By definition, social networking sites are designed to foster interaction between people who share the common interests. When you find a like-minded person who has some traits you admire, you shoot them a friend request so they can be a part of your elite circle. In the case of Twitter, you may start to “follow” them – as in their posts, not in a weird stalky kind of way.
People who have their own business or organization often participate in social networking sites with one goal in mind – to spread the word about their company or services. It’s not about making “friends”. It’s purely one more marketing tool in their virtual toolbox. Perfectly acceptable, not a thing wrong with that. If, of course, it’s done right.
And doing it right does not mean following random people for the sake of upping your “following/follower” numbers. It doesn’t mean just because someone follows you, that you have to respond in kind. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that you should.
In order for social networking to be an effective business tool, there does have to be some degree of reciprocity. It doesn’t have to be in the form of “You follow me and I’ll follow you”, however. People have to be reading your postings, getting something from them, and hopefully passing them on for your postings to be doing anything for you. Your message won’t be reaching the masses via social networking if it’s falling on dead – or as in the case of yesterday’s blog entry – inactive ears.
One of the most unbelievable things I have found while doing research for these Twitter-related blog entries is that some accounts have three, four, and five thousand followers….without ever having tweeted their first tweet. They are perfect examples of the blind reciprocity theory. Once those lists get past a certain number of followers, they are no longer about being a marketing tool. They become mere status symbols – even if they are erroneous. Realistically, you cannot interact with thousands of people on a regular basis. And if you’re not interacting with your followers and the people you are following - or networking, as the sites intended – what good is it doing you to have them?
Here’s the short list of what to look for when deciding whether to reciprocate a following on Twitter.
1. Date of their last post – Was it a few days ago or some time last year?
2. A name with no recent post – These are the accounts that have never posted. Go check it out. Some of them have thousands of followers, but why? These are the accounts that will clutter up your lists and give the impression that you are more popular than you really are.
3. Content of their posts – Nobody likes high pressure sales tactics. We all have things we’re trying to market and sell, but it’s annoying to shove it down people’s throats constantly. If their entire page is full of sales fodder about their “new” or “improved” product, chances are that product is all they have to offer.
Happy tweeting!
