In a recent class I taught on creating profitable relationships via social media, I emphasized (more than once!) how important it is to have a community of well matched followers in your online social networks.
Social Media Purge: Size Isn’t Everything
Too many people are gripped by the fear of “missing out on something” or “not being taken seriously” if they don’t have 5 digit followings. The number doesn’t equate your success in business. You may look cool or popular, but at the end of the day, if it’s not making you money, inviting opportunities, or enriching you… what’s the point?
My pal Lou Bortone, who wrote a great post on this topic last week, agrees that it’s important to sort through the muck. I want to add to the conversation and put you to a dare.
DARE, DOUBLE DARE…
I dare you, no make that DOUBLE dare you, to go into your Twitter, Facebook and other social media followers and do some purging. Want a peek at how I do it? Here’s my uncensored list of who to purge.
1. No Avatar
If the person has no avatar (that’s the photo of you that accompanies your posts), then remove him or her.
2. Not a Real Person
If the person isn’t even a person but rather a puppy, a teddy bear, a slot machine, or my personal favorite- a flashy dollar sign- then delete. I also put pin-up type pics in this category, especially ones with user names like “MakeLotsaMoney”.
3. Uneven Follower/Following Ratio
Twitter accounts that have thousands of followers but are only following a few people need to go. Those are usually spammers.
4. Humongous Language Barrier
And this isn’t meant to be politically incorrect, but if a person posts in a language you don’t speak and it’s obvious there is a humongous language barrier present, then delete. I have many international friends but we can at least communicate in the same language and understand each other (fortunately I’m bilingual so this works for me). It’s the people who you are virtually pantomiming with who aren’t a good match.
5. Peeps Who Never Post
If the person rarely or never posts, then remove. Unless of course it’s your 83 year old aunt who somebody created a Facebook account for… give her some time.
6. Haters- Don’t Wantcha!
Mean people suck and they aren’t fun to be with. I take the haters off with very little to no mercy. Believe it or not, I watch the stream and unfollow and even BLOCK people who delight in being mean or negative. Don’t even mess with the haters on Twitter, they eat their young and will go at your throat if you aren’t careful.
Great Tool to Purge Your Twitter Followers
A good tool my friend Maria Reyes McDavis recently blogged about is Tweetblocker. This is a great one for deleting people from your Twitter list. But be sure to watch out for your 83 year old aunt, you don’t want to block her. I actually scan the list thoroughly to make sure I’m not locking someone out who I know for a fact is still learning. Read Maria’s blog post for a complete tutorial on how to use Tweetblocker.
The reason you want to purge your social media followers is the same reason you prune a fruit tree: so you have big, juicy contacts who are full of opportunity and win-win potential. Less can be more – much more- when you keep your contacts on purpose and aligned with who you are.
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear if you’re up to take the dare.
Related posts:
