If you answered yes to the above, then you need to pause for a moment, because Twitter is really not what you think it is.

Think of Twitter more like a 24-7 party where everyone mixes and mingles and interacts however they want – you suddenly turning up and jumping on the Mic demanding attention to pitch people on some “Exciting new Role” is just going to piss people off.

If you’re going to engage with folks, make it PERSONAL – They’re not on Twitter so you can sell them a product, they’re there to interact with other folks.

Spend five minutes or so looking at their profile, their previous tweets, and sites they link to and/or personal site. Interact with them on things that you might have a common interest on, and after you’ve got some sort of relationship (This takes more than 15 minutes) – it might be appropriate to send them a private message about the role.

If they’re not following you, you won’t be able to send them a private message, so that’s probably a good indication they’re Just Not Interested.

Yes, I’ve blogged about this before – but I’m writing it again, because it’s still relevant.