I’m generally in the habit of following people who follow me. When someone follows me I take it as an indication of interest, a relationship opportunity. I also want to be part of a larger community, not just a one way broadcast system. BUT, there are a few reasons I won’t follow, or follow back. For anyone who’s ever wondered: why don’t they follow me? Here are few of my own reasons (feel free to add yours in the comments):
Your profile image is a default image (ie. you’re still an egg on Twitter) or it just looks… sketchy.
Like it or not, people can make a pretty quick decision about you from your profile pics. I don’t necessarily discount everyone who’s still an egg, but it’s a strike for sure.
Your profile contains no information that will help me understand why I would follow you.
It still surprises me how many people don’t fill out basic profile info on Twitter. Granted, I’m a bit of a geek about improving my own profiles- I think it’s important to stay fresh and relevant- but it doesn’t take much to write a few words describing who you are, what you do, and/or what you value. It goes a long way in showing you’re an actual person and giving people something they can connect with.
Your most recent posts look fishy, spammy, or irrelevant.
I regularly go to profiles to learn more about the people I’m about to follow. I am, after all, inviting these people into my world in some way so I want to know what I’m inviting in. If it’s spam, way off point, or just garbage, why would I invite that in?
You’re incessantly posting quotes.
Quotes have become spam in my books. Granted, it’s challenging to post highly engaging, unique, hand crafted content constantly, but the answer isn’t filling your feeds with quotes. When your last three tweets are quotes it’s a sign to me that you’re not invested enough to connect with people in your own words. Plus, anyone can copy and paste a quote, that’s not inspirational. If the goal is to inspire, think about how you are the inspiration: what you think, how you act, and how what you’ve learned can inspire.
You ask before giving.
One thing social is teaching those who are prepared to listen, is that you need to give before you receive. Asking (or demanding) things before you’ve provided help, advice, service or something else of value is sales-y and obnoxious, and it just doesn’t work on social media.
by @janieeden
What’s your top reason for not following back?
