5 Tips on How To Avoid Twitter #fail – A Case Study.

by Justin McCullough on January 13, 2010

in Conversation Starters, Marketing Insights, Self Improvement, Social Media

Examples of Twitter #fail happen every day, and I just lived through one. In fact, I didn’t just live through it, I demonstrated twitter #fail myself and now I see how it can happen even if it’s unintentional.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Quick Back Story - I had just gone through a great effort to prepare a one hour presentation over social media.  I spent a lot of time on this over the weekend and gave the presentation Monday January 11th.  Several people who wanted to come but couldn’t make it asked me to video it.  So I did.  After the presentation I got a great deal of feedback on it’s value from many of the business leaders.  My bucket was full – overflowing actually from all the positive feedback.  I must be on to something meaningful here.  (Side note, For pro marketers and internet evangelists, this is probably just the “regular” stuff, but for many who are on the sidelines watching the internet speed past their business storefronts, this was really insightful stuff.)

With fresh recommendations and praise and the knowledge that I touched many, I set on a self imposed mission to share this good content.

My priority: Get the message out and the content in the hands that needed it most via the power of the social web (exactly what I just presented on).

I just knew this was a eureka opportunity and all I had to do was empower others to put this in the hands of those who needed it.

Naturally the side benefit, I thought, would be increasing my value, starting a meaningful discussion on the topics in the presentation and maybe, just maybe picking up a few followers and friends along the way.  And hey, I thought, I’m not selling anything here, just giving away content – this is the perfect message and the perfect reason to leverage the social web.
Or so I thought.

What I did next, was classic fail (and I didn’t even see it happening).

So, with my blinders on and seeing the world through rose colored glasses, off I went into the twittersphere.

I picked a few friends and invited them to get involved.

@leader4hire - First Tweet (innocent enough)

@leader4hire - First Tweet (innocent enough)

Then… A few others

@leader4hire Second Tweet (ok, why not)

@leader4hire Second Tweet (ok, why not)

Then… I remembered a few others and invited them too

@leader4hire Third Tweet (hmm, this feels kinda weird)

@leader4hire Third Tweet (hmm, this feels kinda weird)

Then… I thought, hey, this is showing in my stream and I probably look insincere – I should probably announce that I’m not trying to bend twitter to my will and spam away for attention. I know, it would be best for me to say something like that.

@leader4hire Fourth Tweet (see look, Im not a bad guy)

@leader4hire Fourth Tweet (see look, I'm not a bad guy)

And then back to the business at hand, another tweet or two…

@leader4hire 5th Tweet (and maybe one or two more...)

@leader4hire 5th Tweet (and maybe one or two more...)

Oh yeah, and these guys too

@leader4hire 6th Tweet (a plot shifting and pivitol moment)

@leader4hire 6th Tweet (a plot shifting and pivitol moment coming up)

Then… In response to my tweet moments before, someone I respect and enjoy said:

@unmarketing First Tweet (pithy... and... right?)

@unmarketing First Tweet (pithy... and... right?)

Uhh *gulp* What?  I’m THAT guy now? Not me… Not me. Never. Why didn’t I see this coming?

@leader4hire 7th Tweet (in true hand in cookie jar fashion)

@leader4hire 7th Tweet (humbled)

… but but.. Not what I meant

@unmarketing Second Tweet (Back to the basics, remember those?)

@unmarketing Second Tweet (Back to the basics, remember those?)

Well, but here’s what I was thinking (actually just wanting redemption at this point)

@leader4hire 8th post (doesnt matter now)

@leader4hire 8th post (doesnt matter now)

Engagement over. Then self loathing, despair and frustration set in there after and go into a ponderous state.

@leader4hire 9th Tweet (humbled and a bit wiser)

@leader4hire 9th Tweet (humbled and a bit wiser)

Then the light bulb.

I’ve learned something here.  Something very important through a real experience that really was filled with good intentions.  I need to share this story, and show how it happens and how to avoid it.  Thus this blog post was born – as shameful to me as it may seem, it’s a valuable lesson.

I hope my loss is your gain.

5 Tips to Avoid Twitter Fail:

1 – Only single out a few people that you really want feedback from with your @reply message.

As I looked back through my tweets, I had 3 maybe 4  people I absolutely needed/wanted feedback from.  For the others, my motivation was different (maybe it’s useful to them, they probably know somebody that needs it, this guy will probably think I’m smart, I want this persons attention and this is a good way to get it). #Fail happened here.  Don’t do this.

2 – Do not confusion your goal.

If you want honest feedback ask for feedback from ONLY the person (people) you honestly want it from.  If you want to share, openly share it with just one tweet.  The people who care will see it.  If you want to use it for self promotion, consider this and don’t do what I did (unless you don’t care about your image).  Use the tool for good reasons and get good results.  Start combining goals and using the tool for questionable reasons and get bad results… And remember, on twitter it’s not you that makes it questionable it’s what your viewers see that define it as questionable (not authentic, not sincere, etc).

3 – Share you content over time and over discussion like a meal with friends.

My link and to the presentation and video didn’t need to be shared in massive quantities all at once.  The truth of the matter is that I only had a few people I was discussing this presentation with and sharing it with them was expected.  For others, I should have started a dialog and when it made sense, suggested the content for the right reasons – for them, not for me.

4 – Match what is valuable to you to what will be perceived as valuable to them.

This is the classic advertising snafu – assume everyone is interested and if they aren’t, interrupt them until they notice.  I know better.  The truth is, Scott called me out because this video probably means very little to him AND I hadn’t been talking to him about this presentation. In fact, my only engagement with him has been me complimenting his progress on his book which he cordially replies back to let me know he sees me. However that does not yet mean that he “gets me”. In fact, Scott is not even following me (I didn’t realize that until writing this).  To him, (I presume) we aren’t yet friends and all I was doing was leveraging the network to get his attention.  And in hindsight, that’s exactly what I was doing – I just didn’t realize it because it only takes a second to write @unmarketing in my next tweet.  My thought process – (use goober voice) “hey I like Scott, he replies back to me. I’ll include him in this next tweet. Weeeee”.  Just because it only takes a second doesn’t mean you should do it.

5 – When it feels like you shifted from honest intentions to “seizing the moment” that should be a red flag.

This happened after my 2nd or 3rd tweet, which is what prompted me to make the promise that I wasn’t spamming.  I should have seen this as a sign, but didn’t.  Don’t make this mistake. You may not have someone like Scott who sees it quickly, checks your profile, and calls it like they see it.  I was lucky and hopefully before too much damage was done.

Bonus Tip

Be open minded and considerate of your twitter fellows (and their feedback). Good stuff is everywhere and it’s up to you to see it and acknowledge it – regardless of the shape, package, or presentation of it.

The Bottom Line for Me

I got a real life lesson on twitter etiquette and I’m better for it (I think).

I hope I haven’t lost traction with any of my twitter people along the way.  Good intentions or not, lesson learned. Special thanks to Scott.  Not sure how others would have taken it, but for me it was a needed wake up call.  Thanks.

So now, tweet this so I don’t have too :)

I'm really glad you came back. Leave a comment to let me know you were here. Best to you and yours!
  • Justin,

    Thanks for this post and for saving me the same fate. I am sure I will have this same aha moment and "look forward" ( not really but you know what I mean ) , to sharing it with you!
    ... but wait... do I have that moment already? ... we shared some kid stories on a Saturday so I invited you to my blog... of course I wanted you to read it cuz you are the man... and you did... but in honesty I suppose there was a self serving motive... hmm food for thought...
  • Thanks for reading Sam. I look forward to reading any lesson you share - it's bound to happen if you are trying to get the best/most out of your online experience. When it does, write about it and help someone else.

    As for the kid story, you did fine. It was relevant to our discussion much like at a cocktail party when the discussion moves to visual aides, picture time, showing off cell phones etc.

    We all want to share our story and have others connect to our story - that's the underlying motivation (always). Consider that the base of the social media version of Mazlow's hierarchy. Self serving - sure, but so is survival :)

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Best,
    Justin
  • Justin - wow, here I am part of your blog post and I didn't even know it! I love surprises like that. :-)

    It's awesome that you are being so incredibly transparent and sharing your story for all to read. I agree with Justin that there are many who could learn from this.

    I've been meaning to write a similar post - well, not entirely similar but def on the subject of engagement. I saw a horrible interaction the other day of @FakeNameA tweeting about McDonald's. @FakeNameB replied about McDonalds. @FakeNameA says something to the effect of - glad I got your attention, will you promote my book to your followers? And I'll do same for you.

    I did not see a reply from @FakeNameB - it is possible he moved convo to DM - but that was absolutely horrific to see what @FakeNameA had initially said -- how can you ask someone to "sell" your book to their followers if they haven't even read it?

    Okay, I digress.

    BTW, I can't even remember if I left a comment on that post...it's been a busy last few weeks...apparently I'm trying to prove that a human can live off of two pots of coffee per day. :-)

    Have a great weekend!
  • Not sure how I missed this post from your Michelle! So sorry!

    I agree with your comments too... not good.

    (2 pots of coffee is not a good thing!)

    Best,
    Justin
  • Interesting... I might be the odd marketer out here, but I have to say this post is the slippery slope, not what you did Justin. Why's that you might be asking? Well...

    Let's pretend a moment (since I don't know you and this post came my via via folks I follow).

    The situation could be that you have done your research, you have listened, you have built relationships, etc. (all the unwritten 'social media' rules...ugh) and now it was time to implement a plan that included a speaking engagement, taped because your potential clients, community, followers, your mom, whoever, asked you to. You do and you think it might also be information worth sharing with others and perhaps drive some conversation, share of voice, etc. your way. Then you reach out to those people in several tweets because of the limited 140-characters. As part of your outreach, you take a chance on including someone new... Only to find out the rest of your community is fine with the tweets except this one guy.

    Do you call "fail" on a plan because of that? I don't think so...

    As marketers we test, we take chances, we explore... And personally I have a real issue with doing all that up front work and pulling a campaign or crying fail because someone with potential 'influence' cries wolf (think Pepsi, Motrin, Tropicana).

    The lesson here for any organization that utilizes social media as a channel within their integrated plan isn't that they failed, it's that the test failed (i.e. you took a chance to promote to someone who isn't a follower). Take in the feedback, address it, learn and move on...but don't cry fail.

    Yes, yes, I know...people have a voice they will use it, etc. etc. But the fact remains that sometimes "push" messaging on social networks is required and does work! Let's not scare folks away from that, okay? (Now, I am not saying be a spammer or only push messages...)

    Not all followers will find value in what you tweet...and that's fine. We are far from being able to quantify our followers (unless some marketing nerd out there is using an Excel spreadsheet to capture the information of each and every follower) and therefore influence based on follower count is a mistake.

    My point? Think about the big picture here and for future. Know that people in a social space won't always agree with you. That's okay and it's expected, but it only really matters if they are your potential customer, client, etc. People who affect your bottom line at the end of the day -- those are the people you should be worried about and listen to.

    Beth Harte
    Community Manager, MarketingProfs
    @bethharte
  • Hey Beth,

    So, you should know that I've been following you for a while on twitter. I am also a Marketing Prof subscriber since ('04 or '05). I feel like I know you a little already so thanks for sharing your perspective. What you are saying is very accurate actually. The 140 character limit was indeed a restraint that forced multiple tweets. Many of the people that got the original set of @ messages were responsive and indeed pleased to find out how my presentation went.

    Up to now, about 6 hours later, @unmarketing was the only verbal nay sayer.

    BUT, how many times have you had a horrible meal at a wonderful restaurant and decided to never go back (without ever telling your waiter or the chef that your meal was a disappointment)?

    What @unmarketing did was skipped all the bs and walked straight into the kitchen and told the chief "I don't know whats going on here, but looks like you're food sucks and I don't like it". So, what's the Chef to do? Be mad, cuss, fire somebody? Or sit back and consider where the failure occurred? Like a great Chef (and business owner), I want to know.

    You are right. All the prep was done, the presentation made, the video posted, the relationships bubbling. The misfire was thinking a few people like @unmarketing were already connected to me. Like mass direct mail, I treated @unmarketing the same way as @mmangen and that's where the problem was. @mmangen was waiting for my message where as @unmarketing saw it as junk and then called me out for treating him like a target (a mark) instead of someone to build a relationship with (which was the implied promise).

    Did I think my message to @unmarketing was going to be well received - yes. Did I think Scott was going to find that cool, interesting, and consider me a part of the marketing / social media club. Yes. I did. Which is why it hit me the way it did when those assumptions led me astray. Turned out, Scott was 98% sure he never wanted me anywhere close to the social media club.

    As an overall test - big picture, the original push was fine. The message got out as planned and another marketer did his job. If I was on someones clock for this, I could report the number of messages etc and it would all pass as acceptable on paper. Call it a 1% response rate on mass mail. The truth is, @unmarketing made this into something bigger than I could have done on my own. And if he, as an upset customer would have never burst into the kitchen to tell me my food sucked, I would have never known, never made adjustments and I would have had another "so so" day of "sales". And worse, I may have repeated that day over and over, slowly running off every quality prospect/customer I attracted to the restaurant - never knowing why.

    The success, as I see it, really does stem from me being able to recognize the fail and address it - promptly and then deliver on my word. Essentially, when you eat at Leader4hire's restaurant, the good food is good and you can count on it. If its not good, I want to know, and I'll do everything I can to make it right.

    In general terms, I did not fail. But who wants to meet "general" expectations? Not me. And I suspect not you either Beth. Or you, the person just now reading this.
  • So, you made a great blog post out of this, but I think you never needed to.

    First, I can't tell you how many times I multiple @ people that I know on twitter for various purposes. I don't consider that spam. I'm not filling their DMs with useless links to things. I'm letting them know, in public so my other users can see, that I think something is important - of enough value - etc. - to let them know about it. They're my phritters (phriends of PhillyMac on twitter). If they can't handle getting an @ from me, they should long know they've got the wrong guy. :D

    Second, while @unmarketing made a valid point (if you have to say it...) I don't think you were "spamming" because - as @unmarketing missed - you WERE having conversations with these people and it wasn't spam to start. Really, you never needed to make the apology if you were already engaged with your followers, as it seems for all purposes, you are.

    Great teaching opportunity? Sure. A way to prove you're a nice guy and you can take constructive criticism? Sure. But, really, I never saw a need for you to apologize.

    Lastly, let's be honest here. These days almost anyone with a significant following is on twitter for a reason. Most of what we do (including our interesting tweets, links to good articles, etc.) is self-serving. Even for those of us like me - who started out when we did tweets with chisels on tablets and only talked with our "friends" - have looked to twitter to connect with people for other reasons such as business. If we (or anyone else with over 2k followers) wasn't doing it for other reasons, we'd have a private account with a follower list of 200 or less we could readily keep track of.

    So, while I think @unmarketing's points are valid on the whole, and his recommendations on not spamming, not being vainly self-serving and engaging with your following are all valid on the whole, I think maybe this was a case where you were perfectly fine. That's my story and I'm sticking to it ;-)

    PS I followed a link from @unmarketing's tweet to this page btw :D
  • "as @unmarketing missed - you WERE having conversations with these people and it wasn't spam to start."

    I didn't miss anything Phillip. He wasn't having a conversation with me. I didn't follow him at the time. We weren't having a conversation about this at all. When you send out the same tweet 5 or 6 time to different people, telling them to go see your own video, including those who weren't in conversation with, it's going down a slippery slope.
  • Enjoying this...

    Love @Leader4hire's story - most of us never really see ourselves and how we impact others...

    Without meaning to we just amble along doing our 'thing', usually with good intentions that often include our own agenda. Thrown in the mix our insecurities come along (we all have 'em at times...) for the ride. Most of us never pay attn. to how we're impacting others or to the idea that we could do something different, better or to a higher calling.

    Love that @Leader4hire IS paying attention and he's even sharing it with the world. "Egg' on face and all. Now THAT's what I call a leader!

    Love that @unmarketing is holding the vision of relationship, connection and adding value - for us all to remember and guide ourselves by a higher standard of authenticity and being real. He knows, and helps us know, that this paradox is true - when we 'unsell' and/or 'unmarket' - by focusing on value and connection, the strides we make in life, leadership and sales are exponential.

    It's called not coming from a place of need, but from abundance - and enough-ness. (is that a word??)

    Anyway - appreciate you and this post. I'm new in the Twitter world (only 101 tweets) so I am learning. Thanks to you both for lighting the way!
  • Suzie, this is a remarkable comment. I'm glad you took the time to write it.

    Our worlds collide with other people's worlds every day. You are right, most of us never see it, we are so transfixed on our own agenda.

    Trust me, if you are new to twitter, you've just seen grudgy dirty stinky engine that runs it. Now you know how to keep your engine clean and humming along. Welcome to the twittersphere friend. And follow me @leader4hire I'd love to see your 101 tweets :)
  • Hey there... Thanks!! I will go over to Twitter to find you. Tried to register on the DISCUS-thing, but its not getting me and I'm not getting it! :)

    My twitter 'handle' is @wakeupeager

    Seeing All the Best, and So Much More for You!
    Suzie Price
    @wakeupeager
  • That's the bottom line:

    "When you send out the same tweet 5 or 6 time to different people... including those who weren't in conversation with, it's going down a slippery slope."

    Thats the Extra Bonus Tip to this lesson. Much shorter than I would have said. *grin*
  • And there Scott (as that wasn't clear to me in the above narrative), I have to concede your point. As I didn't check the whole of Justin's twitter history, I didn't recognize that he hadn't actively been in conversation with you before doing a multiple @ that included you. I was seeing/assuming (rut ro!) that he was engaging with most of those people.

    As I said Scott, your advice in general is good, and as it turned out in a very micro way, it was also specifically good for Justin's interaction with you.

    Oh, and BTW - Hi! I'm @PhillyMac and I follow you on twitter too :D Nice to have a conversation!
  • Excellent contribution here Phillip. You are right (and see it much like I did) in that it didn't seem like spam to me because these were people I was engaged in.

    BUT where Scott's personal experience and our group wisdom shines through is the fact that he wasn't yet my friend (in his mind). For whatever reason (the title of his book), a stranger (me) got his attention and it felt authentic (for a moment) until he reviewed my twitter stream. And then, the engagement with him was over. Like a guy claiming his prize for being the lucky winner, he was crushed to see dozens of other 'lucky' winners. And for him, he saw it as a scam for his attention.

    I of course never predicted that, but now.... now I (we all) know better and can consider the behavior of social attention getting actions.... if it includes too many farther out of our 'friends' circle it starts looking suspicious and no longer sincere (buzzword authentic)..

    Having said all that, thanks for the post - I like your story and it accurately reflects my original intention :)
  • And here's the twist: I never would have noticed this post if @unmarketing *hadn't* "called you out," as he phrased it, and if your response hadn't caused him to commend you for doing so.

    Thus, in the end, you gained more exposure by "doing it wrong" and then (publicly) admitting it (and fixing it) than you would have by ignoring your criticism.

    I know a lot of people -- and businesses -- who could learn from that anecdote. And I think you just lived the newest slide in your *next* social media presentation. ;)
  • And then I wouldn't have seen this without Justin.

    The internet is a funny place.
  • Increasingly more, the internet is where we live, love, and hope for things. Seems to deliver the goods. Glad to have all you guys chiming in.
  • Well said Justin. And you are completely right. Saying you made a mistake is no fun. Its even worse when you never intended to make the mistake to begin with.

    I'm just glad to have been able to experience this turn in the story - otherwise I would have kept repeating this behavior.

    Now, a bigger story and a better lesson. Thanks for a being a part it.
  • See, there we go! :-)

    I get tweeted stuff all the time as well as DM's asking me to send out their stuff. One of the common things is for people to put me in the "@" reply so I'll see it.

    I appreciate people sharing stuff with me that I may find interesting. the problem is when it becomes one of two things: self-serving or part of a mass spreading.

    So I see a tweet from someone I've never seen before, and our first interaction is you telling me, as part of a group to go check out your video on social media. It especially stuck in my craw since you said "I invite you to engage" and it was a video of you speaking. Engage is my world, and the subtitle of my book :) Since I went to your page and saw the exact tweet sent to others. I pretty say "thanks for the invite to watch and share your video. Very touching"

    Get to know me first, I'm a nice guy, really. And to be honest, your video is good and I'm sure people can learn from it and it's something I would be happy to share if I know you. Hence build the relationship first.

    I don't usually reply to most people that do this, but didn't think you had bad intentions, and this blog post confirms it :) Most people just argue with me and say that's how they do Twitter, or tell me I'm an ass. Nice to see something came out of it. Others can learn from this and you.

    Following you now, and looking forward to building a relationship ;-)
  • I've been following you for awhile so you were already 'inches' closer to me. You just didn't know it. And indeed, I had good intentions which is why it hit me so hard to get your message.

    It never occured to me that I was not yet visible to you. You have so many tweets all the time and I'm just one of many. However for me, I was "always" seeing you. Thanks for sharing what your perspective was. Others need to know that guys like you are often a tool for an agenda. I was just trying to connect (poorly) :)

    Thanks for the connection and the kind words about my presentation. I'm glad you replied to me and believe me, I really did want you to engage. Thanks for the engagement!

    Let the fun begin!
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