Automated Direct Messages: Useful or Evil?
Wednesday, May 6th 2009 @ 7:55 AM (not yet rated)
Disclaimer: This article is based on personal opinion. I, in no way, am writing this to judge how others choose to use Twitter nor am I suggesting that people use Twitter "my way". If I don't like how you use Twitter I will unfollow you, and I would expect the same of those following me.
So you start following someone who you think might be interesting based on their previous tweets or profile. Moments later you receive a direct message from that person. You think, "Wow! This person is really on top of things!". Well, he or she might be, but chances are you received an automated direct message that was triggered by your following that person. Does this bother you? Your answer, if like most Twitter users surveyed* is "it depends".
The Direct Message, Message.
Here is a sampling of some of the auto DM's I have received in the last 24 hours alone, and my opinion on each type.
Auto DM#1: "The Hard Offer".
"Thanks for the Follow! Looking to Build Your Twitter Following & Get Paid$ for It.Go To:[URL Removed]"
For me, these are automatic unfollows. I find it obvious that the intention of the message was to separate me from my money, and nothing else. Plus, most of these offers are cheesy, deceptive, and/or scammy. Here is some iorny... at times when I unfollow these people they accuse me of "spam following" them and call my unfollow "unethical".
It is clear my most people despise automated direct messages: by my counts, over 95% of all automated DMs I receive as a result of following someone are indeed, spam (or hard offers).
Auto DM#2: "The Soft Offer".
"Thanks for the following! Please Grab a FREE Preview Copy of my Upcoming Book :[URL Removed]. It's Totally Free!"
These don't bother me as much. I understand marketing and know that anything on the Internet that is "free" is most often just a way to sell you something else. This is how the Internet works and I accept it. I would not automatically unfollow someone who sends a soft offer, but rarely would I ever accept the offer based on an automated direct message. And I do find them pretty annoying.
Auto DM#3: The "More About"
Thanks for the follow, You can visit my blog [URL Removed] if you want and if you find it interest you can subscribe.
These are the ones I do appreciate the most. If someone follows you, they are most likely interested in you, so why not point them to where they can find out more about you? This DM has a purpose that rarely offends the recipient.
I experiment with several versions of a DM, but here is our current one (as of this post) for this account (@thepodcast):
Hi! Ryan and I are here to answer questions about Twitter. Ask us here or listen to our podcast: http://www.twooting.com. Thanks and welcome!
I like to start off with anything but "thanks for the follow" or anything similiar. I used to do this, but to me this is overused and I now associate this with spam. So "Hi!" does fine.
Next I want to let the user know what our Twitter account is about and what we can do for them. I use real names to confirm that we are not "bots"; we are human.
"Ryan and I are here to answer questions about Twitter."
Then a URL to where they can find more about us and/or what we do/offer/are all about.
"Ask us here or listen to our podcast: http://www.twooting.com"
Finally a thanks and welcome to indirectly tell the user they received this direct message as a result of following me -- without actually saying that.
Auto DM#4: The "Thanks for the Follow"
Hey Folks, Thanks for following me! I know you will enjoy it.
I find these just plain worthless and a waste of time -- 3 seconds that I will never get back. Sure, I can see how showing gratitude may seem like the right thing to do, but I would rather have my 3 seconds (assuming that is the time it takes to open read a DM).
Automated Direct Message Services. There are many Twitter tools and services that allow you to create automated direct messages. My favorite is my own software that this site runs on, iGrOOps, but I am biased. Besides that, a great free solution I have used in the past is TweetLater.
Some Other Creative Uses. I have seen a few automated DMs link to a video of the user introducting themselves. I found this very interesting and entertaining. However, I recently got suckered by following another video "introduction" which turned out to be a hard sales pitch, so now I click with caution.
I have seen automated direct messages that contain a question. This can go both ways. On the one hand, this is an excellent way to initiate dialog with your new followers. Questions like... "Do you have a website or a blog? What is the URL?" seem to do well. On the other hand, depending on the number of followers onc has, this kind of questioning could appear disingenuos. For example, if you have 20,000 users following you, it is unlikley you will actually do soemthing with the answers that your users take valuable time to construct, and users know it. Be honest.
What about those who have DMs being sent directly to their phone via SMS, and have to pay for your direct messages? I have received a few nasty DMs before "yelling" at me for my auto DM, because it cost the recipent money. To those people I can honestly say, that is not my problem. If you choose to receive ALL DMs via SMS, you are asking for trouble. Twitter provides the ability to choose which users you receive DMs via SMS from. This option should be used.
What about automated direct messages not triggered by someone following you? I have yet to see a legitimate purpose for a random automated direct message. Generally speaking, direct messages are more likely to be read than just a update in your timeline, so if you have something you really want your users to see a mass direct message may seem like the right choice. However, I think that your users would see this as spam and unfollow you immediately for it. Twitter does not provide the functionality to do this for a reason.
Twitter has few rules surrounding direct messages. Your etiquette will be formed by the response of your followers. Just remember that very few, if any, of your followers will care enough to tell you they don't like your direct message -- they will just unfollow you, so create your automated direct message with caution.
* I have looked at several independent surveys to get a rough idea of the feeling of the community. If you want exact numbers, I can make some up for you.
