Kevin Willett explains why a personal note is better than automatic replies on social media.

Yesterday I had a person connect with me on Twitter. I often get requests for the service he offers, so I sent him a tweet asking if he does business in Northern MA and Southern NH. I did not receive a response.  A few hours later, I received an automated tweet saying how great it was to connect with me and to please keep him in mind if I knew of anyone who needed his services. Now I have already done a video on why sending a message like that is a bad idea. The video is called Why I Won’t Hit You Up If I Need You. You can view it here https://youtu.be/pYzHO9ux_ss

When I saw the message I laughed and said to myself, I tried to help you and you ignored me. Sadly this happens a lot when this type of an automated response is received.  Just to be clear, automated messages such as ‘out of the office’ or thank you for contacting me, I’ll get back to you ASAP’ are ok. These imply an action to come or a courtesy of letting you know why the person is not responding right away. The message I received made me think the person did not care who I was, but ‘hey send me some business if you can’. Think about how many people connect with you on social media on an average day. I bet it’s not a lot. Are you telling me that you couldn’t find 10 minutes to send them a personal note thanking them for connecting with you? So remember please be careful when using automation and always take the time to check your messages.

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Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business  (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon

Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group  and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events.