How to Be Less Annoying on Social Media

I already know what you’re thinking: Less annoying that what? Or Less annoying than whom?  Before I can answer that question, we’d have to set a benchmark, right? And without knowing you personally, that would be impossible. So for the purposes of this post, let’s just say we all want to be less annoying.

Photo by grepsy

Some Super Annoying Things

Here are some ways you can be really, really annoying on social media. Sending DMs or private messages or videos the instant someone follows you on Twitter or Facebook. Nobody likes that in-your-face kind of old-school sales anymore. Those are just a few examples of things not to do. The best and easiest thing to do is not to send a direct message when someone follows you. At all.

Being Divisive on Social Media

Being divisive on Facebook can be really annoying, although sometimes those controversial posts can get a lot of attention. Still, at what price? By now, we mostly know where our friends’ allegiances lie on the political spectrum. How about finding that place or those issues we can agree on, though? Even though that envenomed political cartoon might get a lot of comments, is it worth it? And are we really going to change our friends’ political views with a Facebook post? You might like this post: Ten Ways to Fail on the Biggest Social Media Platforms: Facebook.

Super-Salesy Posts

You’ve all seen those ads on Instagram that make you want to throw your smart phone down in horror. Buy this! Sign up here! An occasional call-to-action might work, but not every single post. Nobody likes to see that. For more things to avoid on Instagram, Jeff Bullas has an article: 8 Instagram Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid.

Buying Followers

Another thing most of us don’t like to see is obviously fake followers. If you have 10 posts on Twitter, chances are you’re not going to have 10,000 followers. And those fake followers are not going to help you in the long run, either. Some people talk about social proof, but that’s not the way to get it.

What Annoys You?

There must be something! Leave me a comment and I promise to get back to you. Really.