Reclaiming our Direct Message Column on Twitter: A Word (or 2) on Twitter DMs

Ah, the good old days. Those days when we were free to lay in the back dashboard window of our car as our parents drove 90 miles per hour down the highway. The days when the tinkling ice-cream truck that came through the neighborhood, wasn’t driven by a guy who didn’t look as if he was just released from prison. The days when we used to look in our Twitter Direct Message column and actually have valuable messages like someone trying to get ahold of us to sign a multi-million dollar contract! Okay I made up the part about driving 90 miles per hour. I think the speed limit was 70 back in the 60s.

Many people overuse the direct message column, and some don’t use it at all, even when the message is not beneficial to the public. We have basically lost control when it comes to Twitter’s features and what they are to be used for, so for those who have been using Twitter for years, this is a reminder. For those who are new to this social medium, this is a warning! It is time to reclaim our direct message column on Twitter!

The direct message feature on Twitter is intended to send private messages to a specific person. If I need to give my phone number to someone to contact me I would put that in a direct message. If I have a question that ONLY applies to that person such as “What time shall I call you today?” That is a direct message- no one else needs to see that question. If I want to thank you for following me and get on your radar, a direct message is great….IF IT IS PERSONALIZED. Here are a few examples of GOOD and BAD direct welcome messages:

BAD: Thank you for following me-I have a free e-book for you to help you make millions of dollars using Twitter. (You may as well be giving them your copy of the yellow pages that is still sitting on your front porch!)

GOOD: Thanks for connecting Jim. I look forward to learning lots together- Have a great Monday! (WOW- no gifts?…no advice on how I can get thousands of followers?…Ahh I like you already!)

BAD: Thanks for following. Click here to learn how to make your tweets to run 24-7 http://YourAnIdiot.com

GOOD: Hello Karyn, It’s great meeting you here in Twitter Town! Here’s to big biz success! Have a great weekend.

Now I can hear your groans already. You’re thinking, “I don’t have time to send a private message to each person that follows me.” THEN DON’T!

If you want to get on the radar of the person you are newly connected with a personalized message will do that. If you want to annoy your new friend and be immediately labeled as a spammer, send an automated junk mail!

And before I leave the area of welcome messages, there are some that use a validation service called True-Twit Validation to ensure the people following you are real people and not auto follow bots. Here’s my short advice… STOP USING THIS SERVICE!

The longer reason involves two parts. First, who cares who chooses to follow you? You don’t have to follow them back. There’s few things worse than a WELCOME that involves some work. That’s like saying at a live networking function, “Hi my name is Gina, before I give you my business card and allow you to listen to me talk about my business, can you please enter your information into this computer so I can do a quick background check to see if you are worth my time?” Remember Twitter is like a PR tool. You want your information going out the world. It is who you choose to let into YOUR stream that is more important. Now I actually will block porn sites from even following me so that I don’t show up on their list of people they are following. BUT even if I didn’t, I don’t receive their junk unless I choose to follow them back, so this True-Twit service is only turning off REAL people who don’t want to hassle with going over and jumping through a few of your hoops to prove they are worthy of receiving your information. I now unfollow these people and move on!

The second part of the reason I feel that True-Twit validation service is a bad move on Twitter, is that is shows you are too lazy to connect with people yourself. Do the work and quit making it harder for people–we have too many other things to worry about. There, enough said on that one.

Now if you are asking questions that others probably have or that someone else would benefit from hearing the answer such as, “When is your next webinar?” or “What is your favorite social media tool for connecting with realtors?” These questions would be better posted as an @Reply to the person so others can look forward to the answers as well.

And if you are complimenting or thanking someone for something they did don’t hide that from the world, put that in an @Reply and you will shine more than hiding that under a direct message.

OK, some of you may completely disagree with me and I’d love to hear your comments on this topic. I feel it’s time we reclaim our DM column back! Stand up to those auto-repsonders and tell them “We’re not going to take it anymore!” Let’s go back to the good old days. Maybe this summer we will even see some not-so-creepy ice-cream truck drivers too. Hey it could happen!

@GinaSchreck

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April 17, 2010 | Filed Under Gettin Geeky, Social Media, Twitter

Comments

6 Responses to “Reclaiming our Direct Message Column on Twitter: A Word (or 2) on Twitter DMs”

Doug
on April 17th, 2010 3:23 pm

Right on, Gina! Auto DM senders are almost always more interested in numbers and dollars than people and networking. Auto DMs are Twitter junk mail. And anyone who thinks they are so special that someone is willing to spend time with True-Twit validation to follow them is not likely to be worth following.

(PS: I am also anti websites that thrust audio upon me when I enter. Just sayin.)
GinaSchreck
on April 23rd, 2010 3:04 pm

So True Doug! I just wish people would see that they are turning folks away instead of building community!
Don Lafferty
on April 25th, 2010 8:51 am

Great advice, Gina. I try hard to send a welcome DM to everybody who connects with me AND falls into one of my target biz dev categories.

But since I’m not a big fan of the generic message, I recommend using the person’s name in the DM, and for additional “getting-getting-on-their-radar” power, referencing something very specific in the DM about their work, or their town, or anything at all that shows I took the time (even if only a minute or two) to click through and check out their website or blog.

This will almost always result in a follow back, a response, or some other deeper level of communication.
10 Twitter Do's + 5 Twitter Don'ts =BIG Twitter Success | Synapse3Di
on June 21st, 2010 10:59 am

[...] 11. DON’T send people an auto Direct Message that tells them you are a cheesy spammer right off the bat. If you ARE a cheesy spammer, you may not want to tell us to unfollow you so quickly. When I get a direct message (DM) from a new person I follow and it reads “Thank you for following me, I can help you make thousands of dollars from your Twitter stream. Here is my gift to you: http://ImAnIdiot.com” I click UNFOLLOW and depending on what the spammer said, I may UNFOLLOW and BLOCK! Direct messages should be real messages from you to the other person that are not intended for anyone else to see. Here’s more information on how to use the DM feature. [...]
Michele Lorito-Chase
on December 3rd, 2010 12:32 am

Hello Gina!

Perfect. My pet-peeves in order are:

1. Not using DM’s when you should.
2. True-Twit Validation (I mean really, the name “twit” speaks for itself)
3. Auto DM’s

It’s easy to forget that all of these things are not common knowledge. When the Twitter community was small, a person “knew” when they did something wrong. Twitter etiquette was strictly enforced and they would have stuck out like a sore thumb. : )
GinaSchreck
on December 3rd, 2010 3:36 am

THAT IS SO FUNNY! True-Twit–HA! That is another one of my pet peeves as well. Don’t me do the work. If you need to validate that I am a human- go look at my profile. These automated tools are extremely annoying. If I get the message that someone needs me to validate myself before I can connect, I immediately UNFOLLOW.

You also make a great point about using DMs instead of an @reply that no one else will benefit from.