There is one pet peeve I have in social media. It just annoys me! Social Times wrote 5 Annoying Direct Message on Twitter. The number one on the list is my all time favorite, well that one and a combo of number three. Direct messages should be used for a dialog with someone rather than to market unsolicited.

I hate it when you follow a brand or even person and immediately you get a DM. It says thanks for following me. I would say the vast majority of these are all bots. It makes it seem very impersonal to me. This coming from someone who firmly believes in marketing automation. Scheduling posts is one thing to me but you must follow it up with a real person to answer and respond. If the person did a personal message in a DM and started a conversation this wouldn’t be as creepy for me.

Now make that with a combination of follow us on (insert social media). I usually just unfollow right there. It’s pushy to me to give everyone you information. Its like meeting someone at a networking event and giving them you card right when you shake their hand. I was told by a networking expert give out cards to those who ask for them, never hand them out just because you can. I find it very similar here. Let me get to know you more. I like what I see either in your stream or something i heard on the net.

I would suggest if you want to acknowledge new follower do it in public. Just say thanks for the following if we can help you or answer any questions let us know! Also if there is something in the profile that sticks out that you two may have in common bring it up. Such as if they posted about a rescue dog they adopted and you have one. Selling to me is not about a hard sell, its about building trust and have a repeat customer over a one time customer.

These are my tips. Just make it authentic and personal in social media. Its not always easy for a small business with all they have to do on a daily basis. Put in the effort and it will pay off.