The single most important tip for getting more followers, friends or connections

Have you ever been in a situation where someone wanted to shake your hand.. but you saw him pick his nose a minute ago? Eww! It’s even worse if it’s your first meeting. Your first impression of that person will forever be spoilt by that image of him with his finger up his – never mind.

If you’re using social media to grow your network by friending and following people you don’t know in person, first impressions are even more important because I have nothing else to judge you on. I receive quite a few friend/connection requests on Facebook and LinkedIn, and a handful of new Twitter followers each week. However, I don’t accept many of these requests or follow back on Twitter because the first impression I get isn’t great.

So, the single most important tip for getting more followers, friends or connections: make your first impression count.

Let’s look at how we give off these first impressions through social media, and how to gain more friends and followers by making a good first impression.

How to make a lousy first impressions

Twitter

On Twitter, the first impression hangs heavily on your profile picture. That’s the first thing I see when you tweet me, or in the email notification that says you’re following me. If I’m curious, I’ll click through to your profile page to read your bio.

Here’s the Twitter profile page of MAS (Malaysia Airlines) Green Initiative.

And here’s the profile of a dodgy, potential Twitter spammer.

At first glance, I wouldn’t recognise Malaysia Airlines, and I may actually mistake them for being a noob at best, or dodgy at worst.

Facebook

On Facebook, your profile picture is just as important as in Twitter. Unlike Twitter, I’m more likely to assume that you’re someone I know since Facebook is a more personal social network. However, I’ll think twice before approving you if I see a friend request like this:

If I don’t know you personally my first impression is, That can’t be your real name right? This profile picture is also coming off a little too cocky. I’m going to click… Ignore.

Also, keep in mind that even if I click through your friend request to learn more about you, chances are I will see this:

Which is why it’s super important to make a good first impression on Facebook.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn encourages you to connect only with people you know. In fact, they’ve got a big button on pending requests that says “I don’t know this user”. That’s the button I’m tempted to click when I see a request like this:

No profile picture, no idea who you are, no approval for your request to connect.

Make a good first impression through social media

All the examples above are less than ideal first impressions. Here’s how to make sure you put your best foot forward and get more friends and followers.

1. Use a good picture and your real name. These help others recognise you and decide that you’re not dodgy. A good profile picture is one where you are not showing off certain body parts, making gang signs or engaged in unsavoury behaviour.

2. Include a personal message in your friend request. It’s really difficult to remember everyone that I’ve met before, so please remind me with a personal message. Or if I don’t know you, please explain why I should. Here’s an example:

Hi! I’m David from Buzzmedia and @blogjunkie on Twitter. I would like to connect since I notice that you’re also interested in XYZ / because I’d like to grow my network of potential business partners.

Add a personal message to Facebook friend requests

3. Personalise your profile. On Twitter where you can’t include a personal message when following someone, you must make full use of your bio to explain why I should follow you. For those who use desktop clients like TweetDeck, all they see is your profile picture, real name and bio. If possible, explain further with a custom Twitter background image.

Do you have any more tips of making a good first impression in social media? Please share them in the comments. Thanks!

Photo credit: 365-05 Back to work! by HazPhotos