Why do so Many People Hate Twitter DMs?

Twitter DMs. Nothing divides Twitter like the use of private messaging. I personally love having the option to chat with someone via private messages on Twitter. Many people, however, simply don’t open Twitter DMs because of all the spam. And a recent experiment on Twitter has blown that can of spam wide open for me.

Sure, I used to get the occasional automated DM on Twitter. Occasional. Like 3-4 a week. Few enough that I could basically just ignore them. When I started using a program to help me find new people to follow on Twitter, however, I was inundated with automated Twitter DMs. I really couldn’t believe this many people were sending these kinds of messages. Automation is bad enough, but most of the automated messages are also asking me to do something! It’s generally considered rude to ask for a favour before getting to know someone…in real life or on Twitter.

Don’t believe me that this is a problem? It is. And here are 10 examples that perfectly illustrate why people hate Twitter DMs and automated messages. (PS. I’m not going to point out all the typos, but these messages were copy-pasted.)

10. Gracias por seguirme! También puedes seguirnos por #Facebook en ► ► on.fb.me/######

This one I never thought about until I received DMs in other languages…Twitter is worldwide. Not everyone speaks the same language as you! Sending me Spanish messages does you absolutely no good. If I were to send English ones to some people it would be just as bad. You can’t assume all of your followers speak the same language.

I can hear some of you asking “Why would you follow someone who tweets in a language you don’t understand?” The person above may well retweet and tweet things in other languages. At first glance, it may not be evident their first language is one I don’t understand. Especially if they are employing a lot of automation tools to curate their content.

9 “.Anita, thanks for following me. I really do appreciate it. I am a real person who truly cares about helping other get success. Go look me up on Facebook (username) and you will see I am a genuine and passionate person about helping others. I’ve been using a platform that provides me insane value to share in the marketplace, which positioned me as an authority in marketing and established my brand. I generate leads daily for my business, so I thought I would SHOW you how it can work for your business no matter what industry you are in. Can we set up a time where you are in front of your computer, so I can give you a FREE DEMO to share my screen and walk you through it? No obligation or pressure what so ever! Respond yes and I will share my phone number and Skype with you. I am very much looking forward to learning more about you and how I can help you achieve everything you deserve.”

WHEW. That’s a long one! Remember when DMs were limited to 140 characters? I received several versions of this one. Someone out there is selling this “system” to people and these are probably affiliate marketers. If you go watch it, and sign up, I’d bet good money they tell you to send this message out to people and get them to sign up…see the vicious circle?

8 “Are you in interested in your health? If so, I am as well and loving it.”

What if I’m NOT interested in my health…are you NOT, too?

7 “Love Chocolate? Me Too! I give away a free 12 step guide to growing your business during my keynote, you can get it for free here: bit.ly/####”

WAITAMINUTE! You’re NOT offering me chocolate? UNFOLLOW.

6 “You building an {insert network marketing company name} business? Struggling to get sales or sign-ups? Check out our free training: website.comx” 

Again, I received numerous versions of this from a variety of network marketing company representatives. Not all of these accounts were clear that they were trainers for network marketing companies. But hey, at least I now know to unfollow you.

5 “Thanks for the Follow! Feel free to Retweet / Reply to our posts and we’ll be glad to do the same!”

Ummm…yeah…that’s kinda what Twitter is all about, but thanks for telling me! Don’t ask me to do you a favour on our first communication.

Checkout my FREE Facebook Course at website.com.

There wasn’t even a “Thank you” with this one…just “Please marry me”.

3 @Username uses TrueTwit validation. To validate click here: truetwit.com/####

I really can’t believe people are still using this program. I wrote about how TrueTwit is a redundant service several years ago.

2 Hi Anita Kirkbride Really like the content you are sharing and your page! . Please click on the link below to access the awesome FREE Social Media training. Have a great week. bit.ly/#####

If you REALLY liked the content on my profile, you’d probably know that I’m offering social media training and resources to my followers…so I probably don’t feel like I need that from you. This is a perfect example of why you can’t/shouldn’t automate these things. Don’t say things you’re not actually doing…like checking out their feed!

1. @anitakirkbride HOWL YEAH!! Thanks for the Follow! Can you PLEASE do me a huge favor and RT my tweet at: bit.ly/###### Also LETS CONNECT at website.comx Thanks in advance

HOWL NO I won’t retweet you on the first communication. Points for creativity, but still no. Besides asking me to retweet something right off the bat, they asked to connect on other social networks. Nope. I’m following you on Twitter. If I like what I see here, I’ll check you out elsewhere, but prove yourself here first.

BONUS TIP:

Don’t send one automated message publicly and then an automated Twitter DM. That’s a Double Spam Whammy.

Not only was this an interesting experiment for receiving automated DMs on Twitter, it was also a great reminder why automated following programs probably won’t work…you really need to look at accounts before you follow them. I like to experiment with these things once in a while, but this one certainly didn’t result in any new business prospects.

Do you have a favourite automated Twitter DM tip, or most hated message? Share it in the comments.

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4 thoughts on “Why do so Many People Hate Twitter DMs?”

  1. So glad you wrote this. I had my fill of this, so I finally responded to one…

    DM FROM STRANGER: Hey, how are you doing? What are you advertising with your Twitter account? Do you have your own business?

    RESPONSE FROM ME: If you looked at my profile, you would know the answer to that. Take note, direct messages are not appropriate, especially personal ones, when you’ve only just connected with someone. Please respect professional decorum.

    Reply
    • Natasha, I KNOW! Many times I want to reply with something similar…but I hold back most of the time. Part of the problem is that there are social media experts out there telling people this is how you get to be successful on Twitter. Ay yi yi!

      Reply
  2. #5 – Let’s give up on the ‘feel free’s. We’re in business. Let’s make such great stuff that people *want* to share it and we won’t need wimpy lines like ‘feel free’.

    Reply

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