Twitter ‘expert” or Twitter ‘twit’?

It really is buyer beware out there – even on free webinars

Social Media’s reputation for being a bit like the Wild West of old is not helped by the current proliferation of people “selling” their Twitter “expertise.”

Just today I came across this pitch (selected quotes here) for a free Webinar that you just know is really a sales pitch:

“What is Twitter? Is Twitter for me? Can I increase sales? Can I increase brand awareness? Learn the ‘Secrets’ of Twitter and why you NEED to be there.” It goes on to say that “During this one hour event you will discover best practices” which it says includes “How to be on the fast track for your business” and “Results-driven sales strategies you can use in your marketing plan.”

This is an odd thing, really, because this sounds like old school “push” selling not at all like New School “customer engagement” for which Social Media such as Twitter is better suited.

But there are other clues that this particular person (whom I should, but will not name) is selling themselves as an expert in Twitter when really they may have little to offer on that platform. For example, this person:

- Does not list their Twitter handle in their promotional materials, which might lead you to suspect he/she does not want to be checked up on.

- Joined Twitter in October last year and in nine months has tweeted a total of 180 times – or an average of 20 times a month. But almost 40 of those tweets came in the past week as the date for the webinar drew close.

- Ranks poorly across numerous Twitter grading sites. For example, Twitalyzer ranks their Twitter use as “very, very low” or “very low” across three of five categories and “slowly emerging” in another.

Tips for detecting a “Twit”

1. Find their Twitter name and look at their profile. Pay attention to number Following vs. Followers and the number of Updates. If there is a Web link check out the site the Twitter profile is linked to. What you find there will often reveal a lot about the person behind the Twitter account.

2. Use Twitter Search to plug in their user name and see how much activity shows up and, perhaps more importantly, when it shows up. A savvy Twitter user will not have clusters of tweets at a given time ona given day and then long gaps of inactivity.



3. Use Twitter grading tools to see if this “expert” ranks well among other Twitter users. Two quick ones:

Twitter Grader: Here you enter the “expert’s” Twitter name and see how they score. Do not be overly impressed by a score in the low- to mid-90s (on a scale of 100). An actively engaged Twitter user will score 97, 98, 99 or even 100 out of 100. This tool also tells you how long the user has been on Twitter.

Twitalyzer: This tool measures a Twitter user in five areas: Influence, Signal, Generosity, Velocity and Clout. It also tells you the trends for this user from “unchanged” to “improving.” A user with generally low scores and trends that are “unchanged” in all five areas is likely less than fully engaged in Twitter.


In summary, anyone seeking expertise in any Social Media such as Twitter would be well advised to do a little research – and the social web makes this easier than ever.

Related Posts
10 Commandments for Social Media
Twetiquette: 10 basics for Twitter politeness
10 Reasons I Won’t Follow You on Twitter
Fighting Twitter Pyramid Schemes
The Twitter Term “Twanker”

10 Reasons I won’t follow you on Twitter

There are probably hundreds more, but …

There are probably dozens if not hundreds of reasons some people on Twitter won’t follow others. Here are my Top 10 reasons.

I won’t follow you if …

1. You don’t have a bio: There may be a good reason, but I can’t imagine what it is. It takes 30 seconds to say something about who you are. The same thing goes if you don’t have a geographic location. It does not need to be specific: city and state or city and country will do just fine. Of course, if you have something to hide … that too is reason enough not to follow you.

2. You don’t have an avatar: The Twitter "egg" avatar just tells the world you haven’t made the time to get a small picture or symbol out there … or maybe you have something to hide.

3. You have been on Twitter for less than a month: Unless I can see a history of activity stretching back at least a month I suspect all Twitter accounts to have a.) hidden agendas or b.) be the accounts of people not fully committed to being part of the Twitter community … yet. I’ve been told this is hard on newbies, but I know from experience that too many newbies set up an account, tweet a few times and then go silent. (Of course if I know you in real life, that's different.)

4. You don’t tweet at least once per day: You don’t have to tweet every day, but if you’re only tweeting once or twice a week the chances are I will miss your tweets and we really won’t interact at all. So why bother?

5. You have nothing to say or share: We’ve all seen the accounts where people build large follower numbers and in three months on Twitter have only tweeted a few dozen times to let the world know “It’s raining here now” or “Just made a PBJ sandwich.” Really? Is this adding value to anyone? Yourself included?

6. You follow way more people than follow you: You may not be a creeper. You may just be desperate to build a large online following. Either way you scare me.

7. Your Profile reveals you are mostly there to sell: I get stuff pushed on me in plenty of other ways. I don’t need Twitter to feel like a selling channel.

8. Your tweet history is full of self-promotional words or links: If “you” are all about “you” and the things “you” want to sell or promote, then “you” clearly missed the memo that Twitter is supposed to be a “social” medium. “You” don’t need me to follow “you.” All “you” really need is a mirror so you can admire the view. See Commandment No. 1 in 10 Commandments for Social Media

9. You are promoting porn, gambling or other vices: ‘Nuff said. If I wanted this stuff I’m pretty sure I could find it on my own.

10. You are a business and only ever tweet about the business: As much as you love your business and think everybody else should too, I’m sorry I just don’t care. Having said that, I will admit to connecting with social causes and the organizations that support them. That at least seems more in the spirit of social media.


Related posts:
Twetiquette: 10 basics for Twitter politeness
What Twitter isn’t
10 Commandments for Social Media

5 Reasons Social Media Can Be Like Lingerie

Let us count the ways:

1. It is revealing: Whatever you say or show in the social world is out there for all to see. You may feel partially covered (hidden) in Social Media, but just like wearing lingerie that is mostly illusion.

2. Its cut says something about you: Show too little or too much and the world will judge. In Social Media are you fully covered and yet very revealing? Or are you barely covered and still impossible to see through?

3. The way you use it speaks volumes: Do you only get into it (Social Media) once in a while? Does it sometimes make you feel uncomfortable? Perhaps more frequent use can overcome these issues.

4. You probably have a combination of pieces: Social Media offers multiple ways to have “fun” while getting into “trouble” Your challenge is to just “wear” what feels comfortable.

5. It can get you into real trouble: Use Social Media inappropriately and you will get in trouble.

And in a sense the best similarity is that in Social Media (as in lingerie) transparency is a very good thing.

Related posts:
10 Commandments for Social Media
10 Things To Watch Out For In Social Media
10 Social Media No-Nos
5 Steps Before Jumping Into Social Media

Twetiquette: 10 basics for Twitter politeness

1. Add value to others’ lives. This is the Golden Rule of Twitter.

2. Don’t ask for anything. Or at least don’t ask 99.9 percent of the time.

3. Use RT (Re Tweet) label. Taking someone else’s tweet and then tweeting it as though it were your information, in a sense, is stealing. Be original. There is no shame in a RT. Without people doing this some content would not get very far.

4. Thank people … often. Thank them for following you. Thank them for RT-ing you. Thank them for including you on a #FollowFriday list. Thank them for a great tweet.

5. If you reply, mention what you are replying to. “Great tweet” is meaningless response if the person you are getting back to has had more than a single tweet in the past week.

6. Use Direct Message for anything that is less than positive.

7. Only use Reply if you think your followers will care about your reply.

8. Do not use an auto responder or an auto follow bot. It sends the message that your fellow Twitterers are just numbers and not that important to you.

9. Play nice. It seems so obvious, but if you anything you say on Twitter can be misconstrued (where a lot of visual clues are missing) – it will be.

10. Be you. Being genuine in all your Twitter dealings will, over time, set you apart from those who are these just to get an audience, just to sell something or just to be annoying.

Further reading:
10 Commandments for Social Media
Social Media disasters