Since I’ve been on Twitter since 2008, I’ve truly been able to benefit from the social networking platform. The majority of information I know today is a direct result of the many hours I’ve spent reading the links shared by people I follow on Twitter. I also enjoy conversing with my Twitter friends both on the Twitter stream and in DM (direct message). DM on Twitter is the equivalent of the PM or private messaging on Facebook. People typically DM each other if they want the conversation to be private and only read by two people. I use DM on Twitter frequently, and I have even written an article here on Bit Rebels titled 5 Cool Ways To Use DM On Twitter. That article focuses on the many different ways you can take advantage of the functionality of your DM.
DM is a great way for you to do interviews or chat with your close pals on Twitter without cluttering your stream with a conversation that might not be relevant to your other followers. Keeping about 4 or 5 tweets in a conversation is great on stream, and if you want to be polite, the rest of the conversation you can continue in Twitter direct messages. I usually encourage people to share with me in Twitter DM blog articles that they have found helpful, as well posts they have written so I can read them, comment and share them with my own followers. After all, no one can be watching their stream 24/7. So, I think this is a great way to get updated. However, I rarely send retweet requests though DM, my followers know that. But if you like making those requests through DM, and if people are ignoring them, these may be some of the reasons.
1. The content is crappy or not relevant to the Twitter user – Make sure that what you share is something that is relevant and gives value to the person you are sending it to. People use Twitter differently, and most of the people I know usually share information that is relevant to their followers. Your tweet might not get retweeted to their stream because they feel that it is something that is not worth sharing.
2. You bombard them with spam – There are a lot of people who set up auto DMs. Most of the time, the people who do this set up a welcome message. When someone follows them, that message is sent automatically. I really don’t mind it because they send it only once. However, I know a lot of people who do not like it at all. What can get irritating is when they keep trying to sell you things through DM that you aren’t interested in. If you are a serial spammer, don’t expect people to tweet your blog or ever buy your product or service.
3. All you do is ask for retweets over and over again – Some people send me blog posts to read and/or retweet. When I find it interesting, I often comment and share it. But there are some people who seem to ask for retweets too often. Sometimes I might get 3 or 4 requests in a day. You must learn how to ask properly and with respect.
4. They do not trust you – When all you do is request interviews and retweets, yet you never converse with your followers, don’t expect them to respond to you via DM. Twitter is not just about sharing information. It is also about conversations and getting to know the people you follow and those who follow you. Respect and trust are important. Get to know people, and you will see a difference. Once you start to interact, you will get a much better response.
5. Your Twitter followers don’t owe you anything – Everyone is free to do what he or she feels is right on Twitter. We must never expect people to do what we ask them to do. I know a lot of people have unfollowed me because I don’t always share or do what is asked of me. I don’t really mind when they unfollow. I would never compromise my beliefs or what I think is right just to keep a follower from unfollowing me.
How about you? Do you know of any other reasons why you would ignore a DM request on Twitter? Share your reasons here with us. We would love to hear from you.
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