10 Things That Make You Look Bad On Twitter

We have all made mistakes when tweeting or posting on our social media platforms.  Who hasn't posted something with a spelling mistake or syntax error, right?

However there is a difference between making a mistake on Twitter, which we are all good at forgiving, and looking bad on Twitter. When you begin to look bad on Twitter, people don't want to follow you anymore.  Ideal prospects can become annoyed, or frustrated, or feel that you are insincere.

Looking bad on Twitter can hurt your brand and your bottom line. Avoid these 10 mistakes to ensure that you will keep the community you've built.

1.  You LOVE the CAPS LOCK button

When you type in ALL CAPS it translates as ‘screaming' or ‘yelling'.   No one wants to be yelled at.

Instead, if you are going to use all capital letters, use it for a single word.  For example, “Don't go through life, GROW through life.”

In this instance, I put the word “grow” in all caps because I wanted to emphasize the word change. I wanted to add further power to the word “grow”.

With all caps, it is best to use the philosophy; less is more.

2.  You like to complain!

Ever read a friend's tweets, only to feel bombarded by their endless tirades and complaints? It's like they have found their 140 character soap box.  How does it make you feel?

Twitter is not a place to endlessly voice your complaints. It may feel like an easy outlet because you can release without experiencing any sort of major backlash.  But, behind the scenes, in a quieter, less obvious way, your followers are beginning to ‘unfollow' you and you are doing damage to your reputation.

Remember, what you post on the web, stays on the web forever.  If you are feeling out of sorts or need to complain, pick up a physical journal and then burn the paper afterward.  You would be surprised how much more satisfying and freeing this can be.

3.  You Act Like a Know-It-All 

No one likes a know-it-all.  We didn't in Elementary school and we certainly don't now. Part of the beauty of being an expert is that you are comfortable with the fact that you don't know it all.

Followers have more fun engaging in a conversation with you than they do in simply gleaning facts and tips and techniques from you.

4.  You Only Share Quotes & Pictures 

Quotes and pictures are fun. They can be inspiring and engaging.  However, if that's ALL you post, followers will lose interest.  They want to read what you have to say.  They want to know about your thoughts and ideas.

In only sharing quotes, you put up a wall and make it harder for your followers to get to know you.

Share your own thoughts and ideas! Then, ask for feedback.

5.  You Ignore Your Followers

You worked HARD to gain your followers. Don't blow it by ignoring them.  Each one is a potential customer or joint venture partner.  If you never truly engage with them, you will never make a sale on Twitter.

Not convinced? Okay, let's run a little scenario. Maybe you have 1000 followers and through real engagement you can convert many of them to customers.  Even if you only convert 5%, that's still 50 new customers! Wouldn't you like to have 50 more sales?

6.  You don't leave space to Retweet!

Yes, you have 140 characters, but if you use them all, then your followers have a hard time retweeting.  Worse yet, you leave it up to your followers to cut or abbreviate your tweet.

Part of the fun of retweeting is that you get to share why you like the tweet so much. If there is no room to do that, where is the joy in retweeting?

As a rule of thumb, try to keep your tweets to 120 characters or less.

7. You don't share the love

You love it when others promote you on Twitter, right? Therefore, keep the energy of giving and receiving high by promoting others in your tweets as well. Retweeting or @mentioning a follower can go a long way in building your know, like and trust factor.

8.  You self-promote ALL the Time!

It is important that you talk about your business and share links to blogs and promotions and the like. However, this should not make up more than 25% of your marketing message!

Anything more than 25% and it feels like you care more about your bottom line you are your connections.  We have all seen the people who do it.  Suddenly your Twitter feed is full of self-promotion tweets from the same person or you recognize a tweet from a specific person and don't click on it because you know it's a sales pitch. Right?

Don't become known as the over-self-promoter.

9. You Overload on #Hashtags

Ex.  I #love #earlgreytea in the #morning!! #inspiration #wakingup #am

Just because you can use hashtags, doesn't mean they need to be apart of every sentence.  Hashtags should be left to your keyword phrases and one social linking phrase.

For example, with the above tweet, I need to make a decision: Do I want to connect with earl grey tea drinkers, or do I want to connect with those just waking up? Going for both is splitting my focus and hurting my chances of connecting with either group.

10. You Ask General Questions

Don't be the person to get onto Twitter and ask, “How's everyone doing?”  This is a vague question that makes no one feel special.

A vague question leaves the follower wondering, “do you really want to know, or are you just asking because you think you should?”  Insincerity can quickly hurt your know, like and trust factor.

Get specific with your questions, “What are you doing to boost your energy this afternoon? I'm eating a #lunabar.” ßAren't you more interested in engaging, now?

Who knew that there were so many things you could do “badly” in 140 characters. Don't worry. We are all learning and everyone makes mistakes.  You are doing the right thing by becoming aware of twitter do's and don'ts.  Take what you've learned here and begin watching how you tweet.

What's one action you are going to improve upon with your tweets now?

Please comment and share…

About Author

Kim Garst

Kim Garst is a renowned marketing strategist and speaker who is trailblazing the use of artificial intelligence in digital marketing. With over 30 years of experience as an online entrepreneur, Kim helps entrepreneurs grow their business and authority online by using AI technology. She is leading the way with proven AI frameworks that help entrepreneurs build authority in their space.

She is keynote speaker and an international best-selling author of Will The Real You Please Stand Up, Show Up, Be Authentic and Prosper in Social Media.

Named by Forbes as a Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer, Kim is well-known for her skill to simplify complex technology and make the use of AI understandable for business growth. Her relatable, actionable advice helps guide new entrepreneurs to harness the power of AI to succeed in digital marketing. Kim is leading the way in combining human and technological skills to create a new model for AI-powered marketing.

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