9 Easy Ways to Get Unfollowed on Twitter

Ever since the birth of paper.li and my obsession with aggregating all the content-sharing tweets in my Twitter stream, I have been very aware of annoying Tweeters. Why?  If I don't clean out my Twitter stream every now and then, my paper.li gets overwhelmed with stories I do not want to read about.

(To view an example of a paper.li Twitter e-newspaper I manage, check out RE Technology, Inc.'s)

Ironically, one of the articles I found interesting, while peeling through my RETechnologyInc Daily was on the very topic of pitfalls of Tweeting that will result in getting people to un-follow you.  In the world of social media, being un-followed is almost equivalent to being virtually told you are annoying or you like things that aren't cool.  It brings many of us back to school yard drama.

Jason Yormark, social media marketer, sympathizes to a degree with people who unwittingly abuse common Twitter faux pas. In a recent post he outlines his top 9 Twitter annoyances.  I definitely agree with most. (I still un-follow people who flood my stream with nonsense, but that is due to my paper.li love as stated above.)

Here are his top 9 ways to get unfollowed on Twitter:

1. Under Tweet – If you don't provide any value, what good are you? You're just Twitter waste and taking up space. Don't expect much of a following if you aren't posting at least 1-2 times a day. It's 140 characters people! It doesn't get much easier!

2. Over Tweet – Just like under tweeting, too much and you'll find yourself alone in the Twitterverse. Nobody cares about your Foursquare checkins and what you ate at The Olive Garden last night. Simmer down Captain Tweet McTweeterson.

3. Don't Value Tweet – Striking the right balance on frequency is only part of the game. Like I said before, most people aren't interested in knowing that burrito you ate gave you a belly ache. Provide value by sharing interesting articles and media you find online. Share a laugh or two. Save people time by sharing what you find.

4. Don't Follow Back – If someone deems you follow worthy, shouldn't they be granted the same courtesy? This one has proponents on both sides, but with new tools like Tweetdeck, Seesmic and Hootsuite, it's easier then ever to organize who you follow so no need to be elitist here. Return the favor.

5. Conversation Tweets – Look, if you really want to have a back and forth conversation, use DM, email or IM. Don't clog the streams with things like @name Thanks! or @name That was so funny!. Nobody else knows what you mean. It's OK every once in awhile, but keep it up and you'll only have each other!

6. Only Tweet Your Stuff – Self promotion is great and expected, but we can only take so much before you become a Me Monster. Pepper in some useful stuff that doesn't involve you and people are much more likely to check your stuff out.

7. Auto DM (Direct Message) – Now, this one I don't personally care that much about, but lots of people do. Nobody wants to get some spammy auto DM from you with an affiliate link to some crappy "how to make a zillion dollars on the web" link. Be genuine, keep it clean, and save us from your ineffective marketing techniques.

8. Mafia Wars, Farmville, "Enter Crappy Web Game Here" – I don't want to join your Mafia, I don't want to build an online farm. Seriously people, one time is all you get. After that it's banishment to unfollow land.

9. Re-tweet Your Tweets – Hey, if no one else did the first time around, chances are they won't the second time. We all swing and miss once in awhile, just step back up to the plate and take another cut with something new.

What are some of your Twitter faux pas?

To read Jason's original and full blog post, please visit his blog.

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