The 7 Possible Reasons To Get Unfollowed on Twitter

Posted by on Sep 27, 2011 | 22 comments

The 7 Possible Reasons To Get Unfollowed on Twitter
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Twitter is a wonderful microblogging platform that is so misunderstood in terms of how it is used.  Even after 5 years, a lot of people are still trying to learn how to maximize their experience.  Like Facebook, the Twitter experience keeps evolving and those who are new can get confused easily as to how things work.

One topic that is often discussed is the issue of following. Some people argue that the number of followers do not matter at all. We agree.  We feel that engagement and relationships are far more important but, the issue here is about getting unfollowed.  When we were both new on twitter, we were both bothered when someone unfollowed us.  We asked why? Did I say something wrong? Did I tweet too much? Through the years, we have uncovered some of the possible reasons why one gets unfollowed. Here are some of the reasons. Do you agree with them?

1.  You never update your feed - Inactivity may be one big reason people unfollow you. Sharing information that is relevant to your followers and conversing is a great way to keep your followers from thinking you have abandoned your account. It is really up to you to determine how many updates you want to post. Everyone has their own style of tweeting.

2.  You Tweet too much – At one point in our Twitter journey we have been told that we tweet too much. We never unfollow anyone because someone tweets more than we do. There are, however, some folks who only follow a few people and when one of the people they follow tweets more than 10 tweets in an hour then what that person sees are only updates from that same person.

3.  You don’t follow back- Some people follow back everyone who follows them while others don’t.  Some will unfollow those who do not follow back. For many people, Twitter is about reciprocity including following back those who follow them.

Image from Marty McPadden Flickr

4.  All You do is create intrigue – if all you do is pick fights with your followers or you constantly swear, or are overly dramatic, you will tend to get unfollowed.  We feel that anyone has the right to tweet whatever they want, but over doing the drama is rarely tolerated.

5.  You practice the “follow unfollow” scheme – This is something that is very annoying.  Just make up your mind whether you want to follow a particular person or not.  Check out the person’s stream and see what they tweet. If you like what you see then follow. If you don’t then unfollow.

6.  You spam people with how to get 1,000 followers in minutes – Whether it is about getting a thousand followers, spamming with sales talk or sending all your followers invites to be part of your Mafia family, one can be assured of getting unfollowed. Most people will not tolerate being spammed.

7.  You use a naked or half naked profile image – Use an avatar that represents who you really are.  Most spammers use images of men and women who are scantily clad to attract attention.  If you don’t want to be mistaken as a spammer or fake account, then make sure you use a proper avatar.

Getting unfollowed from time to time in your Twitter journey is to be expected. Whether it is because of any of the reasons we have enumerated above or a different reason, don’t worry about it. Just move on.  Just concentrate on what you are doing and pay attention to how people interact with you everyday.  If we missed anything here, please share your experience with us. We would love to hear from you.

Image Credit: Marty McPadden

About the authors:

Marty McPadden founder and host of PodJamTv is a professional photographer, videographer, blogger, apple geek and a Production Supervisor at ESPN one of the largest sports network in the world. His vast knowledge in the above mentioned field will allow you our readers to tap into tools, apps, reviews and tips that he has learned and mastered over the years. How to’s and hacks that will allow you to have a richer online experience.

Misty Belardo co host and co writer of PodJamTv is an experienced blogger, designer and a self proclaimed Twitter-holic and an avid Facebook user is a Senior Production Manager at Barefoot Proximity, one of the most awarded advertising agencies across the globe. Her experience with writing, designing, SEO and brand and advertising strategy will give readers a point of view of what happens behind the scenes in the digital sphere.

© 2011, PodJamTV. All rights reserved.

  • http://twitter.com/ManInBlackNY Jason E.

    Marty and Misty, great points here! Thanks for sharing. Definitely keeping these in my head as I continue on my Twitter journey!

    • http://twitter.com/mistygirlph Misty Belardo

      Thank you Jason for taking time to say hello here and for always supporting me and Marty.

  • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

    Thank you Jason!! =))

  • http://www.nettiapina.fi/ Heikki H.

    How about these:

    You post too much semi-automatic crap, such as foursquare updates or heiaheia results. One every now and then isn’t bad, and often there’s the possibility to say something instead of just activating the spam robot feature. No-one is interested in your grocery shopping or sports results, tho.

    You post too many social media articles, or only talk about Twitter/Facebook/Google+. Meta discussion gets very tiresome very fast.

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      Thank you for your comment. The reason we started PodJamTV is to create content and share information about what we are passionate about and enjoy. One of the things we enjoy is social media hence the reason we write about it a lot. The great thing about the Internet and social media is that EVERYONE has a voice if they choose to use it; and, EVERYONE has the free will to choose what content they want to consume. It comes down to choices.

  • Deannacc54

    You don’t always follow all of your followers, though, do you? I have followed several higher profile tweeters and watched them tweet about how much their followers matter as they continued to not follow their audience and chose instead to share inside jokes, jargon, & technology with only their fellow twitterati. I don’t follow those people and find them to be all that is wrong with twitter or , in fact, with any community. Elitist bullies, who band together and proclaim themselves to be elite, have damaged Twitter and its purpose as a world forum by turning it into a cliquey, high schoolish cesspool of predators, who need the #newbies they so readily mock to fund their clickbank. That’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it, Andrew J. Weber?

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      Thank you for your comment. There are people out there that think it’s always all about them. Misty and I believe in sharing great content and engaging with others without any expectation of anything in return. We have found what goes around, comes around. If you just concentrate on tat, you will find good things come back to you a hundred times over. It’s up to each individual to set the example and not be overly concerned how others choose to tweet and interact. I can tell you it works! :-)

  • http://twitter.com/ImagineBeauty_ IMAGINE BEAUTY

    Marty and Misty, thank you so much for sharing. I always enjoy reading your post and keep what you wrote in my head. One thing I’m finding a little difficulty sometimes are our twitter conversations.. being still new I get stuck with some feeling/or fear [haha] of “That awkward moment when…” Some people are very friendly and easy to talk to and some are very serious, just like our offline world. I just have to get my feet wet for a while until I feel comfortable. Thanks again for all the tips.

    • http://twitter.com/mistygirlph Misty Belardo

      Thank you so much for all the support dear. Its is quite difficult sometimes to keep up with conversations on Twitter but please know that we are both very approachable and love conversing with wonderful people like you. Did you know that we are both introverts by nature but somehow have been able to get out of our shell. Thank you again for taking time to say hi to us here =D

      • http://twitter.com/ImagineBeauty_ IMAGINE BEAUTY

        Thank you, Misty, for your encouragement! I will continue on learning more and more. :) ))

  • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

    Thank you so much!! I echo what Misty said. You’re doing great. Just be yourself and you will find great things happen! =))

    • IMAGINE BEAUTY

      Thank you, Marty, for your positive word of encouragement!

  • http://www.robertbcairns.com/ Rob Cairns

    Great article. I will add one more reason – you follow me to either send me escort adds(yes i get those) or dating advice. Even worse you have a social media system for me and I am a social media consultant! Ironic if you ask me.

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      Great point Rob!!! =))

  • Lincoln

    Hi Marty and Misty,
    Many thanks for sharing your expertise.
    This is a very helpful and practical article for someone like me who started recently to use twitter.
    I have much to learn – glad to have you as reliable guides.
    Cheers!
    Lincoln

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      You’re welcome Lincoln and thank you!!! Misty and I love social media and love sharing are knowledge and experience with others. I’n so glad you find our articles helpful! Cheers!! =))

  • Anonymous

    Excellent blog friends… so simple but so very deep!! loved it..

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      Thank you so much!! :-)

  • http://twitter.com/Yourstaffingal Joelle Mekongo

    Many thanks for sharing. It’ssuch a coincidence because I’m actually going through my following list to unfollow all the spammers… I first wanted to return the courtesy, but it seems that the word of mouth worked among them, a real invasion. I was not quite conortable in doing that, but after reading this post,I’ll keep on going. Again thank you very much for the infos.

    • https://podjam.tv Marty McPadden

      You’re very welcome and thank you!