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You have created your profile on Twitter and started to post tweets and follow other Tweeple. That is great. You are on your way to reach your goals with the most powerful social media service in the web.
But one day you log in and notice that some of your followers have axed you from their friends lists.
Shocked at first, you thought it must be some kind of accident. But after a few moments of soul searching… you realize that you probably over-engaged in one of the 11 behavioral triggers that can cause people to drop friends online.
Brett Borders has outlined these 11 ways to lose friends and followers on Twitter in his Blog Social Media Rockstar as there are:
1. Banality
It’s okay to share some trivial details of your life – but live-blogging your lunch, alerting the world you’re at the post office, or saying “Good morning, Facebook Friends!” increases the noise and doesn’t interest most people
2. Narcissism
Narcissism is an excessive interest in oneself and one’s appearance. You see it online when people blog about themselves constantly, preen over their own pictures, and not-so-subtly seek admiration and attention. Some celebs get away with it, but many people will find it plain annoying.
3. Self-Promotion
If you’ve got a blog that’s dying for comments, some classes you teach, or you need new clients – it’s okay to let people know about it in moderation. Some have suggested the 90-10 rule, where you aim for 90% of your updates be insightful and helpful to others, and only 10% be directly beneficial to you.
4. Pushing an Agenda
Maybe you’re really passionate about solar energy. Or a killer rock band. Sharing this kind of legitimate buzz is totally acceptable in social media, but if people begin think you’re an agenda pusher more than a person – they’ll give you the cold shoulder.
5. Negativity
The only time negativity can win you points is when you’re the first one to complain about something that’s starting to irk other people, also. But if you’re late to complain, or your negative opinions don’t resonate with a majority of people – they’ll see you as a downer, a dark cloud (or dead pixel) on their pretty screen.
6. Lack of Reciprocity
Although many people staunchly reserve their right to follow only people they know or find interesting, an increasing number of people think it’s polite to follow back – seeing celebs and people who don’t follow back as elitist snubs who violate the law of Twitter reciprocity.
There are now enough tools to filter you Twitter & Facebook updates + Digg submissions that allow you to follow a lot of people without losing your closest friends’ content in the shuffle – if you choose the ‘follow everyone’ route.
Reciprocity also means conversing with your followers, rather than just collecting them like baseball cards.
7. Politics and Religion
If you single out any specific political party or religion, you’ll lose followers, says Twitter power user @RobMcNealy. Rob says the only safe way to vent about politics is to speak in generalities, and to call out both sides on an issue.
8. Recycling Tweets
It’s okay to re-tweet interesting stuff – and to post old links occasionally. But word travels fast online… plus, some people are snobs about smoking nothing but the latest and greatest digital info-crack. And if you ReTweet heavily or blog “I read this great article“-type of posts too much, you become seen as an echo that’s safe to ignore.
Fresh links and original perspectives will get you bonus points.
9. Overload
Some people will drop 50 interesting links a day, 7 or 8 of them in a row. If someone is new to a social site and doesn’t have hundreds of friends, then your information updates can be overwhelming and seem disproportionate. Don’t dominate the data-stream or conversation!
10. Bragging
If you live an elite lifestyle filled with conferences, first class flights to wine-n-dine foreign CEOs, luxury yachts and hot babes – and you brag about it online – it can make people jealous and feel distant from you. A majority of peeps online are stuck in an office somewhere, have screaming kids to feed, or worry how they’re gonna cover rent this month.
11. Direct Hostility
A hostile attack is the quickest way destroy a relationship with someone. But it can also damage your own reputation by branding yourself as a temperamental bully. Some people will drop you in advance, to avoid the risk of possibly getting on your bad side. Others will see your attack as an invitation to scrutinize your own behavior and criticize you back.
It is self-explanatory not to pursue any of these practices if you wish to maintain and expand your followship on Twitter. Write original tweets, adhere to the Twitter etiquette and exert kindness in your posts. Then you will pave the way for a successful and pleasing time on Twitter.
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