The 10 Reasons They Don’t Follow You Back

When it comes to social media marketing, gaining followers on Twitter for you to engage with is always a great way to get your message in front of more people. But sometimes, you may find that you are following individuals but, they’re not so willing to follow you back. Here are the top ten reasons that people aren’t following you back on Twitter.

Egg on Your Face – No Profile Photo
Nothing screams “newbie” more than that Twitter egg, does it? And if you’re not a new to Twitter, you really have no excuse for not replacing the default egg image with a photo of your own. Using a headshot of yourself is best, but if you don’t want to reveal your identity — or if you’re tweeting as a brand — then a relevant graphic is acceptable. Most companies use their logo but, don’t be afraid to show photos of your staff having fun in the office or during an outing. Mix it up and show your human side a bit.

Also, if you are just starting out on Twitter, and looking to find relevant accounts to follow, check out our list of “The 300 Twitter Accounts That Every Business Owner Should Be Following,” here.
 
You Don’t Have a Bio.
When someone follows me, I take a look at their bio. If it’s blank, I’m going to assume you either don’t tweet often, are new to Twitter, or just don’t have anything worth my while to listen to – So I don’t follow back. I’ve found that I’m not the only one, and this is common gauge for following accounts. No Bio – No Follow.
 
Touchy Subjects in Your Bio
If you want to include religion, politics or controversial views in your bio, you certainly have that right. But just know that it may turn off some people from following you. On the other hand, it may encourage those who are like-minded. When in doubt, cast the largest net possible by having a friendly yet informative bio.
 
Your Tweets Are Protected.

 
Twitter allows you to “protect your tweets,” which means that your Twitter feed is only available to those whose follow requests you have accepted. To me, that completely defeats the purpose of Twitter, which is to converse openly and exchange ideas with more than 200 million users. So, if I see that you have protected your tweets, I’m not going to bother requesting your permission to see them. If you have something private to say, send a Direct Message to one of your followers.
 
You Tweet Too Little.
Potential followers often glance through your Twitter feed to see what you’re tweeting about and how often. If it looks like you’re only tweeting once a week, I’m going to assume you’re not much of a Twitter enthusiast. No sense in increasing my follower count with someone who barely tweets.
 
You Tweet Too Much.
If you tweet all day long, I probably won’t follow you. We just met, and I’m not ready to have you filling up my Twitter stream. And to be honest, while I’d love to read your interesting tweets, I’m not so excited to read that you’re riding down the street in a car.
 
You Mostly Broadcast But Rarely Engage.
If you’re running a one-man (or one-woman) show on Twitter, I’m not your audience. I look for tweeters who are not only sharing their own links and opinions, but who are retweeting and responding. You want to have a conversation, not view a monologue. I try not to follow quote accounts or accounts that just post the same advertisements for services repeatedly. Hell, I don’t even like commercials during the football game.
 
 
Too many follows, not enough followers. 

This one is important. If you are following thousands of people but only being followed by a few dozen, chances are you’re doing something wrong. Unfollow those who aren’t following back, and don’t go on any more “follow binges”. Add new people to follow in small amounts each day or week, and try to keep your followers/following ratio somewhat even.
 
No @conversations, no interactions. 
Tied closely the problem of a broadcast-only account is having one that doesn’t interact with followers. If you aren’t replying to people who retweet you or @mention you, or you aren’t starting conversations with interesting followers, you aren’t maximizing on Twitter and people may start unfollowing you.
 
Tweets are too sales-y. 

 
If you have something to sell, there is nothing wrong with trying to sell it on Twitter – but be careful of how you go about this. There is perhaps no bigger turnoff for potential followers than a Twitter account that reads like a sales pitch. Remember, people come to Twitter to get information, news, and trends. They don’t come to get a pitch on your time share offer. So mix things up, so that you aren’t filling your followers’ timelines with pushy sales talk.
 
No link to website. 
This usually isn’t a complete follower killer, but there are some who won’t follow you back unless you have a website somewhere. And if you’re on Twitter to further yourself or your brand, then you should definitely have a link to a website that lets followers know more about you and your brand.
 
It’s Not You, It’s Me.
Your profile pic is lovely and your bio is inviting. You tweet a few times a day, every day – without protection. But our interests just don’t align, so alas, I’m not going to follow you back. But don’t worry, I’m sure lots of others will!

These are the 10 reasons that some people may not be following you back. Now that you know these, try reading our article on “How to Drive Traffic to Your Website With Twitter,” located here. What have you experienced in your Twitterverse? Tweet to us @AgintoSolutions with your thoughts.

Cheers!