Tweet-Fatiguing Audiences. Are We Posting Too Many Tweets?

Is it possible to scare away our followers by sending them too much content in too short of a time?

Yes. Absolutely. Burning-out followers with incessant or irrelevant Tweets is a real thing. Abuse Twitter followers like this, expect to be blocked or muted and then left in the dark.

Well, someone had to say it.

Social media is fun and exhilarating for creatives. It offers all of us a platform in which to show the world our art, for free. Finding our niche is what it’s all about and it’s out there somewhere on Twitter.

But Twitter is one messy monster. Due to the freedom that’s available to everyone to tweet about anything, it’s awash with trillions of bits of content at any one time. The noise it creates can be overwhelming. As I scroll through my own Tweetdom feed, I find myself having to scan through millions of Tweets to get something I like. Not all of them are interesting. Invariably, I end up prioritizing what I look at by filtering out content I don’t want to see. I’ll shut out annoying Tweeters by muting them. They don’t know about it. It got me to thinking, if I prioritize my feed by blocking and muting certain Tweeters in order to save time and sanity, would someone else do the same to me?

Of course they would. We all have our limits.

I looked at this morning’s feed in total amazement and, dare I say it, I had to wear my cringe face once again.

‘Boss level achieved, 850 words written today score!’ Reads one Tweet

‘This procrastination is driving me crazy. Think I’ll take a nap.’ Reads another.

‘I just filled my gas tank. Why is it so expensive in CA?’

‘I have no motivation and I’m soooooo tired.’

…and it only stops when a mute or a block filter is applied. Thank God for filters!

Not all authors are like me and take care on social media. Instead, they think Twitter is a place to plan an attack. Some like the machine-gun approach to Tweeting. They arm themselves with their product or service, step onto the platform and fire indiscriminately. Hello mute button. Save me from the massacre. Click. You’re dead!

There are interesting Tweets too but they make up a small portion of the feed. Global-sized quantities of alphabet-slurry spoil what could be a good thing. And, as our follower numbers grow, so too does the amount of slop it invites.

‘I can’t think of anything to say so I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight Twitter.’

Goodnight Twitter? What? If you have nothing to say then why say it? Go to bed silently. Twitter doesn’t care whether you live or die. Mute you!

Perhaps I’m too old to appreciate this new kind of message jibberish. (No I’m not. CB radio was just as messy in the 80s. I ignored timewasters back then too!)

How many Tweets is too many? How will I know if my Tweets have been blocked or muted by someone? Let me answer the last question first.

Blocks and mutes are at the discretion of readers. This means that if you’re an over-zealous Tweeter, some of your audience isn’t seeing your Tweets because they’ve turned you off. You’ve no way of knowing who they are or getting them back. You’re dead to them, forever. The trick is to keep them on the line by broadcasting quality content and not filling their feed with frequent tripe. Telling them Goodnight Twitter is not just pointless and, potentially, inconsiderate. It’s a global world now. Your readers may be just waking up!

As far as frequency of Tweets, use your own Twitter experience as a gauge. You’ve probably already made a few disconnections of your own. Ask yourself why? I guarantee that whatever reason you gave yourself is a reason good enough for someone else to shut down your Tweets.

Quality Tweets. Quantity is cheap. Quality is classy.

For instance, an author of a book should concentrate on marketing their book by talking about their narratives, writing styles, etc, and practice a less is more approach. Tweeting about a friend’s cat, a car, the rising cost of Cheetos, or how a foot itches inexplicably at the worst of times, isn’t a good look. Hello mute.

Less is more.

I don’t expect my advice will change the habits of rhetoric-driven Tweeters. They’ll Tweet what they want despite what I say. This post is more for those who want to have long-term success with their social media marketing campaigns by making them aware that they’re just one click away from being silenced.

Readers want to discover new and inspirational worlds, not trudge through the mire of ‘Here’s my nothing in particular’ Tweet or the same one posted a hundred times over in the last hour.

See Ya! (Read my latest novel!)

–M

‘Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.’

Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’