How to Weed Out Your Social Media Following

Social media success is not achieved simply by adding
thousands of unknown followers to your contacts. When you
focus on numbers only, you invite in a fair share of
unwanted spam and junk followers.

It's important to have a well matched following who is open
to your comments, information, and expertise. Otherwise
you're stuck in the cyber equivalent of a crowded room full
of people you really have nothing in common with.

There comes a time when you need to weed out the
mismatches. Don't worry- even if your numbers dip after
doing this, the percentage of well matched contacts will
increase as a result. That means the majority of people in
your network hold potential for opportunities.

If you're afraid you might delete the wrong person, here
are 6 guidelines to help you determine how to weed out your
social media following.

1. No Avatar

If the person has no avatar (photo that accompanies your
posts), then remove him or her.

2. Not a Real Person

If the person isn't even a person but rather a puppy, a
teddy bear, a slot machine, or my personal favorite- a
flashy dollar sign- then delete. I also put pin-up type
pics in this category, especially ones with user names like
"MakeLotsaMoney". Some businesses have social media
accounts that aren't related back to an individual. As long
as it's clear that there is a legitimate business behind
this, then those can be the exception.

3. Uneven Follower/Following Ratio

On Twitter, the ratio between followers and following must
not have a huge gap. Twitter accounts that have thousands
of followers but are only following a few people need to
go. Those are usually spammers.

4. Obvious Language Barrier

It's great to connect with followers out of your country or
who speak another language if you can understand one
another, but if not, then there's an obvious barrier.
Unless you've committed to learning a new language via your
Twitter friends, best to unfollow people who pose an
obvious language gap.

5. People Who Don't Post

You may have someone in your following who signed up for
Twitter or Facebook but never actually uses the sites or
posts. Unless it's someone you know who's still learning
and you have the patience, remove.

6. Haters and Mean People

When you surround yourself with agreeable people, you can
forget that the occasional mean person can surface and
wreck the party for everyone. Don't even waste your time
with people who are using social networking as a place to
bully, berate, and intimidate. You might be the next victim
and it's really not worth the time or effort to keep people
like this on your list of followers. Block them or report
them if a hater turns on you.

You want to weed out your social media contacts for the
same reason you prune a fruit tree: so your harvest gives
you a bountiful, high quality yield. When you focus on
quality over quantity, you have what it takes for real
social media success.

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Nancy Marmolejo simplifies social media for entrepreneurs
so they can turn their online visibility into a steady
stream of profitability. With over 100 media credits to her
name, Nancy knows how to generate word of mouth buzz and
free publicity using proven social media strategies. Read
Nancy's tips and download her free resources by visiting
The Viva Visibility Blog, http://www.VivaVisibility.com

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