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Creative Ramblings > Ramblings > Please, kill the Auto DM

Please, kill the Auto DM

17 Jan, 2012 Ramblings Tips Twitter Permalink

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” as they say. Though social etiquette may have evolved and be more relaxed, it still matters. It is especially important online, where people are judged based on their pictures and written words. And this explains why so many hate Auto DMs on Twitter.

About a year ago, I decided to experiment with Auto DMs. For a few weeks, my new followers received this message: “Hello, it is nice to meet you. Do you have any question on social media? Feel free to ask me on my Facebook Fan Page or here.” The result? I did not gain one “like” on my Page, and no one ever asked me a question on Twitter. Further, I noticed that a lot of people unfollowed me within a couple of days, even if I shared interesting content and connected with them.

Auto DMs are too impersonal and always self-promotional. If you want people to take an interest in your services and products, let your actions speak louder than your words. Be professional, engage with others, share great content, be helpful, and most importantly: Kill the Auto DM!

 

 

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Creative Commons License
This article by Cendrine Marrouat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

About The Author

Cendrine Marrouat is a journalist, blogger, content curator, author, and workshop facilitator located in Canada. She is the founder of two social media blogs: Social Media Slant and Creative Ramblings. On March 6, 2012, she released The Little Big eBook on Blogging: 40 Traffic Generation Tips, a comprehensive resource that provides bloggers of all levels with essential information and precise guidance to attract quality traffic to their blogs. She is currently working on an eBook on social media strategies that should be released before the end of 2013.
  • http://www.valpocreative.com Tony

    I disagree, I think they are excellent, very useful, unless you have the time to sit in front of your computer 24/7, an auto DM allows your followers to know that you acknowledge their presence. A little tweaking and you could have gotten better results.. Nothing wrong with using one social media to promote your other page, but you do have to be more tactic-full on how you present this to your people… You are not there yet in the relationship with your new follower, he just started following you and the first thing you are doing is sending him elsewhere… This small tweak would have given you way better results, try this “Hello, it is nice to meet you. If you have any question on social media? Feel free to ask me, you can also connect with me on my Facebook here.”

    A lot more inviting and flexible, you are now giving them options instead of driving them away from the place they just joined..

    Best of luck
    Tony Porto

  • Cendrine Marrouat

    Tony, thank you for your comment. I respectfully disagree with your statement. All the auto DMs I have read follow the same pattern. Not one is efficient. And I have read many.

    There is a fine line between acknowledging a person’s presence and treating them like a number. And that’s what I was referring to in the article. Tweaking or not, auto DMs are automatic notifications.

    Thank you for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind for future reference!

    Have a great day!

  • http://twitter.com/Tweet4OK @Tweet4OK

    I love this!!! I found your blog post when I was looking for an illustration for today's webinar – thanks for sharing :-)

    • http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com Cendrine Marrouat

      Hello Tweet4OK! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!