your home address, that I might arrange for a little surprise to come knocking at 3 a.m.
December 24th, 2009 at 12:36 am
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