Those pesky bot accounts. Spoiling it for everyone with their spammy repetitive content and fake profiles.
Because, like many of us, most bot accounts use handy-dandy schedulers and automation tools to do their dirty work. And for Twitter, that’s a BIG problem; not only do bots stink up your Twitter feed with their botty garbage but they also make it tougher for Tweeters to search for and find quality, non-bot content.
No surprise, Twitter doesn’t like this so it’s launched some new updates to solve the problem – updates that also mean repetition of good, well-intentioned, perfectly awesome, evergreen, non-bot content is now banned. Boo.
Yep. Some #MarTech life-changing changes are indeed afoot. Last month, in an effort to crack down on bot “bad” behavior, Twitter announced these new major do-nots: Automation and the Use of Multiple Accounts.
Here’s a couple that jumped out at us, in particular, which go into effect March 23rd:
Twitter’s specific instructions for schedulers and automation tools read as follows:
“Do not (and do not allow your users to) simultaneously post identical or substantially similar content to multiple accounts.”
And:
“Posting duplicative or substantially similar content, replies, or mentions over multiple accounts you control, or creating duplicate or substantially similar accounts, with or without the use of automation, is never allowed.”
Bummer, legitimate Twitter accounts using social schedulers and automation tools to communicate quality messaging on multiple channels at multiple times for optimum reception and time-saving… This means you.
But because those very tools make it super easy for both bad bots and humans to create fake traffic/relevance and abuse the system, they also shut out legitimate tweets, making the overall Twitter experience miserable for all of us.
At Lately, as much as we think of ourselves as marketing cowkidz, we’re sticklers for the rules (#partypooperalert). We know that following all Twitter rules is mega important. Crossing the line can mean account suspension or even banning. And nobody wants that.
Which is why Lately’s 100% on top of helping you to avoid breaking Twitter’s new rules. With our built-in intelligence, specifically designed to sidestep spamming via the creation and promotion of quality, original content, as well as newly enhanced repetitive scheduling prevention features, Twitter’s changes won’t have nearly the walloping effect on us compared to loads of other social scheduling tools.
That means if you’re a savvy marketer who already uses Lately, then you won’t notice many changes, if at all, in how you plan and share your content. (And also hi, savvy marketers who may not yet be our customers, we’re really looking forward to meeting you!)
Beginning March 23, the day Twitter starts enforcing these changes, we’ll launch our own nifty safeguards aimed at protecting your brand from offending Twitter’s spam police. Hooray!
1. NO posting to multiple Twitter accounts at the same time
Before: Lately used to allow you to post to multiple Twitter accounts at once. Alas, no more.
After: Lately will only allow one post per Twitter account at a time and won’t let you select multiple Twitter accounts when creating new content. This prevents users from doing annoying stuff like setting up hundreds of fake Twitter accounts and posting the same messages to all of them. #tsktsk
Call us squares, but we thought it might be helpful to have an extra heads up about Twitter’s new rules so you’ve got a friendly reminder, front and center, plus a link to more info, should you need it.
But… You can still post to multiple other social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) all at once, that allow this.
2. NO duplicate/repeat tweets
Before: When it comes to duplicate tweets, while we understand the value of repetition and time-saving, let’s be honest, it’s not top form. That’s why Lately has ALWAYS included our cool-as-heck (if we don’t say so ourselves) AI-driven Automatic Social Post Generator that auto-magically produces dozens of original social posts from your blogs, newsletters and more.
Plus, with our Key Messaging Cheat Sheet & Checker along with our Keyword Suggestion Engine, Lately also ALWAYS automatically goes the extra mile to help your content stand out on merit.
After: Don’t worry! Your evergreen content doesn’t have to die. In fact, it should be an essential part of your social post strategy. With a couple small tweaks, we’ll continue to help you rock all things evergreen while also playing by Twitter’s rules and, most importantly, producing quality goodness that folks actually want to read.
And yes, even though we aren’t major fans of cloning and duplicating social posts, you’ll still be able to do that on other platforms that allow it from Lately. #becausepopulardemand
But… When it comes to Twitter, we’ll now check previous content you’ve posted and let you know if you’re in danger of duplicate posts. Translation: if you see a red alert bar, Sheriff Lately has its eye on you – consider it fair warning.
Yes, Twitter’s Terms of Service changes mean less automation. But they also mean less crappy bot content. And a better Twitter experience for both you and your potential customers. After all, original, quality content = optimum ranking = maximum readers = increased customers. Wins all around.
In the meantime, our list of new, awesomized features and enhancements keeps growing, thanks to all of our amazing customer feedback – if that’s you, thanks and keep it coming! If that’s not you, ask yourself, what has your social scheduling software done for you lately?
