Comments on: 30 Twitter tips hath September: Are you auto-following? Why?

By: Mark Burhop (@burhop)

Mark Burhop (@burhop) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 16:56:17 +0000

I don’t think companies should auto-follow. Follow, yes, but not auto-follow. Not taking the time to decide is someone is a spammer or gaming the system suggests they are not really listening.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:49:42 +0000

I used to follow everyone who followed me because I am all about being polite. However, I find that I am following many people that don’t interest me…like vacationing spots and half birthday people etc.. Anyway, I would like to begin simplifying my twitter list, but it’s uncomfortable to me to unfollow. Also, if I see a person who has 3000 followers and they follow 350, I think it makes them look snotty. You have to think about the unspoken message you are sending with your numbers. I like to see numbers that say, more people follow this person than they follow, but the ratio is close so it is possible they will follow me back…and yes, I want followers. Numbers mean something to people who will pay out whether those people are actually reading my tweets or not. Now I am a newbie, so maybe this is proof Oh, and as far as autofollowing…I didn’t even know there was such a thing. So no. I don’t autofollow. And after reading this, I don’t think I will

By: Wade

Wade — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve suspected only spammers and newbies use the auto-DM.

I would suggest that companies auto-follow, because they should be interested in what their followers have to say.

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Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:16:04 +0000

[...] 30 Twitter tips hath September: Are you auto-following? Why? « Birmingham Blogging Academy birminghamblogging.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/30-twitter-tips-hath-september-are-you-auto-following-why – view page – cached In September, we’re offering a Twitter tip a day. Send us your thoughts and — From the page [...]

By: Matt Lenard

Matt Lenard — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:51:15 +0000

I definitely only follow people with updates that interest me. No auto-following or DM-ing. Twitter would have no utility for me if I used it to virally follow others.

By: Kevin D. Washburn

Kevin D. Washburn — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:12:33 +0000

I don’t auto-follow or auto-DM. First, when I follow someone, I truly follow them. To do that with all of my followers would be impossible. When I get a new follower, I review his/her Twitter stream to see if the tweets address topics of my interest. If not, I don’t follow. I don’t see the sense in following someone who tweets about topics I do not have an interest in. And is really rude not to follow back? Or is it just as rude to “follow” but ignore? I’d rather have people follow me who are truly interested in the info I post.

I do make a few exceptions. A few people I follow because I know them in the real world, and therefore are interested in the ideas they have and occasionally even their activities. These are the exception because I generally use Twitter to stay up to date on info and conversations related to my professional field.

I don’t auto-DM for the reason you stated: it’s fake. Inauthenticity is unattractive, even in the Twitterverse.

By: Wade

Wade — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:04:10 +0000

Interesting. Can you post an example of your auto-DM?

Thanks for sharing!

By: Lisa Isbell

Lisa Isbell — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:42:48 +0000

I don’t autofollow, and like you I only follow those I am interested in following, it’s nothing personal, I just cannot possibly manage all that information so I have to prioritize. Something I have noticed though is we appear to be in the minority with this strategy since each time I get an email notifying of a new follower I see they are following as many or more people than are following them.

However I do have to disagree on one point and that is the automatic DM in response to a new follower. I have one of my 5 accounts set up to respond to new followers in order to direct them to more information and will be setting up a few more of the others. I feel this is a good strategy for commercial enterprises since they are more likely being followed because of the goods and services they offer and followers will appreciate more resources.

I wrote a blog post about this very subject back on the 28th called “Do You Follow Me” and more of my strategy is available there (link below).

Thanks for a great question!

http://beyondsocialmediabasics.com/2009/08/28/do-you-follow-me/