How To Avoid Twitter Spam

You have heard a lot about twitter and how effective it can be for your online affiliate business, however did anybody stop to mention all the twitter spam you can receive.

You think you have done your research and added a few twitter tools to your marketing arsenal tools which have all helped you to build a good following of your own on Twitter. However you might want to check out our post on the best twitter tools.

As you get more and more followers you are noticing that your in-box is receiving more and more emails which some would call twitter spam.

So What Is Twitter Spam

This is the result of 1000’s of twitters taking advantage of those that are looking for as many followers as they can and as a result these people are sending unwanted (Twitter Spam) messages or simply following somebody for the intention of just increasing their own follower numbers and have absolutely no interest or desire to ever read their tweets.

This is a tactic used by those who really don’t even have an interest in twitter or any of the tweets except they have heard that it is a good way to make money online fast.

You might be thinking that this isn’t spam and you are probably right but to many people it is, simply because every time you follow somebody you get an email from them saying “Thanks For The Follow” with usually some promotional text telling you to check this out.

Well in my book of online etiquette I consider this to be twitter spam.

Some would say you have asked for it by following that person which is usually the case when someone follows you, then you just return the favor and follow them back which really means that you are agreeing to accept messages from them in the first place.

How To Avoid Spam On Twitter

You can avoid all of this right from the start with putting a few steps in place that you should follow. Firstly before you follow anybody on Twitter you should go and get out their profile first before considering a follow back. If you look at that users profile you will see why they are using twitter.

If the profile provides full disclosure about what their account is intended to do such as announce promotions or be product-centered or general chit chat (tweets) then that is what it is likely to happen.

It is a good idea to look  at a few days worth of the person’s tweets to see if following them back makes any sense to you and the interests that you have. As an example our twitter account is specifically about affiliate marketing and so we do not expect anyone to follow this account if they are interested in model cars it just do not make sense.

Follow Us On Twitter AffiliateXFiles.

So What Does Twitter Have To Say About All Of This

In regard to direct messages Twitters policy states this; If you follow a user, you’re allowing that person to send you direct messages.

With that being said it has also been suggested by many Tweeters that it would be a good idea to be able to follow someone of interest, but be able to opt-out when it comes to the right for them to send direct messages (DMs), there is an option in your account under notices that will allow you to stop receiving direct messages to your in-box but they will still be visible in your account.

How To Spot A Twitter Spammer

If you have decided to follow a user on Twitter and they have been upfront about what their intentions are with this account you can still see spam emails hitting your in-box for the reason that if they have stated that they will be using it for promotional purposes then that is what they are doing.

However you then get the next type of Twitter spam where their only intention is to create the biggest list at the fastest possible rate which is usually done artificially. And in the worst case scenario’s of people actually doing this, these automated accounts have followed so many people so fast that they have literally threatened the performance of the entire Twitter network.

What Is Twitter Doing About This Type Of Spam

As a result of this abuse, and not just by a small group of individuals but very widespread, Twitter had to take action and has now set limits in place firstly to protect the integrity of the Twitter network and secondly to stop this type of behavior with their system. The limit that has been set is either 2000 or 110% of your total followers, whichever is the higher.

At 2,000, if the reciprocation (return follow) is not within 10 percent, the twitter account’s ability to follow new people is frozen until the follow/followed ratio evens out more.  Don’t worry your account is still active it is just not able to follow any new users until it all levels out.

What To Do If This Spam Continues

If you think you have a solid case of someone committing twitter follower spam, you should report it to Twitter for investigation. However, you should also be careful about doing this except in extreme or malicious case.

At this point in time and with Twitter’s very young history, some twitter spam might not be ill-intentioned, as businesses, affiliates and individuals are trying to work all this out and usually by trial and error the most effective way to use the Twitter Network.

So have some patience with them and if the twitter spam continues then you may need to take action.