Are you an avid tweeter? If so, you may be like me and find yourself automatically editing lines of text into 140 characters or less in your head. Or you are unable to read headlines without immediately crafting them into #hashtags.
Ah well…’tis a happy little habit! 🙂
I just finished cleaning up the followers list on several of my Twitter profiles, and I thought my experience might be worth sharing. For as much as I love HootSuite and some of the other great social media time-saving apps out there, I still feel it is extremely important to drop by your Twitter profiles directly every couple of weeks or so and really give them a good looking-over.
Tonight, I used the “Block” and the “Report” option many times on my profiles. Because I believe the old saying “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” most certainly applies to our social media lives as much as it does to our “real” lives.
I am not of the opinion that rapidly increasing your number of Twitter followers is ever a good idea, particularly if you are a new company just beginning to make a name for yourself on Twitter.
Take some time. Formulate your bio carefully. Look at the trends. Try out some #hashtags that describe your personal interests and read the profiles, tweets and re-tweets of those Twitter users who are frequently using those tags- their FULL PROFILES – before you ever follow them yourself.
When I am managing the social media for my clients, I never automatically follow a new follower from their profile until I first check that follower out thoroughly. It might take me twenty extra seconds to click-through to that new follower’s website from their bio, but that time is extremely well spent if it helps me to identify potential spam language, questionable photos or profanity. If I have any question about that follower, I go ahead and block them completely from even following my client’s site. And if I feel convinced they are spammers, the I take the extra step and report them, too.
Because the creepers are getting pretty brilliant, friends. You can’t differentiate them purely by their profile photos or even by the repetitive links they share anymore. Don’t take any chances. Just fly away.
Remember, never (ever) click-through or open ANY link without a good security program installed and working on your computer. And always be sure that your browser’s settings are dialed to their highest protective level before investigating the site of someone new.
Keep your nest clean. Watch your tail feathers, and Happy Tweeting!