In case you didn’t know socialoomph.com (formerly known as tweetlater) has a free service where you can set up auto-DM (automatic direct messages) to send out to people when they follow you on twitter.

People see it as a great way to connect with your readers right off the bat without manually doing it themselves. However there’s a lot of debate about aut0-DMs. I’m on the fence about them. I think they can be effective if done right.

I went through pretty much all my direct messages the other day and thought I would share with you some of the suspected auto-DMs that I found EFFECTIVE.

Auto-DM’s that didn’t make me cringe thinking ‘oh, just an auto-DM’

Why did the chicken cross the Social Media Road? . . . .To Tweet of course! Thanks for following me & I look forward to Twinteracting with @JonneyJay

Thanks so much for following me on Twitter! It’s always nice to have new peeps to Twitter with! @lefinley

Thanks fur the follow! @mydeafcat
Note the name of the tweeter

Thank you for following me – much appreciated! If there was ONE tweet I could tweet about you or yr business, what would it be? Please DM me @iggypintado
Note: Although it was obvious the message from iggypintado was an auto-DM I still replied to him saying a bit about beginnerblogger. He then retweeted what I said to his entire list which is 13k+ followers.
The message he sent was: Meet Sarge from @beginnerblogger who is helping bloggers and beginner bloggers alike achieve success.
The result of that message was a lot of people adding me to twitter and even a few new subscribers to the blog. I had quite a few conversations on twitter as a result of that message and was able to help out a few people as well.

Wow-Thanks! I’m going to assume that you’re not lost & that you meant to follow me. Much appreciated! You won’t regret it. Well…hmmm. @TriciaAbney

Hi. This is it. The one & only automated DM message from me via Socialoomph.com. Congrats you found me! Now let’s talk like real people :O) @halfbakedseo

If ud like some free resources 2 help transform your life please check out my blog: http://bit.ly/x3Z9w I have nothing to sell u. Sorry. @JayCataldo

Hey, thanks 4 following. What Tweets do you like to read? @ZahidaKhan

Thank you for following me. I look forward to getting to know you. What are you up to today? @David_Michaels

Thanks for following. Just want you to know I’ll try to add REAL value with my tweets. I don’t sell on Twitter, only give! @LeadToday

Thanks for following me here on Twitter! Let’s connect and change the world one step at a time for the better…It only takes one step ya know…:)To your success,Joni @JoniBeadle

Thanks for following me…I really appreciate it! So what have you been up to? @MickSilvester

Thanks for following alicedesigns, tweet me ‘hi’ and tell me something about yourself so I can get to know you better! @alice_elliott

Thanks for the follow! How’s Twitter treating you so far? @ToddDickerson

Hey there! I’m an interesting guy! No, really! I’ve owned a restaurant, edited tv & commercials, rock out & do real estate. Let’s tweet! @mattgsilver

I don’t auto-follow, but I’d love to chat with real people. So feel free to send me an @reply anytime. I see them all. Happy tweeting. @davidrisley

Thanks for following… Would like to know more about you, do you blog? @steitiyeh

Hi there, open the door, let the sun shine in and welcome the new day. @affsaltra

Conclusions We Can Draw

Posts without links/selling that ask a question or get a laugh from me are most powerful.

I always suspect the first DM I get from a person is an auto-DM, even if it isn’t. So the worst thing to do is put a link in. Tell me about yourself or engage with a question. Get the conversation started!

Everyone says ‘look forward to your tweets’ or ‘thanks for following me’. Mix it up a bit – ask a question. I believe the best way to start a relationship with someone is to ask a question.

My one and only auto-DM you will get from me I try to engage with you. I try and and make them personal and encourage a response back so we can get the ball rolling.

Your Thoughts?

Do you auto-DM? Do you reply to DMs or click on links that are inside a suspected DM? Do you totally ignore suspected auto DMs? What are some great suspected auto-DMs that you’ve received? Let everyone know in the comments below!

I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Stemming from yet another thought provoking blog post by Jordan Cooper he got me thinking about blog commenting and that feeling of being obligated to blog on someone else’s blog if they were to comment on my blog.

Don’t Feel Like You Have To Reciprocate

First of all – I never expect you to come to my site nor comment on my posts when I comment on your blog. Sure, I’d love for you to come over and check my blog out and check out some posts that you like the sound of. But I don’t want you to comment on my posts unless you genuinely want to. If you enjoy giving value, adding to the conversation or really enjoyed my post and want to thank me, then go for it. But NEVER feel like you HAVE to.

I’ll apoligise in advance and want to give warning to everyone that has commented here on this blog. I don’t want to feel obligated to comment your blog posts just because you commented here. I’d say I would visit your blog 9/10 times if you comment here but that doesn’t mean I will automatically comment on your blog.

Strive for Quality Engagement

I value quality engagement on my blog, email, twitter, facebook etc. Don’t we all? There’s way too much noise out there on the internet. You don’t read every blog post in your RSS feed, do you? You don’t read every single tweet on your home feed on twitter, do you?

Just because someone was nice enough to comment on your blog, and even if it was a really great comment, their site may be total crap or something not related to your niche or subject matter that you simply can’t comment on. There’s a wise saying that ‘if you have nothing to say, say nothing’.

If you’re feeling obligated to comment but don’t have something you feel you could really add or want to say – you can always vote (as long as you think it’s worthy of a vote, don’t vote ‘just because’)

So in this case comment if you feel like it. Just let it flow naturally Quality is what we should strive for.

Bottom line is that I do not EXPECT you to comment on my blog if I comment on yours nor do I hope you EXPECT me to do the same back. Only do so if it’s WORTHY of a comment/vote. Not – just ’cause

I think reciprocation is a great thing and I do participate in helping others out if they help me too (I like to think I give more than I receive). Definitely! But only if what I’m doing or what you’re doing is of VALUE.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this

This blog post has been in the backburner for some time. I’ve just been reading Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents which sums this post up beautifully.

“Is it wrong to think that what you do for someone will be (eventually) reciprocated? No. Is it wrong to expect it? You betcha.”

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• What text would appear on my twitter feed if I clicked it?
• Would it automatically appear straight away in my feed without getting a chance to edit it when I click the button?
• Would I get an option to edit the text?

It feels like Christmas morning, the stockings are filled, the owls are hooting… wait, did I just say the owls are hooting? Well yes I did!

Hootsuite is out on the iPhone! Christmas has come early!

Hootsuite the Web Application

If you’re not already familiar with Hootsuite it is a web-based twitter account manager that is very much similar to tweetdeck. Hootsuite has the added benefits of displaying stats (when someone clicks on your links) and the ability to schedule tweets.

Hootsuite recently came out with an update that integrates facebook, facebook fan pages, linkedIn and ping.fm accounts. You can pretty much manage any social media site from within the Hootsuite web application. So if you’re not already using hootsuite I recommend you at least try Hootsuite on the web now – it’s free.

Hootsuite the iPhone Application

Hootsuite came out on the iPhone today. After playing around with it for the last hour or so I am very impressed. It’s fast, reliable (I haven’t had a crash yet) and lets you can manage your (perhaps multiple) twitter account on run.

Here’s a list of features for the iPhone version:

• Customizable user interface with sortable tabs and columns
• Easy navigation thanks to column swiping
• Schedule tweets
• Update multiple accounts at once
• Save searches
• Track statistics
• Share photos
• Import lists
• Explore trending topics

Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any facebook, linkedIn or ping.fm support for the iPhone version. But I have no doubt it will be available in a future update – at least I’m hoping so!

Also you can only view stats in per-tweet on the iPhone and not a set time-frame view like you can on the web, but this is minor. I do find looking at per-tweet stats on the iPhone version much quicker and easier than the web-based version.

I would have paid $10+ for this application but it only costs $1.99 US.

If you’re new to Hootsuite in general definitely check it out on the web first before you check out the iphone version.

Your Turn

What’s your impression of Hootsuite? Have you used Hootsuite before? Would you download the iPhone application for $1.99? What twitter applications do you use? What’s your favourite, and why?

Write them down in the comments below

Happy hooting!

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