Once again, this post will be more of a rant than anything else.
I have seen a pattern that has been on the rise recently on Twitter: automated appreciation.
Now there are a few ways people look at this, From what I've seen, most view this as a means of giving thanks while away/busy with other things. After receiving a follow from someone, be it person or bot, a friendly message pops up in the DM (direct message) inbox with a lovely, "custom" thank you. There are ways this works to your advantage and ways it does not. How it is currently used is vastly incorrect.
Instead of personal engagement and social communication after a follow or friendly message, the network is being flooded with impersonal relationships. It feels as if one person walks into another's business, enjoys what he has to offer then leaves a pre-typed note on his desk. It's horrible, really.
To be honest, out of ten follows received on Twitter, the majority being other Twitch or YouTube content creators, I'd say one or two will have a nice back and forth with me. The rest automate their responses. Here is an example of how the "interaction" goes:
Oh! New messages in my Twitter Mention. Sweet!
Cool! A fellow streamer/YouTuber
Me: Hey man! Thanks for following. I see you enjoy streaming COD Black Ops 3.
How's that going, dude? ^.^
New follower: Thanks (insert name here) for the follow! Be sure to follow me on
Twitch.tv/MyStream. You are very cool, friend. Sub me at
YouTube.com/MyChannel.
Thanks for the support! @crowdfire (appears in my DM)Really...? That's what constitutes for interaction now?
If no response is received from the new follower after I reach out, they swiftly become unfollowed. And the scary thing is, this has become the norm. People ask for far too much without giving anything up front. Sub me! Follow me! Good talk. Ok? Bye!
Think of it this way....if someone takes the time to follow you based on what they've seen from the content you've created or a referral from a friend, it would mean a lot to reach out. And the "I'm too busy" line does not apply here. We all have 24 hours in a day. Take one hour or a half hour to reply to all messages. Be the person who builds relationships with followers on a daily basis.
Anytime a message on Twitter is received or comment on YouTube/G+, I make it a priority to reply as soon as possible. You are your own brand and business. Giving the bare minimum to those people will cause them to find someone else who will find the time to invest in them.
In the larger scheme of things, numbers aren't everything.
What would you rather have: fifty loyal followers who constantly engage you in conversation and support your content or one thousand numbers on your under the "follow" stat line with only a handful looking at what you create?
Twitter is crowded and very noisy. I get that. Yet unless you are the President of the United States, Gary Vaynerchuk (Google him. He's great!) or Bill Gates, you have time to connect with your community.
The only time I see automated responses as a plus in building a brand on social media is an email receipt after a purchase or subscription. That's pretty much where it stops for me. If I try conversing with you and receive nothing but automated responses in my DM, that's the first and last message that will be sent. And I feel that's the standard many should set going forward. Why accept head nod of acknowledgement over a handshake?
Get out there and engage, folks. Your heart will grow ten sizes in 140 characters or less.
