Comments on: The great Twitter numbers swindle

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:26:26 +0000

There is definitely an obsession with the numbers! When I first started using Twitter, I wasn’t very aware of these automated accounts. But now that I’ve been using it for a few years, I’ve gotten better about spotting them. I won’t follow accounts that only post links. I also try to make sure that they have interacted with another user somewhat recently. If they don’t, I won’t follow back. At one point, once I let on to the fact that some of those accounts are automated, I unfollowed most of them. It just clutters up your home screen! Sad that so many other users didn’t notice, or didn’t care, that his account was run like a robot.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:14:10 +0000

Thanks for the sharing your thoughts Adam (as the star of the article), and for adding the valuable points. As you say, developing relationships is more important than any spurious statistic that some apps developer might cook up (interesting though they are).
Those using Twitter/other social media tools for their business should not focus on such metrics, when they have the undeniable indicators of success (increased profits and cashflow) on which the business as a whole is judged.

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:41:25 +0000

Hi Everyone

This experiment is proving very interesting, but the whole Twitter numbers game makes me laugh (or cry – depending on my mood). Social media is such a fantastic tool for connecting people and enabling conversations, but with all of this automation we run a risk of it being changed in to a broadcast platform just like all of the others out there and losing its credibility in the process. Certainly if my experiment is anything to go by automation may build numbers, listings and even (oddly) retweets…but it certainly doesn’t build a following that can be mobilised in to action.

I have c. 1700 followers at the moment on @AGSocialMedia yet when I post a trackable bit.ly link on a tweet I get very little response perhaps half a dozen clicks – a 0.3% response rate. On my proper twitter feed @TheAdamGray I have just under 700 followers, and when I post the same bit.ly link I get a response rate of about 80 clicks – an 11% response rate.

Clearly I spend more time developing the relationships on @TheAdamGray, but the net result is a 33 fold increase in getting people to do what you ask them to do which makes it much more valuable to me.

However we shouldn’t forget that even measuring click though rates is not in itself a useful metric for success on twitter, the larger landscape of social media or any aspect of business. The ONLY metrics that count (in business at any rate) are those which deliver a real benefit – increased sales, decreased costs, increased buying frequency or increased spend per transaction.

Everything else is just window dressing.

The trick is working-out just how you can track the benefits that you may or may not be getting.

Thanks for taking part.

Adam

By: Lauren Lionheart

Lauren Lionheart — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:12:13 +0000

Daaaamn. I’ve seen some unbelievable Klout scores for accounts that are clearly running on auto pilot. Really got me wondering how. But the “@agsocialmedia is a Conversationalist” bit really brings the point home. At this point in time, automated popularity scores are just about useless as a true indicator. Their real value is in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks for this post, Andy. Good food for thought.

Peace,

Lauren

By: the running ciki

the running ciki — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:04:34 +0000

oh yeah.. i always suspected you were a clever guy andy.. uh huh, and now i know. yup, u r a clever guy;)

Oh this is a great post. Who would have thought, if i set up my twitter account right, i don’t even need to run it… but could sell it for real $$.. fantastic:P

seriously, thanks for pointing out the gaping loopholes in bogus stats…now if u will excuse me, im gonna go look at mine:P (kidding!)

By: Ted Nelson

Ted Nelson — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:16:56 +0000

I retweeted this article in the hopes that my tweet value will go up a buck or two.

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:40:06 +0000

Very interesting article! It makes you wonder what the primary objective for Twitter really is? Is it social driven or marketing driven? It makes you scratch your head…

By: Jeffrey Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:05:31 +0000

Andy. Good post. And you hit on some key points. I think it best to look at Twitter as if its a virtual cocktail party. The metrics although interesting are just a small part in understanding social media’s relavance.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:42:50 +0000

Thanks for the comments. Yes, it certainly does make you look twice at the Twitter characters we see who never chat or interact with anyone. John, not sure about the Twitter lists and whether these can be automated. Can anyone shed any light on this? I share your bugbear over multiple simultaneous tweets. Usually react with an unfollow.

By: John

John — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:24:33 +0000

Andy, I notice that Andy’s Twitter account appears on 41 lists as well. Would these have been put on there manually or are there automatic list makers?
If he was a Travel Tweeter then I would probably add him to my Travelfeed list, as it is full of Tweeps who post via Twitterfeed, or post over 6 Tweets simultaneously. Many only interact with other Tweeps when then is a Q in the month.