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Twitter for business: 18 things you should NOT do

Branding Business Communications Digital Marketing Personal branding Social Media — 16 August 2012
Twitter for business: 18 things you should NOT do

Three and a half years on Twitter, for business, doesn’t sound like a long time, however in the world of social media — it is, believe me!

I have learned so much along the way, building my own following, but also that of Firebrand’s, which now has well over 20,000 followers.

In today’s post, I am going to practice one of the important lessons I learned on Twitter: Share! Here are 18 things I learned you should not do on Twitter if you want to market yourself (personal branding) or your business.

18 Twitter #Mega-fails
  1. Do not set up Auto DMs for new followers. It really annoys people.
  2. Do not “protect your tweets”. What’s the point of using Twitter for marketing if people can’t see your tweets?
  3. Do not set up a spam filter for your tweets. Most people won’t follow through with the filter.
  4. Do not schedule your tweets so that multiple tweets suddenly appear in your stream at the same time. You will be labelled a spammer and people will unfollow you.
  5. Do not automate tweets of your job postings. Pick a select few, customise each one, and spread it out across the week, alongside great content.
  6. Do not use anything other than a photo of yourself or company logo for your Avatar if you want to be taken seriously (eg. your pet hamster). People prefer to engage with people, so a photo of yourself is recommended, even above a company logo if possible. Put the company logo on your Twitter background instead.
  7. Unless you’re a food blogger, don’t tweet what you had for breakfast/lunch/dinner. People don’t care and you’re wasting their time.
  8. Stay away from banal tweets. I read one the other day that said “Went to scratch my nose and poked myself in the eye”. Immediate “unfollow”!
  9. And whilst I’m at it, don’t tweet about sex or religion unless this is your area of specialisation and that’s what you’re marketing.
  10. Don’t treat Twitter as a broadcast channel – do more listening and engaging than talking.
  11. Do not overly promote yourself. Be generous, add value and share a lot. It’s the best kind of promotion you can do.
  12. Do not use CAPITAL LETTERS – it’s the equivalent of shouting and no-one likes it.
  13. Do not post your tweet on other social platforms (manually or automatically) unless it is written appropriately for the other platform. E.g. If your tweet contains hashtags or @, remove them for Facebook or LinkedIn. Also remember that the tone of each platform should be different. Best to customise for each one. BTW, keep the hashtags on Pinterest.
  14. Do not use more than two hashtags in your tweets. Makes your tweets very unappealing to read.
  15. No-one cares where you checked in, or what you’re the mayor of on FourSquare. Stop polluting feeds with this trivial information.
  16. Don’t set up an auto-tweet announcing how many people unfollowed you. Not cool. Not cool at all.
  17. Don’t send a tweet without checking your spelling. Spelling mistakes make you look totally unprofessional.
  18. Don’t share a link without crediting your source.

My next post is about things you should do on Twitter.

If you have any other “pet hates” regarding Twitter, please share them with everyone by adding a comment to this post.

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(51) Readers Comments

  1. 16 August, 2012 at 10:19 am

    Well said!

    Reply
  2. 16 August, 2012 at 11:01 am

    Well done Carolyn, excellent observations. Just wished I’d read this a while back as I’ve done nearly all your no no’s.

    Reply
  3. 16 August, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Great list! Would go well with my own recent blog post, which boiled down to two more Twitter dont’s:
    Don’t follow folks just to get a follow back and then immediately unfollow them to keep your ratio favorable. I call this the “bait & sTWITch.”
    Don’t respond to an unfollow like a bitter breakup, publicly calling out your unfollower on Twitter. Just move on folks, ‘mmkay? :)

    Reply
    • 16 August, 2012 at 11:11 am

      Laura, those extra two “don’ts” are crazy. Can’t believe people actually do that. Thanks so much. Adding to the list :)

      Reply
  4. 16 August, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    Great list! I would add ‘don’t use @replies for long or private conversations, use DM’s instead’ and ‘don’t use “reply to all” and endlessly RT people’s handles, in long conversations. Both just pollute the followers’ tweetstreams’. Just my two cents worth… I look forward to your next entry!

    Reply
  5. 16 August, 2012 at 5:41 pm

    Personal pet hate of mine on Twitter is people and/or companies adding someone’s handle into a tweet when the comment is not tailored to the individual. For example, spammers putting random handles into tweets, to try and promote a product/blog/service. If it’s relevant and interesting, of course I’d want to be part of the conversation. But, if my handle is just being added to the tweet in the hope I’ll click through, then that’s just spammy.

    Reply
    • 17 August, 2012 at 8:59 am

      Emma, I completely agree with you. Adding to the list!

      Reply

  6. Rayne Hall (@RayneHall)

    16 August, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    Do not send tweets who people who don’t follow you. It’s technically possible to do this by using their individual @twitterhandles. But it’s annoying and invasive. It’s as if someone didn’t invite you, so you break into their home instead.
    Some idiots do this to promote their products, automatically sending the same spam message to dozens (or hundreds, or thousands) of @individuals. It’s a sure way of creating ill feelings and getting blocked and reported for spam.
    Rayne Hall

    Reply
    • 16 August, 2012 at 7:22 pm

      I disagree with the 1st half of this. If you don’t want strangers to engage a conversation with you, you shouldn’t be on Twitter. You wouldn’t go to a party and refuse to talk to people who you don’t already know, right?

      I agree with the latter bit of your comment though. Gawd forbid you tweet something like “iPhone” or “insurance”- it only leads to dozens for spammy tweets from bots. Really irritating.

      Reply
    • 17 August, 2012 at 8:59 am

      Rayne, you, @Emma above and I definitely agree on this. Thanks for adding your thoughts.

      Reply

    • Terry Tyler

      18 August, 2012 at 5:42 pm

      Great post, and I agree with all of it. I really like the way you always pull no punches. I’d like to add to the above – if you want to be retweeted, leave something near the top of your page to retweet. Don’t let people have to wade through yards of RTs and conversation before they find something – or, if you must, don’t whinge about not being retweeted.

      Worst sin of all : when I retweet someone and they can’t even be bothered to look 2 tweets down my page for something worth retweeting back, and just RT the first thing, which might be a bit of pointless conversation. Another reason why the LAST thing I do during a Twitter session is do my own promotional tweets.

      Reply
      • 20 August, 2012 at 9:21 am

        Thanks so much Terry. I’m going to add your suggestion on “reciprocation” to my next post.

        Reply
  7. 16 August, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    Great list, Carolyn. Tweets about people poking themselves in the eye aren’t posts I find annoying. Twitter asks, “What’s happening now?” I would, however, add people who retweet their entire tweet stream to the list of grievances.

    Reply
  8. 17 August, 2012 at 9:30 am

    Caroline, We’ll add link to your list when we talk about this in innovation training.

    Some nice don’ts!

    Christopher

    Reply
  9. 17 August, 2012 at 2:27 pm

    Great post, Carolyn. To recap in 140: (i) Automate with care (ii) Add value via content (iii) Avoid hardsell (iv) Be courteous & respectful.

    [InfoGraphic] – A Day in the Life of Twitter > http://mashable.com/2012/08/16/twitter-day-in-the-life-infographic/

    Reply
  10. 17 August, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    ….there’s always the point about using your bio to inform everyone you’re a guru/expert/maven.

    Reply
    • 17 August, 2012 at 8:13 pm

      I saw one the other day that said “social media rockstar”… Needless to say, I didn’t follow back :)

      Reply
  11. 17 August, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    Thanks for sharing. I have some apps connected to my Twitter and they seem to spam especially that one who tweets about people who unfollowed and the tweet validation which fills up my DM box.

    For other people’s tweets, I hate those tweets mentioning my handler like “Blah blah daily is out! http://blog.url ▸ Top stories today via @randomperson” It’s too annoying because everytime I go to mentions, all I see is that kind of tweets. I want to stop it but I don’t know how. Unfollowing would not make it better.

    Reply
    • 17 August, 2012 at 9:24 pm

      I think I can help. Go to your Twitter page and on the top right of the page, there’s a drop down menu. Choose Settings. Then go to the “Apps” tab on the left and there you will see all the apps you’ve connected to your Twitter account. Revoke access to the appropriate ones (each one gives you a description) and then those apps won’t be able to send out those annoying/spammy tweets :) If this doesn’t help, let me know (@chyams) and I’ll find out for you, but I’m pretty sure it will.

      Reply

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  13. 19 August, 2012 at 11:08 am

    Very well said. Also please do not put a link in 100% of your tweets. even as a business it’s annoying. say something without promoting. Reply to your followers once in a while. @TerrillCharming

    Reply

  14. eric

    21 August, 2012 at 9:46 am

    Dear Carolyn,
    I think you’re missing one of the worst of the marketing types.
    Do not RT every positive comment made about you by other people. If you must occasionally RT a glowing remark about your latest blog post, product or service, or how great you are, have the grace to add something a little humble, *blush*, for instance.

    Reply
    • 21 August, 2012 at 9:56 am

      You’re right. I’m definitely going to add this to the list. When I see it, I immediately think “big ego”

      Reply
  15. 21 August, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    Oh dear, more do’s and don’ts lists.

    Whilst I agree with most of your points, I’m not in any position to tell someone else how to use Twitter.

    For example:

    Point 1. Has anyone ever really got that annoyed about an automated DM saying “Thanks for following me”? If this is one of the most annoying things in your day, then I envy you. You may want to set your annoyance threshold a little higher.

    Point 15. Whilst I agree that viewing everyone else’s checkins for Foursquare, Facebook or gowalla can be annoying, these businesses would clearly disagree, and so do many real people. Let them get on with it. People will vote with their feet.

    Follow who you want to. Stop when you don’t want to see their tweets anymore. Bear in mind that there are many small-minded people out there, who will judge you acutely on how you use Twitter. Decide whether that’s important to you. Basically, suit yourself.

    If your intention is to game Twitter, and exploit the system to your advantage, then look at it a little more closely than these 18 points.

    PS. It’s really not possible to read all the tweets from more than 50 regular Twitter users. Following 1,000 or more may get you followed in return, but if they’re only reciprocating, they are unlikely to be reading your tweets. Cynics will follow thousands, and yet only read tweets from a list of say 50 or so. You may have thousands of followers, but only very few readers.

    Reply
  16. 25 August, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    Great list, Carolyn! I agree with all your points. Here’s another one to add to the list: Don’t send an automated tweet that announces how many new followers, mentions and retweets you’ve gained in the past week. Nobody cares.

    Reply
    • 26 August, 2012 at 10:10 am

      Kay, your suggestion is definitely worthy of including on the list of don’ts. The only person who should care is the person who is tweeting. How does sharing it benefit anyone else?

      Reply

  17. Kate

    29 August, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    Thanks for sharing. A comprehensive list of ‘Don’t's. My personal pet-hates are tweets with too many # or @. Sounds lots more promotional than sharing or acknowledging source. Also, tweets that leave no room for easy retweet when the original tweet use up all 140 characters space.

    Now looking forward to your list of ‘Do’s’.

    Reply

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  19. stacy

    3 October, 2012 at 8:33 am

    Certainly agree with first point! I don’t mind people sending a message to say thanks, but it’s the automated, “thanks for the follow, check out my blog, Facebook, linkedin, my dog’s Twitter, my friend’s man’s website …”

    Reply

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  21. 13 October, 2012 at 8:17 am

    I’m new to twitter. Very valuable. Learned at least 3key mistakes I’m making that need addressing. Thankyou

    Reply
  22. 21 October, 2012 at 5:43 am

    Lots of great advice in here. Personally, I believe that every time someone sends an auto DM a unicorn dies!

    Reply
    • 22 October, 2012 at 9:19 am

      Haha Marc. That’s a great response. No wonder there are no unicorns…!

      Reply

  23. Clare Fletcher

    22 October, 2012 at 8:35 pm

    Great tips, Carolyn. I heard a social media commentator recently speaking on SM etiquette – think of LinkedIn as a business conference and Twitter as a cocktail party.

    Reply
  24. 6 November, 2012 at 10:21 pm

    Really informed choices here.

    I’d like to add a pet hate: Tweets announcing Klout scores – in the same realm as FourSquare check-ins. Even if people understand their relevance, no one actually cares. One to delete from your Apps section for sure…

    Looking forward to reading your business ‘dos’ on Twitter.

    Reply
    • 7 November, 2012 at 9:21 am

      I couldn’t agree with you more Julia. Thanks for adding your comment

      Reply
  25. 12 November, 2012 at 6:17 am

    Not to Forget , You shouldn’t avoir to do All thé things up above because on twitter there’s no rules but yours… And thé only rules you have to respect are the one OF the community You aim to target. Be You , write your own rules And followers who loves what You do Will follower And interact …

    Reply

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  27. Henry

    21 November, 2012 at 8:41 am

    Don’t forget the excessive use of emoji

    Reply

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