What a great day and age to be alive for indie musicians! We can market ourselves, and we can take advantage of wonderful social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more to get our message out to the world…for practically free.
I say practically free, because, though it doesn’t take any money to invest up front in social media, there may be costs involved.
One of the costs that may come with this wild wild west of social media is our reputation if we don’t use it right. What I’m saying is that, though you may have good intentions, you may actually end up being a pest to others. This can scar your reputation. Today, I’ll be taking a closer look at Twitter. To do so, I’m going to ask you the question, “Are you a Twitter pest? Take the test.”
Question 1: (5 points)
Do you follow someone primarily because you want them to know about what YOU do?
Now, in this test, you don’t want points. You want to score a 0. However, you have to give yourself 5 points if you have ever followed someone on Twitter because you want them to be aware of your product/service/music/etc. You’re hoping that, when someone gets that email that says someone is following them, they’ll see what you’re all about, follow you back and check out what it is you have to offer.
Question 2: (5 points)
Do you follow someone, and when they return the favor and follow you, one of the first things you do is message them about a product or service you offer?
I can’t begin to tell you how much this annoys me. What it tells me is that you are insincere. You’re not a giver. You’re a taker. You live in an energy field of lack rather than abundance.
Let me ask you this – would you walk up to someone at a networking event, introduce yourself, and then right after they introduce themselves, you start pitching your products or services to them? I would not hesitate to walk away from you without saying a word if you did that to me.
Question 3: (5 points)
Do you primarily Tweet about products or services you offer?
By primarily, I mean that 50% or more of your tweets are about your products, services or offers.
I will say this – I think Facebook is going the way of My Space simply because people abuse it. It’s not interesting anymore. People are more interested in getting Likes and Followers than they are in Liking and Following. It’s the same thing on ReverbNation. People become fans of other musicians simply for the purpose of getting their names out there and hoping that other people will become fans in return.
I think the same thing will happen with Twitter if people don’t use it responsibly. It will cease to be a fun party where people get to know one another and make friends if people feel like they are being marketed to all the time.
The Results
Now, let’s add up your points. If you scored a 1 or higher, you are a Twitter pest. The good news is, there’s time to change! You probably just didn’t know any better. You probably weren’t aware of what you were doing. Hey, no harm, no foul. Just get back out there, and relax. Enjoy the party.