Stop Saying Thank You on Social Media & Say Something Meaningful!
By 
Do you find yourself saying thanks a lot on social media? Ever thought WHY you do that?
In this article, I am going to tell you to stop thanking people. Have I gone mad? I'll tell you why...
I've been blogging for over two years now and it's encouraging to see a lot of people sharing my articles. Some of these people share straight from my blog using one of the social networking share buttons, or from my RSS news feed in Feedly or perhaps on the blogging network, Triberr. I am extremely grateful to these people and I do try and respond to as many of the people who share my articles to say thank you.
But why?
Why do I say thank you on Twitter? A strange question, you ask?
No Thanks!
Being encouraging is part of my nature and I value politeness very highly. I always say please and thank you in real life, so surely it's the same on social media?
Well, kind of...
The thing is, sometimes a "thank you" can lose its value in the noise and sheer volume of posts.
Do you find yourself replying, sending a direct message or commenting with the following?
- "Thanks for following me. Looking forward to reading your tweets!"
- "Thanks for sharing :-)"
- "Thanks for the awesome RTs"
All of the above examples are very polite and encouraging, but what do they actually mean? Have you thought about the meaning of your "thank you" messages or are you just doing what everyone else is doing?
Don't get me wrong, I am doing exactly the same- but recently I was made to think about whether all this thanking was doing any good. I have marketing consultant, Mark Schaefer to thank for that. Thanks, Mark... (oops...!)
It was one of Mark's blog posts entitled "Why I Stopped Thanking People on the Social web" that made me stop and think. Do read it- it will give you an idea of what I am referring to.
In the article, Mark says that the tipping point came when someone tweeted him:
You are too damn polite... Stop thanking people, will you!
Ouch.
Mark then went on to say...
I knew he had a point. I had reached the thank you tipping point. So I stopped.
This saddened me. I hate it that the more popular you become on the social web, the less engaging you can be. Isn’t that ironic? The very characteristic people appreciate is doomed over time. Authentic social media engagement is not scalable.
I think Mark makes an interesting point. Social media is about creating meaningful content or building meaningful relationships- and that includes replies.
It's also about knowing who is in your core community and knowing why people are sharing your content in the first place.
Translating Thanks
So, coming back to the above example "thank you" messages, let's do a bit of translating. Could it be that the above messages could mean the following?....
- "Thanks for following me. Looking forward to reading your tweets!"
TRANSLATION: This is an automated message because I am too busy to send you a hand-crafted one. I might be interested in reading what you say although to be honest I probably don't have that much time to read any of them. I was hoping to reach 10,000 followers, and I'm almost there. Basically, I have no idea why I am tweeting you to say thank you for following me, but it seems like the polite thing to do.... - "Thanks for sharing :-)"
TRANSLATION: I am genuinely thankful that you shared my article, however, I don't have the time to properly engage with you, but I wanted to say thanks because that's the right thing to do- my mummy/mommy & daddy taught me to be polite. - "Thanks for the awesome RTs"
TRANSLATION: Thanks for retweeting some of my tweets to your followers. I haven't thought about it, but come to think about it, some of your followers may have seen my tweets in their timelines. That's quite good really and it gives me a bit of exposure. Please do keep on doing it! I don't really talk to you much on Twitter, but I do like the fact that you're doing my marketing for me.
OK, please note that I had my tongue firmly in my cheek with the above, but I hope you got my point!
Taking up the Opportunity
Part of the issue that Mark Schaefer was referring to, was the lack of value of a "thanks for sharing" type of reply. It's not quite meaningless, but once you start sending out dozens of these a day, they are going to lose their value.
How about doing something a little different?
Instead of just thanking them, why not introduce them to someone else they might find interesting? How about reading one of their articles and giving some feedback? You won't necessarily be able to do that with all your replies, but you could create an opportunity and build upon the relationship.
Be Encouraging!
We've missed something though and it is a biggy...
Encouragement.
Most of us like to be encouraged. If we don't get any feedback it can be a bit depressing. Words of Affirmation is one of the 5 Love Languages (read the book if you haven't already). Each of us accepts and give love and attention in different ways, but one that works well on the social web is Words of Affirmation- encouragement.
I love it when someone leaves a comment on my articles, but the truth is that most readers of blogs don't.
Talk to most bloggers out there, and they'll tell you the same- they wish they had more comments. The same goes for Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. It's great when someone replies, mentions us or leaves a comment.
However, which would you prefer- 20 "thank you for your article" one line comments or 5 longer comments where they share their thoughts? We need to be encouraging but also add value to the conversation. That's how it is in real life, so why should it be any different online?
"Thanks" Replacement Ideas List
So what should we do instead? I'm not saying we should never just say thank you, but in most cases, you should always be looking to make your engagement more meaningful.
So here is my "thank you" Replacement List.
- Ask them what they think
Ask them what they thought of one aspect of the article. If your article was a list of tools or services, ask them what their favourite was. They may not have read the article, but your tweet may quickly remedy that! - Let them know what you think
If they have a website or blog, have a visit and read an article. Reply to let them know you've visited with some thoughts. - Introduce them to someone new
If you've not engaged with them before, check their profile. If relevant, you could introduce them to someone else in your core community they may find interesting. Being in touch with your community is important. - Share a relevant article
If relevant, share a similar article that you have written - Ask them to subscribe
Recommend they subscribe to your blog or email newsletter. Use Twitter Lead Generation Cards - Be funny
Tell a joke or share something funny- make their day! - Encourage them
Encourage them by sharing with them something you like or admire about them or a quality you see in them.
Using Commun.it to help you
"That's all very well", you say, "but I don't have enough time!".
I understand- I have the same issue. However, that's why spending time thanking everyone without a strategy isn't going to help you!
Firstly, make your own "thank you" replacement list and save it somewhere where you can easily access it. In order to make things easier, we are going to use a tool called Commun.it* which is a Twitter Relationship Management Tool. You can quickly respond to people who have shared your content. Commun.it segments people into influencers, supporters and engaged members. For more information see my Complete Guide on Using Commun.it.
With your "thank you replacement" list to hand, you can quickly go through your pending replies and mentions and actually engage much more meaningfully with the core people in your community. You may discover people who you haven't engaged with before- people who you didn't realise were in your community. This is the power of Commun.it.
The best way is to go through the different feeds in Commun.it- one at a time. However, remember to plan!
I'd recommend using the prioritized feed as well as consider to reply and high-value members. As well as that, make sure you monitor tweets containing links to your blog posts- if you do this you can quickly go through the monitoring feed too.
Here are the feeds in Commun.it:
- PRIORITIZED FEED (the most important pending mentions and people for you to action)
- FOLLOWERS (consider to reply, re-engage, to follow, unfollow, new followers & new unfollowers)
- RELATIONSHIPS (high-value members, influencers, Supporters & engaged members)
- MONITORING (people tweeting posts containing your keywords or links)
- LEADS (potential people to follow relating to certain keywords)
What do you think?
So, have I got you thinking? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have a plan or strategy in how you engage with people using social media? I'd love to know. As always, please leave your comment below (even if it is a "thank you for your article!" comment!)
About Ian Anderson Gray
Ian is a Confident Live Marketing Coach and founder of Seriously Social. He’s an international speaker, trainer, teacher, web developer and consultant. He has a passion for making the techno-babble of live video and social media marketing easy to understand. Ian is co-founder of Select Performers – a family run web agency. As well as being a geek, husband, and dad to two kids, Ian is also a professional singer and lives near Manchester in the UK. Find out more
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What do you think? Join the fun & Let me know below...
This is really useful, especially for me just starting to try and build connections on social media. Commun.it looks a bit daunting, but I’ll try it!
Glad this has been helpful. You don’t need to use a tool though. A tool like Commun.it (or others) just makes it easier to manage in the long term. But to begin with you can start natively on the platform.
Hi Ian.
Have you been stalking my Twitter feed? I think I must have used all of the ‘bad examples’ you gave, and I thought I was networking! You’ve given some great food for thought so I’m going to be trying out the value-add ideas you’ve shared here. Thanks for the encouragement to be more creative which will (I hope) help to drive more engagement with my followers.
Hi Coralie, Lol, no I don’t think I’ve been stalking you on Twitter. I’ve been guilty of this in the past, and I even find myself falling into the trap these days. I wrote this article partly for myself – to remind me – and you’ve reminded me once more! But I know from being the recipient to the generic “thanks” replies, I much prefer a decent conversation or a bit of fun make such a difference. I want to put the word “social” back into social media.
I’m glad this article was helpful and I’d love to know how you get on – please check in if you see a difference!
I came here looking for advice and also discovered a platform that can help me do it too. Thanks Ian, I’ll start with 1 and 7. Communications.it here I come
Cool, thanks for your comment, Grace. Glad it has helped you. Let me know you get on. Ian
Hi Ian
I’m truly an Instagram noob and while I was doing research, I came across your highly interesting article. It got me wondering what you think about thank you videos in which you also ask your followers what interests them the most?
Kind regards
Ann
Thanks, Ann. Sorry for the late reply – it’s been a mad month!
I love that. I think it’s all about providing value and sometimes surprising! We don’t want to add to the noise. But, I would say, as well as asking them what interests them most – actually find out more about them first. Look at what they do and find a way that you can help them. This is not scalable – but that’s the point. Do this for some of your followers.
That way, you’re providing value and being different. I don’t think this can be automated. Hope that helps. Ian
I ran across your article when I Googled… Thanking New Instagram Followers. I have a system in place for Twitter, but not Instagram. I liked some of your ideas and plan to implement one or two to see which ones work the best for me. By the way, you can find me @thehopeboulevard! THANKS for the advice.
Thanks, so glad this was helpful. I had Twitter in mind when I wrote the article, but this works for most platforms, and I think it would work well
It’s in reality a great and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much!
Great Article. I am learning to be social on SM and learning to blog etc. So all your info helps…
Glad to hear that, Stacie. We’re all learning on social media. I think it is true that if we’ve finally learnt everything there is to know about a certain subject, then it’s time to retire. Learning is so important.
Great article, thanks… ups! Would you like to have a business connection in Tampere – Finland? We have a project named Tampere Ambassadors, I am part of it and would be very happy to give you a “virtual business tour” of out city.
Hi Selene, thanks for getting in touch. I’ve never been to Finland, but I’d love to one day. Feel free to tell me more by contacting me via my contact form. Ian
This was a very interesting article and definitely gave me some food for thought. One question though, what do you think about using internet speak or acronyms when thanking followers etc? I’ve got an opinion on the matter but I’m curious to know yours and what/why you came to that conclusion.
Really interesting question! It depends on the people you are engaging with. “Internet speak” or acronyms may mean nothing to some people and just won’t be appropriate. So I don’t think there is a one size fits all solution to reply to people. I have a “thank you replacement list” as saved replies in Agorapulse (my social media management tool of choice), and I have a lot of different ones to chose from. Some are geeky and some are not. I’ll choose the right response depending on the person and then I will tweak and personalise it. Hope that helps. What do you think?
Thanks for sharing such a great article with us. This surely helps me in my work.Thanks a lot
My pleasure. I hope it helps a lot. A lot of people have found the idea of the Thank You Replacement list helpful. Ian
The article is very nice, “thank” you for sharing it! 😀
Lol, thanks for your comment!
Glad you found it helpful.
I have become so bored of saying “thank you” that I googled to find alternatives, which led me to your post.
Hi Darcy, oh that is great to know! Glad there a few of us who have been looking for ways to add value to the humble “thank you”!
Me too! and I am especially bored with LOL!!!!!
Oh dear, I sometimes say LOL myself. But it just goes to show we can all become a bit lazy with our responses. Having a replacement list gives us ideas on what to say.
Thanks for sharing. Oops…there I go again…….
Lol!
Yes, i’ve seen the same thing on everywhere on social media. Thanks for sharing the meaningful idea.
Thanks, Mike! It’s happening everywhere, and I’ve been guilty of it myself. We need to be building relationships – not just adding more noise!
When someone share content from my blog. I do say “thank you” but along with that I also ask if they find the content helpful and what’s the next post they want to see on my blog.
Br,
Michael John
*very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it
Don’t worry after reading your article I’m not going to say “thank you” just for the formality. You’re right people saying “thank you” just for completing formality and it seems that another feel good when you say them “thank you”. I want to ask you that when you are going to reveal the list of “thanks” replacement ideas, it works.
Hi Mary, Feel free to say thanks! The point of the article, as you know, is to encourage people not to *just* say thank you – but to add more value. I really appreciate your comment. Have you built up your own “thank you replacement list”?
Great idea. If we say thank you with a meaning full word then it can easily make little smile. You are also awesome. Keep it up.
Yehhhh, you’re right i try my best to not say thanks in my posts and others too.
That was so retarded! Seriously? You would just forget the hundreds of people who appreciate a “thank you” just because some sociopathic grumpy cat doesn’t need it? Punishing thousands for the guilt of one is stupid. Being human, polite and grateful is not!
That wasn’t my point at all. I value politeness and gratefulness incredibly highly. My point was that we need to go further in thanking people. Unfortunately just saying “thank you” can get lost in the noise. We need to go further, start a conversation, be genuine, go deeper. Call it Thanks 2.0
Lots of people on social are observers rather than contributors. For a lot of people, getting a little thank you graphic back from someone or a business comes out of left field which can be a nice surprise. People either feel good about Thank You’s, or they are indifferent. No one will take a Thank You negatively besides a very select few (whom most wouldn’t want to interact with regardless). When someone does a little action, like following your page, a simple Thank You graphic is perfect. It’s when they do something that takes more effort that requires more effort in return (comments, shares of specific content, direct messages, etc.). It can be over whelming for some people if you try and get more personal when all they did was like a page or post. Mirror the person you’re interacting with!
Thanks, Mason. I really like your thinking – mirroring the person you are interacting makes a lot of sense. I think sometimes, though, going out of your way to interact with someone in a genuine and interesting way, goes a long way. Thanks!
I hear ya… unless you get semi creative with it. I do it everyday as a form of marketing. I’m a songwriter with songs on various internet radio and social platforms. People play our stuff… they don’t have to. But they do. All of them appreciate the additional exposure. Lots of times I will include another artist as a shout-out if I like a song… I almost always include 4 pix on every tweet depending on the response. To me it’s just good will and a form of marketing. Unsuspecting songwriters or bands appreciate a shoutout and connects the community. There’s some people who never even follow you back. Even after a shout-out… they’re just not even paying attention. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to acknowledge someone who Tweets your art.
Tits and cat pictures? Yeah… who gives a crap right? Lots of people with nothing to offer…
So in the spirit of marketing… I say thank you for an interesting article 🤣😂
And invite anyone to follow us on twitter @TolbertToz
#nothingtolose
#TooMuchFun
See ya there!
Later
Tim
This mostly started in the USA and is a problem that goes beyond SM exchanges. In the USA people say words like: thank you, welcome, sorry, love you, honey etc way too often even when is not needed. Here is Europe we are more careful and don’t need to say those words so fast or often. Just think how often we are on a phone call talking to friends or having getting some tech support help yet during the course of the conversation 10 or 20s thank you go back and forth for not reason at all. And even when nobody is able to help us with our problem we are thanking that person before hanging up. In Europe thank you has to have some merit and needs to be earned same as telling someone “I love you.” I got to got to be so over the top, when I studied in the USA, that I used to tell my North American friends something like, “you already said thank you 5 times in less than 10 minutes so next time is ok if you can say it only once.” I studied for 4 years in America, two years in the USA and two years in Argentina. After two years in the USA I couldn’t take it so I continue my education in Argentina and that was my best time in America. Argentina, outside of Europe, with the culture, people, mentality, food, education, health care and safety is the closest thing to Europe. The USA is the only place I ever been too where a person whom I just met 10 minutes before is already telling me “I love you so much” which for Europeans comes out as a lie from someone who really doesn’t know you at all. Same way… Read more »
Hi Paula, such an interesting story – and thanks so much for sharing it with us. Really fascinating to see how different countries and cultures deal with encouragement, affirmation and thanking people. Ian
Ian, Thanks for the article.
**Paula, what an amazing blessing to have studied in the USA.
I have traveled to 53 countries and lived in 8 before coming back to my home in the USA. I laugh at your ignorant comments at how you look down on the niceties of the US. It is pretty ridiculous of you to criticize the US for “being too nice”. Yes, maybe in other countries it may have negative connotations. My wife is from Shanghai and admittedly they are the same as in Europe in many ways. Anyway, RESPECT other peoples’ cultures. Understand?
You would hate Canada, we think the American’s are rude with their lack of manners. Not saying words of benevolence every 30 seconds is considered to be passive aggressive. There is a strong understanding in Canada that the words do not mean anything; the context and intent is everything. We are hyperbolic with our phrasing of words in every sense of the word.
You have just read my mind! I was thinking “I can’t keep saying thank you – so you have now got me thinking of some genuine comments I can make on my Instagram
redbubble_traveldreams
Hi Sue. It takes longer to leave genuine comments, and I am not saying you can’t say thank you, but slow cooked social media often tastes nicer!
Just read your post and would like to thank you for maintaining such a cool blog.
Thanks, John. I appreciate your comment!
I was feeling saying thank tou could end up counter productive, that by searching the internet that I found your article. Quite useful and pertinent, I’m going to put this in practice. It might takenmore time but certainly generates a stronger relationship with followers on the long run.
Thanks for your comment, Stephane. I am glad you agree. It does take longer. However, I am more interested in building fewer high quality and longer lasting relationships rather than just copying and pasting “Thanks”!
When someone share content from my blog. I do say “thank you” but along with that I also ask if they find the content helpful and what’s the next post they want to see on my blog.
That’s perfect. You’re adding value and starting a relationship!
I don’t disagree with the great Mark Schaefer on much but on this one I do. While I accept that there has to be an intention to promote further conversation and trust, a simple “thank you” is never a bad thing. I thank new followers, people who have shared my content and re-tweeted my stuff, those who have commented or engaged with me in some other way. I do it in a personal way, not a copy and paste way.
When I advise businesses on improving their customer service saying “thank you” forms the backbone. I look upon it as a simple act that builds goodwill, I give the analogy of paying in to a sort of goodwill account, when something goes awry and a customer needs to be placated or helped out you can draw on that goodwill account to not only solve a situation but as importantly, not lose a customer.
It’s all of the above and you know what, it’s just a nice thing to do.
Thanks, Chris. I don’t disagree with you. But the problem that Mark Schaefer was discussing was that saying “thank you” is not scalable. If I thanked every person who followed me or shared my content each day I’d spend hours and hours. Also, many people share stuff out automatically using scheduling software. Although I value saying thank you very highly, I’ve chosen to be selective and spend more time with those people- crafting more personal replies. If I didn’t, I’d worry I’d end up copying and pasting “thank you” to everyone – and that’s not something I’d feel comfortable with.
A response to the distance past. Although this was written almost three years ago I find it still relevant today. I just wish I had seen it back then. Currently my social media voice is predominately on Twitter although I am somewhat on Snapchat, Periscope, Busker, Anchor and Facebook. However I do not have a blog basically because I really don’t have anything to write about. I have been on Twitter since its inception but not really active until the latter part of last year. I too was looking for engagement and needed a way to say TY without appearing as a one liner like everyone else. So I searched for an idea that would make that happen and EmojiNote was created. And although I am having a blast with it I am finding myself doing the same as before but with an image doing my talking. But the one thing I don’t want to do is automate the process. Each and every EmojiNote is created individually and I review every tweet I reply to. A lot of them I even have to dig a bit to find a name because it is that important to me to add to the image to make it more personable. But with everything social media everyone is looking to monetize their work me included. Unfortunately at this point I don’t make anything so I can’t purchase any plans but thank you for providing information on some. So I just capture the other ideas and will put those to use as best I can. This post has a lot of great ideas and leads and I appreciate your sharing. Now to your home page to see what is more current LOL!
Thanks, Ray. I had to check, I couldn’t believe this was written nearly 3 years ago. Wow, how time flies.
To be honest, it is even more relevant today than it was then. It’s becoming more and more difficult to cope with the clutter and noise of the social web. That’s why it is becoming even more important to cut through the noise and not just add to it. I am glad you found this post helpful.
I do have to disagree with you on one point, though. You say you don’t have anything to write about and that’s why you don’t have a blog! Of course you do! You can write about your experiences on social media- particularly since you’ve been using it since the start. People would love to know. Get writing and see what happens. My blog changed my life. Maybe it can change yours too?
Hey Ian,
When someone share content from my blog. I do say “thank you” but along with that I also ask if they find the content helpful and what’s the next post they want to see on my blog.
Isn’t that cool?
Hi Ammar, that’s great. You’re starting a conversation and adding value!
yes, Yes, and oh wow, COOL. Translation: I’m so very glad that I found this article AND i look forward to reading the email you sent me at the beginning. I believe in the power of communication and the basic “manners” that I grew up with. I absolutely want to send every follower a note saying Thank You, but it does start to feel like I am cutting cookies. I loved your content, suggestions and sense of humor throughout! And then the tools at the end are inspiring and COOL
thank you again. Sooo, If you have had a manic Monday and you have felt Discouraged at all, DON’T. You just motivated and helped a little fish down here 
If you happen to have any suggestions in the arena of nutrition and wellness, I included website at end.
Twitter: @gustinegoose
Thanks for your comment, Sarah – and yes, I do mean that! I very much believe that good manners are important. I wonder whether social media is a bit like inviting people round to a party. Parties can be very intimate affairs- maybe you might invite one or two friends round. If that were the case, I would thank them very much for coming. I’d do the same if it was a gathering for my birthday- if there were 40 or 50 friends. I remember doing it at my wedding. We greeted and thanked the guests at the reception in a big line- there were around 130 people. The bigger the number, the less in-depth the conversations are going to be. Conversation and engagement is scalable at the start, but there comes a point when you just can’t thank everyone in a meaningful way- particularly if you start to have 1000s of followers. It’s a shame, but inevitable
So glad you enjoyed the article. It means a lot to me when I hear encouragements like that. You made my Tuesday!
Ian
That is so true. I really don’t like it when they keep saying thanks. Engaging with them is the best options. Keeps them interested.
Glad you agree! I love people saying “thanks” but especially if they say more and start a conversation.
Ian
Nice Reading ! Thank You
Can’t tell if this comment is being satirical, genuine, or auto-generated. Whatever the intent, truly hilarious.
Well I take it as being genuine and satirical at the same time. Is that possible?!
nice reading! And this ar just a few NO”s that people tend to do online, just like “im sorry” on “excuse me” on unnecessary situations.
Great tips posted on this article
Thanks, Bruno. Glad you found it helpful. I’m all for being polite, I just prefer to get to the point and add value.
Ian
This is a great article! I agree with the list of things you should NOT say but I have a little comment to make about asking your visitors to subscribe. I think that this should come naturally, otherwise you might end up looking spamy.
Glad you liked the article.
When you’re talking about me asking my visitors to subscribe, do you mean in this comments section or somewhere else? People don’t need to subscribe to the comments by email, but many find it helpful so they don’t have to keep on coming back to see if they’ve had a response. I’d love to know more about what you think. I certainly don’t want to appear spammy!
First Ian, let me say that you were a “Divine Find” today, and I do appreciate all that you do! I was just sitting here having a conversation with my husband, and telling him I don’t completely understand the use of the “Mute” button because I’m just learning how to engage with Twitter. I started using Twitter, other social media, attempting to set up of a website, and writing because, unfortunately, I have been ill for several months, and I was to serve. Before becoming ill, that was my life – “Encouraging” – Not being able to fulfill a passion can be very devastating, and depressing. Finally, I have enough energy to at least write, even though at times it can be very challenging. Whenever there is a new follower, I do not just thank them, I visit their page, read their profile, try to get insight on who they might be. Yes it is time consuming, but being home ill, I have nothing but time. (when not sleeping). I love sharing encouraging comments along with the “Thank you”. I DM every single new follow, and believe me they are increasing quickly. Being superficial is very uncomfortable to me, so I really appreciate this article. I found it at a time I was looking for an image to add to my tweets. You are truly gifted, and should never feel that it is a problem because you want to know that you are appreciated. Every human being has this natural desire. I thank you soooooo very much for your “selfless” endeavors, and your the wisdom that you share along your journey. This article is so on target, and reminds us that as humans we need to be “Real” whenever, and however we communicate with each other. I will, without a… Read more »
Hi Gloria, thanks so much for your comment. So glad you found this article helpful. I hope you’re feeling better. I also wanted to apologise for not getting back to you until now. The past few weeks have been a little mad to say the least!
I share your uncomfortable feeling in being superficial. I don’t like small talk particularly. However, with Twitter, engaging with everyone in a high quality way is difficult to scale. At the start I messaged every new follower and thanked everyone. Now, I can’t do that effectively. It’s great to have so many followers, but it is sad that I can’t engage with all of them. I do try and reply to all mentions on Twitter – but even that is hard sometimes. But, you’re right- we need to be real on social media. Twitter can end up being a long list of shared articles with no human interaction.
I loved your last sentiment about being a blessing to others. I think we can all be that, if we have the right focus. That is definitely one of my aims. Thanks for encouraging me so much today. You’ve made me smile.:-)
I like saying “THANK YOU”.
So do I! It’s just that I prefer to say a little more than just “Thank You” when I’m on social media- just so I can start a more valuable conversation!
Ok, instead of just sharing this, comment too
Your advice is really valuable, thank you….LOL, and to Mark. Can’t leave him out, can we.
I found myself posting thank you notes with images I track down that express my gratitude for the follows, retweets, etc., but only more recently. While it was feasible time wise, I actually tried some of what you suggest and have read their blogs/articles, left comments or shared them, followed them on other social media too. Much of the advice I come across online can be contradictory too, so I choose to follow my own insticts on this one: bright thank you notes and then engage more, depending on the individual. Still, I loved the read and a bunch of good advice that can be implemented in practice.
Thanks for your thoughts. We’re all going to have different situations and methods. I love the fact that you trusted your instinct- being yourself and authentic is the best way.
Ian
Excellent tips. This is very informative!
I’d like to see a shift in expectation on social media. If a ‘like’ were to be understood as an acknowledgement with thanks, we could use the comments simply to make useful or interesting points in reply. So much time saved! So many fewer interesting comments lost in a sea of meaningless thanks!
Hi Ian,
I surely enjoyed your article. I totally agree with you. In my opinion, being part of this fast paced online world we sometimes don’t take the time to truly engage with others and value what they write. Your article is a good guide to start saying thank you in different ways and how to accomplish that very efficiently with the awesome twitter tools. I will start implementing your tips, because I want to show appreciation to my twitter followers!
Cheers,
Karina Taugwalder
Thanks, Karina. Unfortunately proper engagement isn’t scalable, but I prefer to engage on a deeper level with fewer people. I think that is more beneficial than copying and pasting “TY for sharing my post” to everyone. What does that actually achieve? Having said that, I do sometimes copy and paste- but I try and personalise and add value by asking questions and using a variation of the “thank you replacement list” above.
I am glad you found it all helpful. Let me know how you get on!
Ian
Great points – thanks for sharing! I still thank new Follows and people who RT and Favorite my tweets because I’m fairly new and still growing my audience on Twitter. But I’m already starting to see how time consuming it can be. I recently decided that whenever I Follow back a new Follower, I’ll go to their page and find something I like and I RT or Favorite. I put these in Buffer so they are spaced out over the day and don’t go out all at once. If I can’t find anything on someone’s page, then I don’t have anything in common and probably shouldn’t be Following them. Sure it takes a little time to do this. But I’ve discovered it allows me to get to the know my new Followers a bit AND it gives me a rich source of material to RT to my other Followers, without a lot of searching through the Twitter newsfeed. This interaction has allowed me to meet some really cool people and we’ve gone on to connect via other social media venues. And…Thanks Again, Ian!
Thanks for your comment and for entering the discussion. I think you need to work out what’s best for you in your situation. If you are starting out, I can see that it makes sense to thank new followers and those who RT. As things ramp up it becomes more difficult to scale. Unfortunately I just can’t keep up with the mentions and RTs. However, I do still thank people- but I do try and add value. For me, I reply to those who share and mention me and try and build those relationships.
I like your strategy- it’s not all about numbers, it’s about connecting with real people who are likely to be interested in you and what you have to say!
Ian
Ian, I have been thinking the same thing for a while now. Social media gives us so many opportunities to connect yet I find that regularly we use it to superficially communicate with small talk and pleasantries (eg. facebook) or sometimes just randomly post with no intention of creating something further such as comments or a conversation (eg. twitter/pinterest). We are missing out if we leave it at cat pictures and funny memes. Although those are fun in moderation, we need to take hold of the opportunity to truly discuss and collaborate! I love the idea of joining the conversation and I hope more will follow suit. Thanks for the intriguing post.
Rachel, what a great comment. I totally agree with you. I get frustrated if we keep things at a certain level. I’ve learnt how to do the small talk, and I don’t have an issue with the odd cat video. However, I feel we are missing out if we leave it there. Let’s go deeper and build relationships.
If that starts with a cat video or a thank you- great, but don’t leave it at that! Thanks! Ian
rubbish. written for the sake of writing something. that’s what we’re inundated by – millions of people who feel duty bound to write something, anything, post half witted uninformed unintelligent comments pontifications on anything at all.
Hi Arthur, welcome to the community. I’m not sure if your comment was serious or not, but I think you’ve missed the point of the article. I had hoped I had written something that made people think and sparked a discussion. Let me know if you had any thoughts on the subject and I will be happy to engage.
Thanks!
Ian
Lol. Nice piece Ian. I do like to appreciate people and be appreciated too, I mean who doesn’t right? I do however agree that it’s overdone at times. Moderation is key, I guess.
Thanks, Shana! I love to be appreciated- it’s a problem I have! I suppose for me, it means a lot, if it’s really meant- and the person has gone to the effort of engaging with me. So automation or copy & paste don’t really help!
Ian
Good article – thanks for writing it! Ha! Today I had someone on Twitter tell me bluntly to Stop Thanking People. That’s after they fav and rt my stuff. I’m not sure what to do now…:/
s.
Thanks, Susan- and don’t worry, it’s ok to say thanks- particularly when you go on to say something valuable- which you have!
Did someone really ask you to stop thanking people? Wow, that is harsh. I certainly wouldn’t do that. You could argue that constant favoriting and RTing is “just as bad”.
I would say, continue to say thank you- but try and kick start conversations and engage with people. You never know where it might lead…!
Ian
From today I’m stop saying thank you for sharing on social media! I almost did it 10 minutes ago, but fortunately I found your post and I even left you a comment. So I took a lesson. Thanks!
Hi Paula, so glad I could help! I still say thanks, it’s just I try not to spend all my waking moments saying a single “thanks” for each message.
New at Twitter, use it as political support for a candidate. can’t seem to get a grasp on how it works, have gotten 20 followers and can’t seem to keep up on my timeline especially the public ones. some people have thousands of followers, couldn’t imagine how to keep up with that? get confused about tweet ,retweet ,quote tweet, which one has the most exposure, should you tweet and retweet or would that be repetitious, and what’s edicate for people that follow, favor ,or retweet your tweet, which brought me to your article.
Thanks Paul.
Thanks for your comment, Paul. Twitter is a funny beast. Don’t worry about not getting a grasp of it yet, you will get there. I was an early adopter back in 2006, and I don’t think I got it for at least two years! However, there are people to help. I would definitely recommend Mark Schaefer’s book, The Tao of Twitter – it’s a great introduction and shows you the power of it. All the best!
Well this is a knock down, slap and kick in the can! I thought I was going to be spending a whole lot of extra time embedding those two words into my brain over a strong cup of coffee.
It’s this way. I’m just in the process of using Facebook for one of my pages and recently did a promotion on that page. It grew to 72 likes. It’s not anywhere near what a celebrity may have but enough to keep one busy typing Thank You for a bit. I had been searching for what would be a right response to each. Let say, if only I found your page before the many others I came across I wouldn’t be so charged up on coffee.
Bottom line, just one more Thank you for a big enlightenment and a different approach to my situation. Yep, added some extra words in there.
Thanks, Lloyd! I feel the same way. Engagement is great, but it’s not very scalable. I think a social media management tool can help manage the engagement. AgoraPulse is helpful in that you can reply quickly and easily to all your comments on Facebook and Twitter and know which ones you’ve replied to. There is also Commun.it for Twitter. But, at the end of the day it doesn’t sound particularly productive to go through each one and typing “thanks for sharing”. It feels like it has lost it’s meaning.
Ian
I just scrolled down the comment box and realized this article was published way back in 2013. I don’t know how but that completely escaped my eye earlier. However I’ve honestly come to admire you now. Most of the blogposts I’ve come across have replies from the writer to just the first couple of comments but you had replied to each and every one of them and dare I say with a simple thank you. I’m gonna do the same for my blog too. Well whenever I muster up the courage to finally post something.
But I do hope you would find the time to reply to my comment just like you did to all the others.
I hadn’t realised my article was that old! I do try and build communities around my articles. That is where the conversations and the magic happens!
I wish you all the best with your blog – let me know how you get on.