We have all seen the messages “Thanks for following me. Check out my website blah blah boring”. Why did you get that message a few seconds after you followed someone? Are they just really quick at responding to their followers or are they using and auto responder? And if they are should you be angry about it?

Wait What Are We Talking About?

Making a first contact with a new follower is great way to get to know people and to set the stage for future interaction. When you start out the small number of followers are easy to manage but as your account grows your new followers get out of hand and sending messages to each person takes up a lot of time.

An auto-response (A-R) is an automatic DM (Direct Message) sent to a new follower. A-Rs have become popular as a way of making that first contact with new followers and hopefully setting the scene for more conversation further down the track.

Should I Be Angry

If someone sends you a lame AR there’s no point in being angry. If you really don’t like their DM then unfollow them, they need to learn right? Or even better, DM them back with a link to this page and don’t say anything else. If someone sent you a DM about this page.. um yup, connect the dots you’ll figure it out.

Should I Use An Auto Responder?

If you don’t need to then no. If you are spending hours responding to new followers then an AR is a great time saver. One problem, they are generally not well received by your new followers. However I would propose that the problem is not the auto-response itself, but tweeple’s misunderstanding of its purpose and writing terrible auto-responses, e.g. “Hi friend. Want to learn how to get 16,000 followers and make money doing it? http://my-auto-response-sucks.com”.

How To Write A Good Auto Response

The only thing people dislike more than a pre written response is a pre written response masquerading as a genuine message. To use your auto responder effectively don’t try and make the message what it’s not. Accept the fact that you are not really talking to each and every person, and treat it like it is: a first point of contact with a person you have never met. What do you do when you meet someone? Talk about yourself? I doubt you have many friends if you do.. Twitter is the same, your auto-response (if you use one) should be focused on the other person and not seen as a place to sell. Believe it or not if they are actually  interested in what you do, you will get a chance further down the track.

Stay tuned for the next post – Someone Followed You, Don’t Blow It With A Lame AR