In communication auto-anything usually leads to auto-fail. I've noticed I do not always receive an email alert for everyone who follows me. I assume that is because they are doing some other-world, massive following program that misses the direct Twitter communication option. Without an alert how do I easily discover you? I don't. I suggest you go one-on-one with the people you are most interested in.
Participation in the venue is important. I review each Twitter email alert I receive and am disappointed if I don't see an Avatar. I want you to care enough about your online brand to include a picture that represents you. If you don't care... should I?
A close follow-to-follower ratio gets a thumbs up. If you follow 800 but only have 8 following you, I'm not likely to follow back. My goal is to encounter people who desire a conversation. Massive growth doesn't lend itself well to conversation (in my experience). Evenso, I scour the list of who you are following to see if I can find my avatar. If I have to hit "Next" 4, 5, 16 times I assume you want numbers not people and I move on.
Conversation is interesting, information push is a turn off. I also read the tweets on your first page. If you only indulge in an information push, i.e. never re-tweet anyone (RT), never respond to anyone else's tweet (@TheirTwitterName), I pass.
Make money with someone else, please. If every fourth or fifth tweet is a duplicate that tells me how to make money or get white teeth I encourage you to keep trying, just not with me.
Web-sites say exactly what you think. I'm excited to preview your Web-site and have found some very noteworthy bloggers among my following, but if yours is a money making scheme or a pop up window I have to click close before I even get to or through the first page, I understand my value to you is how much money I can make you. This is a relationship economy, relationships establish rapport, investment could be time or money. Value both, but don't knock me out with either one.
Speak, please. If you have no tweets, or only one tweet, try again later when you've developed your voice. If I've followed you and you're only lurking, i.e., you never tweet, that would be a reason for us to part ways. Participation, conversation, engagement... I weight these heavily.
You say BC, I say Washington. If you're from Vancouver, BC I'll wonder if you realize I'm not in Canada, but I may follow back cause we're Vancouver-Cousin-Cities.
There's always hope. Twice a year I check to see who's still following me. If you've hung on that long I'm likely to check you out again and give you a second chance.
Speak to me, anytime. If I choose not to follow you, but you draw me into a conversation I'm extremely likely to take notice and follow you. How do you start that conversation? Find something that I'm interested in and draw my attention to it. You can check out my bio for what's a hot topic for me.So that's how I use Twitter. Now's your chance! Leave me a note on your Twitter rules, and appease my curiosity and tell me how you found me. Thanks!
