Like everyone else (and there mother), I got the invitation
to RT the Viral Twitter Tool, called Tweeter Getter, that sends you to a page to RT the following message:

“ @Garymccaffrey has a crazy idea, 19,530 new twitter followers in 30 days? Check it out..”
Then it requires you to proceed to enter your Twitter Username and your Twitter Password (that was actually
the first RED Flag for me, but onward with the story)

Then there are a list of 5 people that you will automatically follow and then they “return the favor”
by following you too.

(sounds like, I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours…)

 

 

When I first clicked on the link, I intuitively PASSED on partaking of this “MASS COLLECTION of FOLLOWERS”.

After all, who doesn’t want a “Rock star” Presense on Twitter, in only 30 days?

But Curiousity got the best of me, and I went through with the sign-up, “just to see what would happen”.
ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION

The voices in your head will usually give you stupid advice and will turn on you in a nano-second.
My intuition told me, why on earth would you want all these people who could give a crap about you
following you?

I’d much prefer a “BRITNEY” Following of Loyal followers who will love you through thick, thin, and bad hair days…rather than a bunch of people who followed me, just so they could “get MORE people”.

It truly defeats the purpose of Social media, which, to me, is about building relationships with people
who are genuinely interested in you, and you are interested in them, and you share value amongst each other.

Think of Twitter like one big party.

The Best parties I’ve been to are the ones that I had with family and friends - people who actually give a crap
about well, partying with me.

Tweeter Getter kinda reminds me of that episode of Hanna Montana, where Miley Cyrus and her brother forget their Dad’s Birthday, and then bring the Gardener, and the Plumber the day after to celebrate.

They didn’t care, the dad didn’t care…

What was the point?

Tweet Getter in my humble opinion, taints the meaning of what social media is about.

You skip the whole, lets get to know each other part, and just follow, cuz, well, cuz everyone else is doing it.

And I’m the type of girl that likes to march to the beat of her own drum.

I hate following the crowd! ( I should have known better!)

OBSERVING DEMI MOOORE

I really began to look at the REAL Influential people on Twitter, people who had a Ton of Organic Followers (meaning, people who had a GENUINE interest in who they were following) 

Take  Demi-Moore for example.

Every last person who is following her is either a hard core FAN or family and friend.

She shares personal photos of her and Ashton, sharing pics of their trips across the globe, it’s absolutely charming.

You can bet that Demi is not going to follow back a bunch of Marketers who want her to sign
up for their Biz-opp.

Quite Frankly, her Twitter Stream was so “intimate” that I almost felt I was intruding because, even though I like Demi Moore, I don’t like her enough to “follow” her.

Part of the Fun of Twitter is the Conversation, the interaction, I love @ ing with people I have stuff in common with, it’s just so much darn Fun…

But @ing with the drop shipper in China, just woudn’t make sense for what I do..ya know?

WHAT WOULD PERRY BELCHER DO?

And then after I really started to analyze the most followed people on twitter, like @garyvee, @perrybelcher  

@ mike_dillard  @alejandroreyes, @leolaporte  

I decided to even DELETE my entire Tweetlater Account.

Tweetlater is that oh so convenient, instant DM and Follower tool that allows you to Schedule your Tweets, or instant Private Message people as soon as they begin to follow you, which seems like a terrific idea except for the fact that it can come off as real ingenuine.

(Note to self: The next time one of these viral tools come out, think to yourself – WWPBD? (What would Perry Belcher Do?)

I mean, think about it, seriously, anyone who really gives a damn about their online reputation, before one of these new shiny tools surfaces think to yourself, would Mike Dillard, Perry Belcher, Frank Kern or any of those influential marketers use  a tool like Tweet Getter?

(I rest my case.)

Some of you may be reading this and Gasping, but you know what, a wise personal stylist on a Fashion makeover show I wathced once said,

“You can’t control what people think of you, but you CAN Control how you are presented” and
I don’t want to be perceived as a “spammer”, and sorry guys, but Tweet Getter, in my opinion, crosses that line.

I think that the instant tools, however convenient they can be, lack the essence of what social media marketing
is about, and it’s about being GENUINE and AUTHENTIC, and it’s about Building Relationships.

My decision to Delete my Tweetlater account once and for all ignited in my mind, after I had made
a connection with someone I regard extremely highly on twitter.

He’s was a well known MTV VJ back in the 80’s and is  Currently the Co-CEO of http://www.Mevio.com and the Godfather of Podcasting (the Podfather) Adam Curry.

He has a show I listen to faithfullly called “No Agenda” which you can check out here: http://noagenda.mevio.com

I began following Adam a couple of months ago when I heard he was on Twitter.

He’s got over 8,000 followers and was only following a couple hundred, but after a few cool @ interactions
with him (super Smart and Fun Guy) He began Following me, Super Cool.

When I went to look at my Private Welcome DM’s I realized that my CANNED Tweetlater Message was sent
to him, and I was flushed with embarrassment that a Canned, superficial, meaningless message to go
visit my BLOG was sent to him. YUCK!

It was at that moment I realized, that if I wasn’t going to look at each and every follower, and
DM them Personally, then I was totally missing the point of social media, which is QUALITY over Quantity.

So, although I do see alot of these tools as “convenient” and many of them are very Useful, if they
don’t maintain the integrity of who I am at a core level, then I won’t use them.

It’s more important to develop quality relationships with people who want to hear your message.

Not doing this would be the equivalent of the Pope following Jenna Jameson, or Mother Teresa following Howard Stern.

It just wouldn’t happen, and much less, make sense.

From here on out, I’ve privately and personally DM’d  every single follower manually, who I have a genuine interest in, and ignite a long lasting meaningful relationship.

The response is so much more meaninfgul becasue, lest we forget, that on the other side of that TWEET or DM is a “REAL PERSON” and if you can manage to bring back the “human touch” to marketing, you will have fans for life and THAT my friends, is more important than having a bunch of followers.

After all, that’s how it Works in the “Real World!”

===============================================
Barbie Figueroa
Like me? Follow me http://www.twitter.com/barbiefigueroa
skype: barbie.figueroa1

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