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Blogs by L.T. Suzuki
How I Select Followers on Twitter
4/28/2012 8:50:37 PM
The why and how I select my followers on this Social Media.
There is certainly an upside to having a growing group of Twitter followers. It’s fun engaging in online chats with people all over this fabulous world. It also makes the executive producer happy to know my platform is growing and more people are following my writing adventure as the first in a motion picture trilogy of my epic adult fantasy series marches steadily toward full movie production. And it is hoped that once the movie is released late next year/early 2014, these people will be there for the movie premier (along with a gaggle of their friends and family)!
The downside of trying to follow as many people as there are following me, it makes it impossible to keep up with the steady and rapid Twitter stream, even with TweetDeck supposedly managing the flow to make it easier for me to keep up!
I was recently asked by a follower I did not follow back about why I didn’t bother to reciprocate. Thankfully, she was very gracious and understanding when I told her that with over 4,400 followers and following over 2,000 tweeps myself, it’s become very difficult to stay on top of a chat stream to maintain any kind of meaningful relationship with these people. Because of this, I’ve been forced to become very selective as to whom I choose to follow. As she was neither a writer, reader, book blogger, or martial artist, in other words, we had really nothing in common other than we are both female (and I’m a lot older than she is), I explained I was looking for those I had something in common with that.
I do enjoy just chatting and seeing how my fellow tweeps are coming along with there WIP, if they’ve met their daily writing goals, how their book signing went and what they’re reading now, and so on. Sometimes, it’s got nothing to do with writing or reading and my tweeps will engage in chatting about day-to-day things, funny moments that break up my hours of writing, or we just speak nonsense as we blow off some steam.
As the idea of social media is to be social, in order to maintain a reasonable ‘online relationship’ I admit I’ve become much more selective as to whom I choose to follow. I no longer follow out of courtesy. I have to have a reason to follow and it requires more than just being a fellow author.
So what are the criteria in order to have me follow?
I do not follow for these reasons:
1. If you are following, but you have 0 tweets, I won’t follow. I want to follow if you have something to share/say. If you’re just following and have nothing to contribute on this social media, it feels creepy, like a stalker lurking in the shadows listening to what others have to say.
2. If every tweet is about where to buy your books or links to all the rave reviews you’re getting, I won’t follow.
3. If every tweet is a quote from either your book, your reviews or quotes from other authors, I’m not interested in following.
4. If it’s number 2 and 3, plus “Please RT my links” so you can buy my books & read my great reviews, I won’t follow. (Surprised by how many do this!)
5. If it’s all of the above or if every tweets is just about you, i.e. I had publicity shots done today; I’ll be appearing at x, y, & z tomorrow; I had my manicure and pedicure at this salon yesterday… In other words, if you’re so self-absorbed you go on social media to talk only about yourself, I’m really not interested. I want engaging chat, not ‘it’s all about me’ one-sided chats.
6. If you have nothing in common with me or you feel you can change my life by helping me make investment decisions, or you feel I’ve lost my way and you can help me find god again, I’m not going to follow you.
7. If you are on Twitter and it’s all about gaining as big a following as you can, and your introductory tweet to me is: Follow me & I’ll follow you back! I ain’t biting. I’m going for quality followers, not quantity.
8. If you’re an author, but practically every tweet contains profanity, I’ll likely not follow. (And as my young daughter says, “As a writer, isn’t there a more creative ways to express yourself than always using the F-word?”)
The people I am most likely to follow are:
1. Fellow authors that are actually social on Twitter get my follow! (They have a blog to share, writing tips and suggestions, and are just fun to chat to!)
2. Even if you don’t always chat with me, but you will support fellow writers by RTing valuable or fun links and making FF recommendations, you’ll likely to get a thumb’s up from me.
3. I don’t care if you’re an aspiring writer struggling to get that first novel done, if you are looking to connect and chat with your fellow writers, in all likelihood, I’ll follow back, especially if you write epic fantasy or YA fantasy, too!
4. You don’t need to be a fellow writer! If you love books, especially if you enjoy reading the genre I write in, we have something in common to chat about.
5. If you’re a book reviewer or book blogger, I especially like the ones who are NOT writers, and you post well-written, thoughtful, honest opinions about the book you’ve read, I am likely to follow you!
6. If you’re neither a writer, book reviewer, nor are you an avid reader, but you’re just interesting and fun to strike up a chat with, I’ll likely give you the thumb’s up, too.
I’ve had followers who met my criteria, but when I explain I have no time to critique their ms for them or I am unwilling to pitch their ms to my agent or film producer, especially when I have no idea if it’s crappy or good writing, I haven’t had to unfollow. Instead, the few who made these requests usually, and angrily, unfollow and block me so I need not take any kind of action.
So, for all those I have not followed, please do not take this personally. If you choose to unfollow me because of this post, that’s fine! I understand and you are welcome to do so.
Just know that if you do follow me, but I don’t follow back, it is nothing personal. However, should you take the time to drop me a line, I try to make it a point to answer your tweets as long as I can find it in my Twitter stream. Rest assured, you will not be ignored! Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Hope you’re back to read next week’s author feature.
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