Are you attracting or chasing followers?
One of the business owners who attended my Twitter 101 seminar, posted his status on Twitter:
love this winter our dog thinks its great. How do your pets like this weather?
It’s an engaging tweet. He does not attempt to be INTERESTING to his followers.
Instead, he is INTERESTED in them (or their pets, in this case).
One of the books that have had a lasting influence in me, is Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People”.
It’s a classic that’s a must read for everyone. The principles in the book were meant for the real world, but they equally apply in the digital social universe.
In one section of the book, Carnegie spells out “Six Ways To Make People Like You”:
- Become genuinely interested in other people.
- Smile
- Remember that a person’s Name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
- Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely.
In contrast, let me give you independent examples of real tweets that BREAK these Carnegie principles:
- TVI Express Holiday Voucher – How To Claim / Redeem | Join TVI Express
- f.my.life. why did i listen to someone who only wants me to be as miserable as they are.
- Hello Twitter, my name is Joann, check out my website for great silk flowers! Deal of the day coming soon!
- Feel all alone sometimes? Confused? Need some support or direction? My business offers this and more. Why not take a look?
- I’m starving. I want sum Ramen
- going to church later with my mom. don’t really want to
To be fair, I don’t know the context in which these tweets were made. They could have been part of a conversation.
However, in general, how did these tweets make you feel? Are you inclined to follow these people?
What do you think? What strategies do you use?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, my “four legged kids” love this wonderful weather. They were all outside with their Dad yesterday while he shined up his 67 Camero RSSS. In the meantime, I was at my desk trying to become fluent in social networking. I would love to learn more and of course, by yesterday. Cindy
As always Dennis, you bring the point home. It is nice to see the differences in these tweets and to understand their subtleties. So, thank you for repeating the message, I’m slow, and for me it is finally sinking in.
My pets love this weather. This is going to be an expectional Spring. The bulbs in the ground are starting to come up and the trees are starting to bud. How does your yard look?
Thank you Dennis for not only what you do but more imporantly how you do it.
Larry
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