Noise, spam and self-promotion are Twitter turn-offs

If you're using Twitter to keep in touch with consumers or businesses, you might want to take a step back and check whether the way you're using the micro-blogging platform is killing your popularity.

Econsultancy recently created an online poll to ascertain the reasons why Followers might resort to the "Unfollow" button.

The top reason you'll be Unfollowed is for too much 'noise' or Tweeting too often, cited by 52% of respondents. Think twice before you punch in what you're having for lunch or keep a running commentary going on a football game.

You might also want to stop blowing your own trumpet. The second most-popular reason for Unfollowing someone is if they're hell-bent on self-promotion - cited by 48%. Of course, a little self-promotion doesn't hurt, but your Followers don't want to feel they're constantly being marketed to.

Rounding off the top three reasons for losing a Follower is too much spam - cited by 47%. This can also hook into the "too much noise" category as sending out Tweet after Tweet in a short timescale is tantamount to spamming, even if it doesn't promise a new iPad or promote Viagra.

Check out Econsultancy's blog post for more reasons why your Followers may turn off.

Tags: best practice, blogging, social media, Twitter