My Name is Paul and I Am a Recovering Twitter Purist

Mary McKnight and I were catching up after a long hiatus and, as social media devotees are apt to do, the discussion turned to Twitter and our use of it.

Since both of us are self-admitted Twitter purists, I was a bit shocked to hear Mary say she uses auto-DMs when people follow her. OMG!!! Noooo!!!! Not you Mary!!!! Say it ain't so!

She explained there are ways to use auto-DMs to foster engagement and traffic to her Web site. Not through a sales pitch, but via the use of humor.

She's not the only one. A client of Bizzuka who uses our Internet marketing services division, Bizzuka|Interact, to help with SEO, branding and social media, also uses auto-DMs and asserts that most of the interaction on his Web site comes from that tactic. (DISCLAIMER: I had advised him against such use.)

Here's my confession

Soooo...because I respect both Mary and my client, I'm rethinking the whole auto-DM notion. I also have a confession of my own to make. I use auto-follows.

I know what you're thinking. I'm a reprobate, someone not to be trusted ever again. But, hear me out before passing judgment.

When I first started using Twitter (and for a long while thereafter), I checked out every person who followed me to determine whether it was in my best interest to return the favor. I looked for particular criteria, such as the use of @replies, retweets, a completed bio with a link, and other such markers.

However, the time came when I could no longer do that. It required too much...time, that is. Being the cordial, courteous Southerner that I am, I couldn't just not follow people, so I relented and used an auto-follow device.

(Truth is, I'm finding it takes just as much time to keep the list clear of spammers as it did to vet each one. Danged if you do and danged if you don't, as they say.)

Here's my #unfail

To Mary's point, I've found that my use of Twitter has changed and evolved over the years (I started using the app in early 2007). At first, I did a lot of listening and little posting. Then I went through a phase of wondering where anyone would care about what I posted or whether it had enough value to be attended to. (Another admission -- I have self-esteem issues.).

Once I got over that, I became a Twitter "engage-a-holic" and felt that engagement was, indeed, the name of the game. The idea of interacting on Twitter solely for the purpose of broadcast was far afield from my purist way of thinking.

Through continued use, I came to realize "Twitter is as Twitter does." Best practices are still being determined, and while I feign the use of Twitter solely as a pitch medium, my determination of how it should be used is much more flexible. In fact, I don't know if "should" is even the verb that, um, should be used. Now, when asked to define what Twitter is, I simply say, it's whatever you need it to be (within reason, of course).

I mean, look at how Dell is using it as a way to sell millions of dollars worth of inventory via the Dell Outlet account. What's the latest figures, something like $6 million plus. Amazing!

So, how has your use of Twitter changed over the years? What's your Twitter #unfail?

I'll make the same deal as Mary did in her post on the topic. To quote her, "[I]f you join this meme and use the hashtag #unfail on Twitter in the next 36 hours, I will link to you from this post." Time starts now!

PS: While you're at it, why not write a blog post describing how your use of Twitter has changed since you first started.

Comments

[Mary McKnight]

Great post - I used to feel auto Dms were crap and truth be told most are - but mine gets about a 28% engagement rate and I truthfully think it is due to the use of vieo and the non sales approach. It gets people to visit my site and start engaging with me on Twitter immediately. Here's the video: http://www.eyejot.com/mview/43D680DFB8C515C9083EDF9CABF878B71EFA86F96A45170629C9981EE14966BE

[Sharon Mostyn]

You inspired me, Paul. I'm still not convinced about auto-follow and auto-DM, but I'll admit they have their uses until I can bring myself to try them. I firmly believe that "Twitter is as Twitter does" and that new "best practices" are being discovered, promoted, and implemented widely on a regular basis because social media is still in its infancy. Thanks for giving me something new to think (and maybe even write a post) about!

[Paul Chaney]

Thanks for your comments Sharon. At this point, you can call me curious and open to experimentation. I still advocate for standards and best practices and don't want my post to, in any way, indicate that I've abdicated that.

I'd love to see a post from you on the topic and will link to it from this one.

[Vanessa]

Thank you both! This article has actually answered some things I was pondering in my head.. to be or not to be..

p.s. Mary - I thought
your auto-DM was hilarious.
Very engaging.