Using auto direct messages (DM) on Twitter is a bad idea.
It was a bad idea when I first joined Twitter in June 2008 – a time when there were fewer than 500,000 Tweeple in the Twitterverse. And it’s a worse idea now…particularly with 75 million users on Twitter. Why?
1. Auto DMs are spam – unsolicited and unwelcome mail. To top it off, many Twitter users also get email notifications about their DMs, so it’s actually more like a one-two spam punch – in the face. Why would anyone choose to welcome people to their “community” this way?
Welcome to <Twitter Name Here> on Twitter. We hope you enjoy experiencing learning with us.
Thank you for following the writers of <New Pub Name Here>. We are hoping that our expertise will enlighten you and make you healthy.
We produce #environmental awareness posters, decals, much more, helping companies promote #sustainability & #recycling. Please pass us along
Hi there! I’m new to Twitter so I hope you enjoy my tweets. I love solar electricity and if you want to learn about it, I’ll show it to you
Well, you might be thinking, these sound like friendly, well-intended welcome messages. Yes, they are. But they are also disruptive communications as described in the definition of spam (below). They are disruptive because they are unsolicited and may very well be irrelevant to the recipient. Auto DMs are disruptive because they constitute noise that dilutes the signal for relevant information I want to receive and the conversations I choose to participate in.
Spam: A disruptive, esp. commercial message posted on a computer network or sent as e-mail
And, yes, the worst auto DM spam is the kind that is used for advertising:
Hi, thx for following? Are you up to date with social media? <Link Here to a Book on Amazon>
Thx for connecting. Are you attending <Name of Event Here> next week? <Link to Event Here> Discount code information here.
{In the case above I was already registered, which made the spam even more annoying.}
Just because I follow you back on Twitter does not mean that I am giving you permission to market to me. A follow back on Twitter does not constitute an “opt-in” subscription to anything you perceive is valuable to your community.
2. Auto DMs are sometimes viruses – and they appear to come from people you follow. So even if you are using auto-DMs to sell a book or a workshop, how effective do you think it will be in the DM-shy world we inhabit today? Today it is rare that I will click on a URL in a DM…unless I am “expecting” specific information from a fellow Twitter user.
3. Auto DMs are for robots, not humans. Social media is about human and personal interaction. If you don’t care enough to take the time to personally “welcome” someone on Twitter, then you shouldn’t do it at all.
In my opinion, Twitter DM should be a sacred channel. It should be used conscientiously and for those moments when you:
- Must get through to someone quickly;
- Have information to share with someone that is not relevant for the entire community; or
- Have to take a Twitter conversation offline.
With almost 8 million users on Twitter it has become rather noisy – not just from the auto-DM spam, but also from the grumblings of the unhappy Tweeple – like myself – who are on the receiving end of that spam.
So, if you are looking for a way to be unfollowed before your first conversation on Twitter begins or to lose loyal followers, then try using auto DMs.
Granted, there are some people may choose to unfollow auto DMers and others who may unhappily tolerate it – which is mostly the case for me in the small city where I live. But even if you are not getting unfollowed as the result of your auto DMs, how do you know it is not just because people are being polite and tolerating you?
At the end of the day, I would rather have people happily following me rather than unhappily tolerating me.
How about you?
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I think this is a sweeping generalization. What about auto-DMs that help followers? Say a bank auto-DMing each new follower with a reminder that says “Don’t tweet your account information. Please call 1-800-xxxxxx or email service@bigbank.com for account issues.”
Or in regulated areas, auto-DMing followers to inform them that any tweets by the company are subject to a disclaimer and providing a link to it.
I can’t think of any better ways to do these things than through Auto-DMs. But if Tweets had attached disclaimers, that might be a different thing: http://www.irwebreport.com/daily/2010/02/18/if-tweets-had-disclaimers/
Thanks for your comment, Dominic. If the auto DM has a solid, relevant purpose that benefits both the Tweeter (sender) AS WELL AS the Tweetee (receiver), then I think it makes sense. However, that’s really not what I’m seeing out there. Most of it’s fluffy junk or pushy sales. So I agree with you. Thanks again for your feedback. p.s. That’s a great site you have…
Heck yes! Auto Dm’s make me want to vomit too! Now I rarely check my dms, and find people rarely reply to my real dms.
I think twitter could help by not allowing dms to be sent via API (external programs) but only by logging in online and sending by hand.
What do you think??
Yes, DM is a high-value channel that is sadly being degraded by spam messages. That’s a great suggestion Chuck (blocking API DMs). Thanks for stopping by.
I currently use truetwit. It sends an auto dm saying “billwall10 uses TrueTwit validation service. Please follow this link to validate your profile. [link] Thanks” Do people consider this offensive? It’s basically a way to keep my bot followers down.
The DM should be a special whisper between friends not meant for public eyes..nothing else..auto DM me and you are blocked.
Actually I believe that this is massive over-sensitivity. Auto DMs serve their purpose. They share what you are willing to share with your new followers and, in my opinion, they are no one’s business except you and the person who receives it.
I personally go through my DMs almost every day. I want to know what people want to tell me. Afterall the only other option I have is to tell my followers what I want to hear about, then force them to either regurgitate it to me or risk being unfollowed. That would be clinically narcissistic on my part.
Treading into the sacred area of a 2-person DM should be forbidden. I do not even think that a 3rd person even has the right to presume to write ‘rules’ governing them.
I love ya’, Jaculynn…and you make some great points about DMs being used for spam… but I do not feel that people need to be ‘governed’ in this area.
Since the majority of my DM’s are what I consider spam, I totally agree with the content of this article! I especially “love” those Dm’s where they claim you can get hundreds of followers easily..meanwhile when you check them out..they have low amount of followers and have been on twitter for awhile.
I have been known to “publicly” thank those that didn’t spam me with a link in my DM’s!
Thanks for your comment, Lynne. I have no problem with auto DMs if they provide relevant value for the sender as well as receiver. However, this does not appear to be the case – at least not in my experience. BTW, is the auto DM really considered “2-person” communication as you mention? Or is it one-to-many? I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Bill. I understand the value that Truetwit provides and I understand that it’s not spam; however I am not sure everyone does. If someone receives that message they may or may not know if it is spam. Ask your existing community what they thought when they received your TrueTwit auto DM. Maybe that’ll give you an idea… Thanks for your feedback.
Hi Jaculynn,
I think I may have misunderstood something.
When I spoke of auto DMs, I was specifically referring to auto Welcome DMs.
I am not in favor of any other type of auto DM as I believe it is spam to send blanket DMs like that.
My apologies.
Jaculynn, good job succinctly summarizing my thoughts on auto-DMs and starting a discussion through comments. I consider auto-DMs one of many rude, clueless behaviors by users who don’t get that Twitter is about organic conversations and link-sharing.
Whenever someone sends me a link in a welcome auto-DM, I think, “Why couldn’t they just put this link in their bio?” I received a welcome auto-DM today reading “Looking for non-mainstream music? Follow the Underrated Song of the Day at ” This DM contains useful information, but I’d much rather they share it with me via their bio or by simply daily tweeting the Underrated Song of the Day.
Thanks Beth! I agree. Many of these DMs can simply be shared in the stream or as “replies.” I am learning – through FB feedback and IRL convos about this post – that some people are DMing because they still think that @ replies can be seen by ALL of their followers. As you know, Twitter changed it last year so that replies are not seen by everyone who follows you. The only people that see your replies are those that follow both you and the person you are replying to…. Of course that can easily be remedied by placing a “period” (.) in front of the reply – like so: .@BethEvans Thanks for your comment!