The Twitter crowd is fickle. I sometimes refer to Twitter as being much like High School all over again. They’re going to unfollow you if you violate any of their preconceived notions of what you should (or shouldn’t) be doing on Twitter.

If someone unfollows you, then heck. Their loss, right?

Well, in a sense, yes. It’s not the end of the world if you lose a few followers. After all, it’s better to have an engaged audience than merely a big follower count.

But on the other hand, you don’t want to alienate users unnecessarily. You very well may be losing followers for all the wrong reasons. This section I will walk you through the big mistakes that might cost you traffic, and explain how you can hang on to your followers.

1. Don't Tweet Off Topic

Your profile bio tells people what you are tweeting about. Stay on topic.

Most people who follow you will first read your bio. They want to get a sense of who you are and what kind of content you’re going to be filling their feed with.

When they read your profile bio they will make a decision: 1) I want to follow this person. 2) I do not want to follow this person.

Why do they follow you? Because they want what you can provide in the form of entertainment, information, value, association, etc. It’s your profile bio that pulled them in. Don't get too caught up in it though.

Remember, in one of the previous lessons I discussed about jumping on the hot hashtags. As long as you are making relationships, you are doing it right. Just don't get crazy. If your profile puts you as a businessman... Don't start tweeting and sharing pictures of your cat.

2. You Provide Zero Value

Twitter users are looking for a value exchange.

The value system is simple. It works like this:

They want to give value to other users, the people who follow them.

They want to receive value from others, the people who they follow.

If they are sensing that you aren’t delivering value, they will unfollow you.

How do you provide value?

• Tweeting helpful links.
• Tweeting informative studies.
• Tweeting quick tips.
• Tweeting industry-specific news.
• How do you not provide value?
• Tweeting about yourself
• Tweeting about your product non-stop.
• Tweeting about your feelings, moods, or preferences.

Remember, it’s about value. When you stop providing value, you get voted off the island.

You can get away with self-focused tweets if you are a celebrity. Everyone wants to know what time celebrities wake up, what they look like when they wake up, what they do after they wake up, and most importantly, who they wake up with. That’s why people follow them.

3. You Provide Zero Information

There’s a connection between value and information. In Twitter parlance, value and information are one and the same.

The best Twitter users are those who know how to provide the right kind of information to their audience. People crave information. Some people use Twitter as a gigantic source of information for topics they are interested in.

Your Twitter feed can include a variety of information, as long as it includes plenty of really good informational nuggets.

• Link to an info-graphic.
• Retweet of an industry leader’s quote.
• Blog posts about anything relevant and useful.
• Insightful observation about the industry
• Actionable tips about the industry.

Give information, and you’ll retain your followers. Stop giving information, and you’ll lose them. It’s quite simple, really.

4. You Got Way too Personal

Being yourself on Twitter is important. You need to be a human, and express yourself. It’s a social network, after all.

But for serious minded users who are in it for the value and not for curious prying, they don’t want all the personal details on your life.

When in doubt, share less. Less is more.

Go back and check out your goals for Twitter. You don’t build relationships and provide value by an overflow of extraneous personal details.

Many people have complained that Twitter is giving people too large a platform for their personal information.

"It’s this new level of false intimacy on Twitter….Did I need to know? No.

Keep that in mind. There’s a level of sharing that is too much. No one needs to know that you just took a giant dump. Keep it classy. Keep it relevant.

5. You’re Direct Messaging People you Don’t Know

Most of the time, DMs are a no-no. Unless you’re DMing a buddy to tell him where to meet for dinner, don’t DM. Only DM your personal friends.

Most direct messages are spam. I have a Twitter message box full of spam. The people who send it to me automatically get removed from my follow list. I have no toleration for spam, and neither do the people who you might DM. This goes with the whole automation level in the previous lesson. If you are automating your DM's...use extreme caution.

DMs are annoying, and will get you unfollowed in a hurry.

6. You’re Offensive

We’ve all heard the horror stories of people losing jobs, spouse, fortunes, etc., by a misguided tweet. Some tweets and even Facebook posts have led people to prison.

Be careful.

Here are the types of tweets to avoid:

• Demeaning
• Harsh
• Regarding bodily functions
• Critical
• Photos taken of you during your state of inebriation
• Accusatory
• Curse words
• Extreme views on race
• Extreme views on religion
• Extreme political viewpoints
• Mocking
• Negative
• Complaining
• Arrogant
• Judgmental

Some people, in some industries or niches, can indiscriminately post offensive language without censure or kickback.

But others of us are professionals, in professional industries, followed by people with less tolerance for racy topics and salty language. We need to be clean. I myself, am a very vulgar person. But when it comes to my business, you won't see anything offensive being posted.

7. You Go Silent

Occasionally, I go through my Twitter follow list and purge the people who aren’t tweeting.

I’m not the only one who does this. Many people curate their Twitter follow list in order to get maximum value. If you’re not a tweeter, why should someone be following you?

Going silent is a quick way to lose followers. Be sure to stay active.

Remember, it's ok to take a break from social media, but don't drift too far away. This is one of the ways, automation does come in handy.

8. You Erupt with Information

Of course, there is a flip side. You will also lose followers by going crazy on Twitter.

If you need to constrain your Twitter impulses, try something like Buffer or Hootsuite, where you can manage and schedule your Tweets for a drip release rather than a geyser of tweets.

Tweet geysers are annoying. They simply clog up a feed with unnecessary information from one single source. Don’t be "that guy."

Conclusion

Your Twitter followers consist of leads, partners, customers, clients, and important contacts. They’re too important to lose.

Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll not only keep from losing followers, but you’ll also steadily gain followers, too