From socialquant.com
Proper Etiquette 101: How To Send A Direct Message On
Twitter
If
you look at them at all, chances are that you’ve noticed that Twitter removed
the 140-character limit on its direct message feature recently (August 12
to be exact).
The
change was made, according to Twitter, to make the “private side of Twitter
even more powerful and fun.”
It
was definitely a welcome change for many.
I
mean, have you ever successfully had a REAL conversation with someone over DM
WITHOUT having to send multiple messages because you hit a wall at 140
characters?
Unfortunately,
if you give some people an inch they’ll take a mile.
I
had a recent conversation with someone and noticed that the messages, sent
about one a day, were being BURIED by the many messages that said something to
the effect of, “Thank you for following me. For more information about ME…”
I’ve
always found these messages to be frustrating, but she pointed out that they
seem to be worse now that the character limit has been expanded (and we were
forced to take our conversation to email, instead).
The
question is: is it even okay to send direct messages?
What
about automated direct messages?
Are
they completely off limits, now?
Keep
reading to learn the proper etiquette for how to send a direct message on
Twitter.
DON’T
send DMs that push your own agenda.
This
is really what it comes down to, at the end of the day.
If
all you’re doing is thanking people and then going straight to pushing your own
agenda like telling them to check out your website, then you’re wasting your
time because all you will do is annoy people (including me) and instead of getting more Twitter followers, you’ll actually begin to
see you follower growth shrink.
DO
use DMs for private customer service issues.
Twitter
is a great place to go for customer service, and now that companies can opt in
to receive DMs from anyone (even people they aren’t following), it’s even
easier to communicate with customers.
Now
that DMs can be longer than 140 characters, it may often be easier to describe
an issue in a DM rather than a tweet, especially if it’s something the customer
wants to address privately.
Holding
these conversations over DM also keeps the entire conversation in one place,
which makes it easier for everyone.
DON’T
send people links that they don’t ask for.
This
is somewhat similar to my first “don’t”, in that you shouldn’t be pushing your
own agenda by sending people links to your other social media sites or your
website unless they ask for it.
It
also means that you shouldn’t invite someone to communicate with you on another
platform like Facebook (unless you find yourself in a position like I did where
your DMs are being buried; then they’ll likely understand).
DO
use auto DMs WISELY.
I’m
probably going to go to Twitter jail for just typing
those words.
However,
I have to tell you that I’ve had a lot of success with using DMs to
start conversations.
The
key is that you either need to be providing value or sending something that is
curiosity driven to get a conversation going.
It
needs to be all about building relationships.
Currently
I’m using an auto DM that thanks people for connecting with me and asks if
they’re using social media for business or pleasure. And it
works!
I
get a large amount of Twitter engagement within DMs and
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS there.
That
said, if you are using auto DMs to push your own agenda then I completely agree
with the many marketers who are vehemently opposed to using them.
However,
if you leverage direct messages strategically, they do work and you should give
them a try.
Final
Thoughts
If
you are sending any kind of DM (automated or otherwise) that doesn’t contain
value, then stop immediately. This is not the way to sell on Twitter.
However,
if you are interested in using them strategically as a means of building
relationships with people online, even influencers who might miss your tweets,
they can be a great option.
Just
make sure that you give value first and that you put your own agenda on the
back burner.
Are
you using any kind of automated DM?
What
do you feel is the proper etiquette on how to send a direct message on Twitter?
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