Top 10 Tips to Avoid Getting Unfollowed or Blocked on Twitter…

By Beirut | Published April 5, 2011

Ever wondered what could get you blacklisted on Twitter? Today’s post is dedicated to the top 10 tips I have for Twitter users who want to avoid getting unfollowed or blocked on Twitter:

Twitter Block

Twitter Block

  1. NEVER add your followers’ names in your ad tweets! It might seem appealing, it might seem lucrative but trust me, it is annoying and I have unfollowed and blocked many of those I was following just for that reason!
  2. Don’t just tweet rambles! Twitter is an endless stream of information and if you don not provide something valuable every now and then, you will eventually be unfollowed.
  3. Don’t be selfish! If I care enough to retweet you, you should be able to do the same or else you don’t deserve me following you and I will eventually block you. Sharing is caring and retweeting is as well.
  4. Don’t Overdo the Direct Messages! Especially when I start following you, I don’t want you promoting your products and services to me, let me know you on a different and deeper level then start advertising to me!
  5. Never Try to Cheat the Rules! Twitter will catch you, eventually and suspend your account periodically or indefinitely!
  6. Don’t Spam Tweet Me! Regardless of your Twitter user name and avatar, I expect you to tweet the “good stuff” to me. Spam, be it porn or otherwise, is not what I consider “good” or “interesting!
  7. Reply to Me! At least once in a while and especially when I mention you, I do expect that you respond to me with a short tweet or a direct message.
  8. Be Active! Twitter is about give and take. Don’t just create the account and disappear; tweet often and try to make your tweets valuable to me at some level.
  9. Be Ware of Multiple Twitter Accounts! Yes, I will add more than one account for you but you have to promise to “play nice”: keep the variety flowing in your tweets and treat each account separately.
  10. Be Humble: Don’t pretend you are a guru or act as if you know more than you do. “Wannabe’s” are not welcomed here!

Finally, Love What You Do…

In order for you to be considered a “good” Twitter citizen, you have to love what you do on Twitter and enjoy every second of it.

Remember, whether you are tweeting for business or for fun, your Twitter followers are people with feelings, problems and stories, they are not mere numbers!

So now, after I have listed for you the top 10 things that might get you unfollowed or blocked from my Twitter list, what other advice can you give to your Twitter followers? And have you ever been blocked on Twitter? What did you learn from that?

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Posted in Tips and Tricks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments
  • http://profiles.google.com/keninkent Ken Kent

    I have been blocked twice, once by a liberal and once by a conservative. Both started following me when I was new and so I followed back. I responded to their tweets, but neither appreciated an alternative to their point of view. They want others to listen to their perspective on the world but have no tolerance for dissent.

    If you are not confident enough in your world view so that you can tolerate an opposing point of view then don’t tweet it.

    • http://twitter.com/MySisterSam Elizabeth Eckstein

      Ken – I can relate. I was blocked by a political satirist, who tweets sarcastic and often crude comments about her targets. That’s fine, but I found it ironic when she blocked me because I responded once to her rude remarks about a politician’s religious beliefs. It’s one thing to disagree, but there’s no need to knock someone’s beliefs. I merely told her I felt it was out of line, and she blocked me! Blew my mind how thin-skinned she is considering how tough she dishes it out!

      • http://justjen.squarespace.com/ Jennifer M.

        Yeah I was blocked similarly. I responded to someone who was bragging about spamming Twitter with her advertisements. I wrote that that probably wasn’t the best way to keep followers and she responded rudely and then blocked me. Looking back on it, it’s probably for the best. I don’t particularly want to be around negative people anyway.

  • blkbird77

    i have been trying to open a sep acct to talk thrift shopping but twitter won’t let me or i have no idea how to do it … everytime i try it all goes right to my current acct …makes it hard to have fun

  • http://twitter.com/MattFnBoSs Matt Bell ✔

    #TEAMFOLLOWBACK . Be nice and followback. Unless they start spamming then just unfollow. No need for blocking this isnt #Facebook lol

  • Anonymous

    Don’t know if I have been blocked, I do report when I get spammed and I check out the person and they have 0 followers and ALL they do is spam, then you hear from me.

    I would so like to share certain aspects of this to a friend who always has input and thinks she is the “Twitter Police” and Also the All Knowing. If she weren’t a real life, face to face friend, I would unfollow her! Hard to deal with a friend like this and I bleed from biting my tongue so much.

  • Renee Besta

    What is most annoying to me are those people who tweet over a hundred plus times a day. From early morning till midnight. I will stop following anyone who does this because it blocks up my timeline. I am interested in many people and topics, and want to read what they have to say and interact with them. Quality matters.

    But when I have to wade through the tweets of someone who posts from sunup to sundown, it is really frustrating. First of all, I feel that is selfish and says me, me, me. No one has that much to say or offer. It is a brazen attempt to garner attention by over-tweeting. Second, it is also an obvious attempt to quickly gain followers by a single mention of someone. Then they are forgotten.

    The quality of your followers, not the quantity, is what really matters. Those that think they are wonderful because they have thousands of followers are misinformed. Unless you are Justin Bieber or some celebrity. Any spammer can be your follower. I block those people or those who write about porn, etc. Or who are obviously just marketing a business.

    I wish people would stop and think before they posts hundreds of tweets per day. Think about the impact on others who are trying to wade through who they follow to garner the latest information. And then think that you are clogging up their timeline. It is maddening to see someone’s name and tweets hundreds of times per day. Just my 2 cents.

    • http://twitter.com/cypherinfo g. c.

      Ther Twitter list are the “tool” do the job for you when it comes to follow more and more tweet; try to examine and use them. If in trouble let me know I may help you :D

    • http://justjen.squarespace.com/ Jennifer M.

      Agreed. I unfollow people who tweet that much. It’s just annoying.

  • Pennysouthwell

    How does one know if you’ve been blocked – what happens?

    • http://justjen.squarespace.com/ Jennifer M.

      You aren’t notified when it happens. I noticed when one lady blocked me because I wasn’t receiving her tweets anymore so I went to her page and it asked if I wanted to follow her – which I thought I already was. The only way it’ll unfollow you from someone is if they’ve blocked you, so…

  • http://twitter.com/cypherinfo g. c.

    ALl of those rules are ok. I think the most “unfollowed” are:

    “Don’t be selfish! If I care enough to retweet you,
    you should be able to do the same or else you don’t deserve me
    following you and I will eventually block you. Sharing is caring and
    retweeting is as well. ” and the overall criteria: “Twitter is about give and take.” if only peoples did following at least those twos… :D

  • http://jessicaobermayer.com Jessica Obermayer

    Great rundown!

    I’ve met so many business people who don’t “get” Twitter – but decide to have some “expert” set up an auto-RSS-feed into Twitter. Then they wonder why nothing’s happening.

    My personal favorite are those social media “experts” – and I don’t mean any of the really big guys – who don’t respond to an @xxx message or even provide a thank you for RTs and mentions. Talk about a lack of authenticity….Regarding getting blocked: Number 1 on your list is the killer: So many spammers get onto Twitter and begin sending a link to x-Twitter accounts. Invariably those spammers are gone the next day, but it’s irritating.

  • http://twitter.com/hardstan17 Stanford Byrd Jr

    yeah have been block by Kelly Star I don’t even know how come
 

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