My Twitter Follow rule is extremely simple; I follow everyone who follows me until they give me a reason to stop following.

For a lot of new comers to the Twitterverse, they are spending too much time checking profiles to determine if they are Follow-Worthy.   Early on, I, myself, had done some of this until one day I was checking out a profile of a new follower, and noticed that the language and energy of their page was or appeared to be out of alignment with my values.  But they ReTweeted several of my messages every day for quite a while, apparently my messages had meaning to them and I saw a shift over time in some of the language in their future tweets.  I believe that we can learn from everyone we meet, and the variety of quality Twitizens in my stream gives me an opportunity to reach a very wide audience.

An exception can be made for those on Twitter with a very, very specific target audience.  Should you need help in expanding your reach into that type of market, let’s get together for a Laser Coaching call where we can focus in on your Twitter and Social Media strategy.

The more complicated matter is in deciding whom to UnFollow.  Recently I jotted down the reasons I made the decision to stop following or to ignore their comments.

• Tweeting lists without any text telling us why you are mentioning these people.
• Begging for a Follow, RT or Shout Out – if you have to ask, it is not a gift.  Focus on becoming a great follower and add value to your audience, and then the mentions will start to flow your way. 
• RTing someone else’s list – create your own list and tell us why you are recommending these accounts.
• Multiple posts of lists in S/O or FF – we all love to receive the recognition of others, but once is enough.  Countless SO or FF mentions devalues the thought.
• Any post that includes the Following: F4F (follow for follow), Follow Back or any of the Team Follow.  Following back is a choice not an obligation; and as mentioned above, begging is a major turn off.
• Any RTs that include your own name – I daily thank all my RTers for sharing the messages, and often people will RT those messages that include their name, I guess it is a way of self-promotion.  Posting lists that are not your own provides no value to your audience.
• Adding your link, any link to my messages – automatic block and reported as spam – no questions.  Build your own reputation and never try to steal a ride on someone else Twitter Jet Stream.
• Self-Promo in your Auto DM or Thank you messages – pushing your links will produce little if any positive results and it’s spammy.
• Invites to Face Book pages – take time to build a relationship with us here on Twitter first before inviting us to learn more about you on other sites.
• Thanking me for RT’s & FF mentions I did not make.
• Provoking an argument.
• Taking a minor exception to an author of a quote I shared – attempting to devalue the message.
• Telling us way too much or everything that is going on in your life.  Move your personal conversations to direct messages.  One of the things many people look at when they visit your Twitter profile is your Tweets to Followers ratio.  If you have 20,000 tweets and only a couple hundred followers it creates a picture that you are talking for the sake of talking regardless if anyone is responding.
• Not providing any value.
• Not enough posts or abandoned accounts.
• Sarcasm –
• Tru Tweet Validation – you followed me and then ask me to prove I am human.  Spend time connecting and learning about the people in your Twitterverse, and you will attract quality real Followers.

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