If you’ve used social media for very long, you’ve already no doubt run into some rude, self-involved folks which can kinda take the fun out of the ‘social’ part of all of it.
Are you one of those people? What exactly are they doing that is poor social media etiquette?
Let’s deconstruct.
(Using real examples from my Twitter stream, Facebook and Google+ pages):
1) Bogart a thread.
Honestly, I’m always pretty shocked when someone weighs in on a topic which has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic itself, but instead as a way to throw in a ‘Well, if you write nonfiction, you’ll love my book about kitten fairies! Link.’
Now I don’t know about you, but if you wouldn’t do that in real life, why are you doing that online? It’s insincere, it’s rude, and besides, it’s not about you.
Instead, gawk (aka, watch) the conversation and if it interests you, contribute in a way that adds insight to the topic. Avoid putting your ego on display or viewing someone else’s thread as a way to jump on in there and sell your book.
2) It’s all about me.
Let’s develop that further. A handsome author recently followed me, ex-special forces, who has fictionalized his life for his novels. The backstory is compelling, the author is eye candy (what.), but every single tweet was a link to his book, telling us how great it is and that we can’t live another day without reading his story RIGHT NOW!!!!
Um, no. Sadly, despite the pleasing avatar, I did not follow back. I’m sure he’s a grand fella, and I’d probably enjoy his book. But the problem here is that all I see (and I looked at about 50 tweets), is constant, unrelenting self-promotion, a major turn-off.
3) Court me.
Okay, not really, but the concept is the same. Not in a creepy ‘sending pictures of your personals’ kind of way, but in a ‘find out about me and at least pretend to be interested’ kind of way.
And make an attempt to be sincere. There’s nothing more annoying than the, ‘How are you? Can you buy my book and tell everyone you know, then like my Facebook page and paint my nails?’ tweet. Don’t. Do. That.
First base on Twitter is a retweet. If you want to get to first base, don’t talk about yourself in every tweet.
4) Be sincere.
I love when I get this message, ‘You’re so amazing! We’d love to have your personal insights on {insert topic here} for our unique subscribers!’ only to find that, when I check their feed, they have sent the exact same message to hundreds of people.
Not cool, and what started as a cool compliment quickly becomes cold and uninteresting.
5) Signing with your website
‘Thanks for the follow. http://ItsAllAboutMe.com’ or ‘Thanks for the RT, sincerely http://ItsAllAboutMe.com’ — ugh. Don’t. It’s well, kinda slimy.
We all want to feel special. If you are interested in growing your following, getting more likes, or selling more books, stop with the fake interest. People are smart, and we know when you’re putting your agenda first.
Those are my latest tips. What bothers you?
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