In my last post, I discussed following thousands of Twitter people in response to a blog post about the subject that also gave an argument for Twitter auto-DMs (automated direct messages) being okay. Today I’m posting my thoughts on auto-DMs themselves.
In my last post, I likened Twitter to walking around a large conference room filled with thousands of people holding drinks, meeting people who’s conversations sound interesting. That’s networking. In my opinion, auto-DMs are like attending one of these events and running around handing out fliers with an insincere message and running away. Or really, I guess it’s more like hiring a teenager to run around handing out these fliers for you, since auto-DMs require zero time on the part of the “sender” but take time away from the recipient. If you were handed a flier by a teenager that was from someone not there, and it said, “I like you and thank you for attending this event,” would you care about the sender? Not me.
Here are 10 of the 31 auto-DMs I received over the last 3 days:
1. Thanks for following
That’s it – a “thanks for following” generic auto-DM. I already assume people appreciate followers, so it just wastes my time, while not taking any time on the sender’s part since it’s automated. It’s not like an answering machine, which I must actively call to hear, it’s more like answering my cell phone and getting a recorded message, and the message says, “hi there” and hangs up.
2. I like you already! I look forward to sharing tweets with you.
The “I like you, I look forward to your Tweets,” auto-DM. Do they really like me? Does that mean they also like the spammer-bots that follow everyone? It rings so false that I actually get annoyed instead of feeling good, especially because I get like 6 of these a day, all worded almost the same way. They’re not even original.
3. Thanks for following! Learn how to generate and monetize 50+ leads per day for your network marketing business. http://xxxx.xxx
Spam. I block these right away, so not only did it not work, they lost their opportunity to engage me and interact, eventually letting me know about their offer. If enough people block them, they’ll be suspended from Twitter. Really, what good is that doing anyone?
4. Thanks for following. I noticed you’ve a nice profile. If you need help regarding how to make money via twitter, I’ll be glad if I can help.
I do not believe they looked at my profile, yet they say it’s “nice.” So our “relationship” begins with a lie. Block.
5. I am thrilled and honored to have you following me! I hope my tweets make your day and allow you to Make a Difference in all you do!
The overenthusiastic auto-DM. “Thrilled and honored” is a bit of an overreaction to my clicking a Follow button, don’t you think? If this person is serious, they won’t live very long with all that adrenaline running through their veins. But, of course, they just typed a quick DM into a robotic system to send to everyone, even to the spambots that follow them.
6. Hello thanks for following! Hope to get to know you better. Follow me on Facebook too http://xxxx.xxx
The “join me on Facebook” auto-DM. To me, it’s like 5 minutes into a first date asking your date if they’ll sleep with you. Maybe some people are social media sluts, but not me.
7. Hey! Thanks for the follow. Tell em a bit about yourself.
The “tell me about yourself” or “what are you working on” question auto-DM. How am I supposed to respond? With a DM, telling them more than what’s in my Twitter bio? That makes no sense. It just comes across, like all auto-DMs, as insincere interest. The fact that there’s a misspelling doesn’t help.
8. Thanks for the follow! Learn more about me here: http://xxxx.xxx PS. If you were a fish what kind would you be? 
Okay, this one is weird. A fish? While this is the only fish question I’ve received, I receive auto-DMs on a regular basis asking odd questions. If I sent a DM back saying “salmon,” what would they do with that?
9. Your interest in Music and Trivia is exciting. We should remember those who brought us the music. Follow @xxxxx for Daily Music Trivia Q
The inaccurate auto-DM. I don’t have much of an interest in music or trivia. And then to ask for me to follow someone else in the first Tweet from following someone? Silly.
10. WOW! Thank you for the following. I will follow back. Would you like to make some extra cash and earn a steady income? http://xxxx.xxx
The “I will follow you back” auto-DM. Problem is, they followed me first and I followed them back! So it’s inaccurate and therefore insincere. Throw in the spam on the end and I’m blocking again.
My conclusion? There is no good reason to use automated DMs with Twitter. They come across as insincere, they waste the time of the recipient, clutter the DM inbox, and start off a relationship with either insincerity, spam or a lie. I don’t like to receive them, and I don’t send them. If you do, I hope you’ll seriously consider the down side versus the up side.
Update: Check out this great perspective on auto-DMs – Happy sending Auto-DMs? Think again!
Great Tweet about auto-DMs: “It’s not the auto-DM that I want to avoid, but the ppl who think it’s a good idea to use them” via @carl_ingalls
Great post here, Chuck. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I was going to tell you my favorites on your list, but after re-reading them, I realized they ALL are worthy of praise! Marketing usually makes me smile, but it’s things like way off-base auto DMs that make me start scowling. Thanks for breaking it down. (It’s called SOCIAL Media for a reason, right? Aaahhh! What’s so hard to understand?)
Your post is great. It should be a requirement for all new Twitter users to read and acknowledge under a Rules and Regulations section before they send their first tweet.
Smiles,
Kerianne
Thanks, Kerianne! Amazingly, all 10 of these auto-DMs I actually received in the 3 days before writing the post! You can’t make this stuff up. What kind of fish? Really?
Testing testing 1-2-3!
This blog post is spot on! Luckily I don’t have to worry about it on my personal account because I only follow real friends, but the account I’ve set up for my web series gets these kind of auto-DMs ALL THE F*CKING TIME! Ridiculously annoying… so I pretty much unfollow anyone who sends one.
Anyways, great blog post. Now go follow me on Twitter as @xxxxx and fan me on Facebook.com/xxxxx
LOL. Thanks for the compliment, and the promotion of your other accounts! What a coincidence that your accounts are xxxxx, too!
All twitter users are gettings used to auto DMs ,while the only way they promote their business is through twitter they can’t greet everyone with personalized message though autoio DMs are bad. The auto DMs you mentioned I know some and I don’t know some. I too hate sending auto DMs to followers.
ok- i’ve heard this complaint- and i agree with you on the type of dms your getting.
i really like my dm though-and for the most part I engage the follower by requesting they tell me something memorable about themselves. I get wonderful responses from many people and it begins the relationship.
Now some people hate it and probably choose to unfollow- but the conversations are very interesting, the ones i do start-
heres an example of a few that i received yesterday
hmmm…something memorable? I can fly a plane and have ridden English Hunter horses all my life. Pop culture obsessed…
Cats. travel, food, electronic music. The most exotic place ever been: Cambodia. Next place I want to visit: Egypt. What’s your 140?
my question to you is-have you ever recieved a dm that made you say- hmmm interesting?
love to hear your thoughts-
elizabeth
Interesting, Elizabeth. In the beginning I responded to question auto-DMs (I used an auto-DM myself), but I have never gotten a response! I took that to mean the sender isn’t even reading the responses to their question. You are obviously an exception, and that’s kinda cool. I would respond better, tho, if you sent an @ reply with, “Hey, Chuck – thanks for following me. I try to learn about my followers. Tell me something about myself.” Having my name and using @ reply tells me you truly want the response, and I’m definitely going to read it versus DMs.
Question – do you get so many followers per day that you can’t type up individual welcome messages, at least to those followers who you can tell are not spammers or robots?
A great article. I am proud of the fact that I am (slowly) building a Twitter following the old-fashioned way, with no automation and no spam. I genuinely believe that 1,000 quality followers, receiving personal and targeted communications, beat 50,000 randomly generated and mass-mailed prospects any time!
PS. I am clearly a blue whale (question 8).
I agree completely about quality followers being more important that quantity.
Whales are mammals, not fish. Sorry. Maybe a blue pufferfish? http://www.reefhotspot.com/store/images/large/puffer_blue1_1.jpg
Chuckkkkkkie,
LOVE this! Spot on in every, single instance.
And, in my opinion, the only people who would respond to a dm like the one Elizabeth does above is a novice. The rest of us recognize the inherent insincerity that a DM represents. Period.
Love love love your post!
Thanks, Shelly. I know many people who do auto-DMs do them with the best of intentions, but there’s no way to know who they are versus the spammers, so they get dumped in the process!
I think it is delightful and fascinating that the boundaries between Twitter and blogs and blog comments have become so blurred.
I left a comment on another blog yesterday (http://thezargon.org) about this topic. That comment began with “I have discovered that it is not so much the auto-DM that I want to avoid, but the people who think it’s a good idea to use them.” This comment was read by Shelly Kramer (@ShellyKramer on Twitter), and she tweeted a shortened form of it, crediting me as the source. Several people retweeted her on Twitter, including the author of this blog, who made a special reference to that in the article above.
This is a real community, and I really feel I belong here. Thank you all.
Carl Ingalls
Yes, very interesting. I thought you’d Tweeted that, so referred to it as a Tweet. I then followed you and read your recent Tweets, so I’ve been introduced, so to speak, to someone of like mind.
You do belong here because you’re sincere – which is what I think Twitter should be for before anything else – sincere people networking and “hanging” with each other.
OK. I’m a twit (a tweeter novice). Just been active a few days and am muddled to no end. I’ve recieved most of these and can figure most of them out. But one. I got one today from a guy who followed me, without me following first. He was a marketing guy, but he “stated” that he had looked at my website and it was “interesting” and had “great content” and asked me to head over to his site for a referral. The only thing is that he has 10,000 followers. So I’m shaking my head in wonder at how he can peruse my website. But I haven’t had time to actually check site to see. Is the a joke too? I so hoped in my angelic three days that I may have fiound a sincere moment of true social networking that might help me in a really postive way (not that I don’t apppreciate my small business followers, supporters and my customers that have already followed me in this short time, but this sounded almost too good to be true. Which, as my mama rasied me right – it usually is. Advice?
Welcome to Twitter, Denise! Don’t worry – Twitter is 95% good and fun, so spam is just an annoyance.
If you got a Direct Message from someone, then you ARE following them. You can only send DMs to someone who is following you. Now, odds are good that it was still an automated DM you go, but who knows? It can’t hurt to reply and see what happens. You can always click Block to get rid of him if he’s a spammer.