Are you a Human SpamBot?

These days on social networks even humans can come across like bots, and be viewed as prolific spammers. Twitter is one network that has become famous for social interaction, and many businesses are successfully utilizing twitter to engage customers and build their brand. The vast majority of businesses however are failing, bad. If only for one key reason; they don’t come across as human beings but rather appear as bots with no purpose but to push their product down your throat. Businesses aren’t the only ones that come across as vociferous spammers.

You’ve likely experienced the influx of humans planting their spam on your facebook page, in your twitter stream, and even your email inbox. Sometimes it becomes hard to tell, is this a bot or a real person? It doesn’t matter. Spam is spam, unsolicited, and unwanted.

With so many people frustrated with spam, you sometimes have to tread carefully to ensure that you yourself don’t come across as a spammer. Are you a blogger promoting your posts? I wrote a series called “Twitter Etiquette for Bloggers” in which I discuss the concern many bloggers have about how many times to tweet about the same post, it’s a great debate and one that will likely carry on for ages to come.

Tips on coming across as a real live human…

• Actually engage your followers with questions, and compliments.
• Be careful how you use scheduled / automated tweeting, spread your auto-tweets out properly.
• Put yourself in your followers shoes and consider what they may want to hear.
• Make a point of connecting personally with someone every day.
• Watch your tweet ratio. That is how many promotional tweets you’re putting out. Make sure you retweet others as well!
• If you’re using services like Sponsored Tweets or MyLikes don’t go too heavy on the ads. My rule of thumb 1 in 15 (give or take!)

The Best Advice is “simply be aware of how you come across”. If you keep this in mind you are certain to think about what you’re saying. Be prepared however for those that will find you spammy! It happens, and it’s okay. But if you start to lose followers over it, maybe you should adjust the way you’re tweeting.

Do you have any advice for avoiding sounding like a spammer? Share them here with a comment! I’ll reply to your feedback for sure.