Are you a fan of the automated Twitter direct message immediately after following someone? If so, it’s time to reevaluate your strategy.

There are a variety of automated messages, from the basic “Hey, thanks for following me!” to the “Now that you’re with me on Twitter, come join me on Facebook, Instagram, my blog, Tumblr, etc.” because following on Twitter is clearly not enough. Every automated direct message I have ever received has been ignored. Every. Single. One. Not only does it make your brand look desperate, but I lose quite a bit of respect for you once I see your message pop up in my inbox. It’s not personal. You just look lazy and not quite with the program, and I just might un-follow you out of spite. As harsh as it is, it’s all true. With 2016 right around the corner, it’s time to get out of the 2012 Twitter era!

Instead of trying way too hard to be engaged through automated DMs, try out these tips out:

1. Follow back: Here’s a news flash – you don’t look bad if you are following more people than are following you. I have no idea when that became a “thing,” but stop caring about that. If someone follows you, just follow them back; that’s a great way to show you are engaged, you care, and ultimately want to create a conversation with them in the future, and who doesn’t love it when their favorite brand follows them?!
2. Retweet/tweet them: Let’s say you don’t want to follow that person, but you still want to keep the conversation going. Send them a personal tweet, reply to one of their recent tweets, or retweet something they sent out recently. Yes, this does require actual effort and time on your part, but it’s much more personal, real, and engaging, and isn’t that what social media is supposed to be?
3. Tweet valuable and important information: If you want to maintain your followers and keep them around, send out tweets that make them want to stay. Don’t always promote yourself, but promote things about your brand and the things you care about. For example, if you are a restaurant, you don’t always have to promote yourself – you can promote different events around the area or different businesses by tweeting about them or retweeting their tweets.

The important thing to remember is that social media is supposed to be SOCIAL, and sending an auto-DM is anything but. We need to find different ways to reach our fans and followers and potential customers without being annoying or creepy.

If you are still sending auto-DMs, make 2016 the year you to switch up your Twitter game, before you lose entirely!