Auto DMs Suck and If You Use Them You Might Suck, Too

By virtue of the work that I do, I spend a lot of time on Twitter. I keep Tweetdeck and the official Twitter app open on my Macbook through out the day, and check in every few minutes to see what's going on.

Social media is a (relatvely) new frontier, so many businessses and companies are still figuring out best practices to get the most use out of their networks, and I totally understand that. However, there is one practice on Twitter that for me, is almost unforgivable. The Auto DM.

If you don't know what an auto DM is, users can utilize a third party service which sends an automatic direct message to anyone who follows them. The practice is designed to create additional interaction by creating a dialogue, but because they are mass sent and impersonal, they often do the opposite.

According to Optify.com, auto DMs resulted in a 245% unfollow rate!

When I follow a twitter account that sends me an auto DM, I know two things immediately: A) this account takes itself very seriously and B) this account is faking it's way through pretending to engage with me. And that turns me off.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the monetization of social media is practices like these. I've said it before and it will probably be the last thing I utter before I die: People want to connect with other people, not companies. 

What do you think? Are auto DMs as bad as I think they are? Let us know in the comment section!

DeAndre

DeAndre Upshaw is a former Young & Free Texas Spokester. He's a marketing professional living in Dallas and a Beyonce enthusiast. DeAndre is the host and executive producer of The State of Awesome. Follow him on Twitter and check out his personal website.