As Twitter continues to take hold and grow as a business tool, Twitter-etiquette is starting to evolve as well.
Should you automatically DM people who follow you? Write a personal “thanks for following me”? Or, in my case, do nothing?
I’m not so concerned about that conversation, as the one taking place over whether you should unfollow the people who don’t follow you back.
Twitter is all about the conversation. It is not about how many followers I have, or how many people follow me back.
According to @zappos, Twitter is more about being interested than being interesting.
I think lots of marketers have trouble understanding Twitter b/c they try to be interesting rather than try to be interested.
I think it’s about both.
If I am interested in what YOU have to say, how blessed am I to have a venue like Twitter where I can listen in on your conversations? After a time, I might even contribute to your conversation. Who knows, maybe after contributing enough to YOUR conversations, you might come to find me of interest as well.
What other tool out there allows us this type of access to politicians, radio hosts, CEOs, media types, authors and thought leaders? Where else can we listen in on the likes of Shaquille O’Neill or MC Hammer?
While I find that @chrisbrogan and @johnabyrne have something interesting to say, it does not automatically follow that they will find me (legal marketer, mom, wife, girl scout leader, tired) interesting in return.
Why on earth would I automatically disengage from their conversations because they could care less about what I have to say? Is it not my responsibility to be interesting to the 375 people who are following me?
So follow the people you find of interest. Twitter about the things you find of interest. And, don’t be so concerned about those who don’t follow you in return.