Top 10 Reasons People Unfollow You on Twitter
July 23, 2009 | By
Social networking has become a valuable tool for many small businesses and independent artisans. Not only can it be a mouthpiece for yourself or your product, but even more importantly, it can be a great place to make connections and build a network with like-minded people.
Regular People Tweet, Too
The Twitter phenomenon has spread like wildfire in the handmade community. There are currently more than 175,000 crafty tweeters in theÃÂ We Follow directory--and the numbers are climbing fast everyday. Although Twitter was founded in 2006, it has only been within the last year or so that the company's popularity exploded into the stratosphere as micro-blogging became adopted by well-known authorities.
Celebrities have always been quick to take up establishing websites or blogging and other forms of self-promotion, but when the capable likes of Ruth Reichl and Artfire President John Jacobs started letting the public peek into their world via their tweets, savvy sellers everywhere sat up and took notice. Who doesn't want to know what Martha Stewart is making for dinner? Or how she's restoring that 16th century Venetian chandelier?
Like every other networking platform, Twitter comes with its own etiquette, and the best and most lasting relationships tend to happen organically. We're all guilty of some unfocused chatter or sloppy tweeting habits now and again, but If you are regularly losing followers on Twitter or don't seem to be expanding your network as fast as you would like, here are some possible reasons to consider.
The Reasons Why You May Be Losing Followers
1. You don't have an avatar or biography set up. Why should we care about hearing what you say if we don't know who you are? It is particularly important when you are in the creative field that you have an avatar and wallpaper that expresses your personality. Think about it this way: if you were handed an artist's business card that was generic, dull, and missing information, how likely are you to keep that card, or throw it away?
2. Your feed shows too much of a fixation on your numbers. We all want to make connections, but seeing 10 tweets about how to get more followers or updates on how excited you are that you're about to reach your 3000th follower is mind-numbingly dull. And makes us think you need to get out into the real world to meet real human beings.
3. You promote whatever you're shilling more than a few times a day. Yes, we're all there to network. But even your best friend doesn't want to hear you talk about your shop all the time, so why should complete strangers?
4. You don't retweet or share interesting links, information, or opinions. Social networking is in many ways about making connections, and unless you're a superstar celebrity or noted authority, interacting with your peers is key to forming good relationships. A feed that is just a monologue shows a lack of interest in what others are contributing.
5. You ONLY regurgitate other people's content. If you only RT or list quotations, we will automatically assume you're not interesting enough to come up with ideas of your own. We will unfollow you twice on principle if you show an inordinate amount of interest in messaging at celebrities. Nobody likes a stalker, even a virtual one.
6. You don't give any context for your tweets. This might include non sequitur statements or having prolonged conversations with other tweeps that are boring or non-inclusive. Liven up your tweets with some flavor and context, so that anyone who reads the conversation might have an idea of what you're talking about. Ideally, your tweets will almost stand on their own; have a look at your stream and see whether your writing is engaging overall to someone who's clicking on your profile for the first time. Don't forget that although Twitter is less formal medium, you are still writing for an audience.
7. You tweet the same thing over and over again within a short amount of time. If we haven't turned ourselves green or slapped a hashtag onto every tweet to support your cause the other six times you tweeted today, guess what? We're not gonna do it the seventh time. You can't bully or badger people into participating in your game.
8. You post links with no explanation as to what they are. Come on! You think wer'e just gonna go there just 'cause you say so?
9. You use an excessive amount of exclamation points, unnecessary abbreviations, or wretched grammar and spelling. Yes, it matters--even on Twitter.
10. You tweet way too much about the unimportant, uninteresting non-events in your life. Sure, you can tell everyone every once in awhile when you are seized with an urgent and uncontrollable desire for a Junior Mint, or what song has you all jazzed up at the moment. But not all the time. This is not your blog or a phone conversation with your friend, so a stream of consciousness narrative is boring and frankly, we don't to hear every random thought that crosses your mind. No one finds you that interesting. Not even your mother.
Bonus: two more tweeting habits that have you teetering on the edge of the dreaded Unfollow Crevasse
11. You follow a ridiculously large amount of people and you not the head of a company or a Recognized Authority. It's a warning sign that you may just be collecting numbers. Or that you may not care so much about the value of your incoming content, which may mean you don't take enough care with your outgoing content.
12. The list of people you follow is made up of mostly vacuous celebrities, people who can get you 10,000 followers just like that, or suspiciously shiny Asian women. Because if you really think NaughtyHolly2468 is worth following around in life, she may end up being the only one who follows you back.
Follow the people mentioned: @MarthaStewart @ruthreichl @ArtFireJohn. And follow the author @mimiguethe and @JustForFunHMN and @HandmadeNewsorg for more informative crafty content!
Photos courtesy of Hilary Talbot, Plastique, You Heart Us, and Punky Jane.
Recommended Reading:
Test Your Knowledge of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!
There Is One in All of Us: Where the Wild Things Are
How Well Do You Know Julia Child? Quiz
Everybody Makes Mistakes: Creative Mishaps that Lead to Nirvana
<--- Go back to the Just for Fun department homepage for more crafty fun!
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Mimi Guethe is a writer, crafter, and former film publicist who lives with her husband and three cats in Los Angeles, CA. Her work has appeared in numerous publications across the country, including The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly magazine. She spends her days dreaming of living by the sea.
Visit Mimi online at the happy honeybee to see her handmade plushies, embroidery, and more. For the most up to date information, feel free to visit her on Twitter at @JustForFunHMN or @mimiguethe.
You may also view this complete list of all Handmade News articles by Mimi Guethe.
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Mimi Guethe isn’t afraid to admit it: her children’s books outnumber her grown-up ones, she has an unfortunate weakness for her own killer fried chicken recipe, and she learns something new everyday on the Handmade News site. Please visit her online at the happy honeybee.
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