Social Media “Friends” – When To Unfollow, Unfriend Or Disconnect

I recently had this issue come to a head and have kept quiet about it, but while traveling it crossed my mind that there are probably a lot of people out there in a similar situation, so here goes…

The fact is you’re just not going to hit it off or even get along with everyone or every personality. This is going to be true even if they are your target audience, age group and demographic. The fact is that we are all human and not all humans get along or even want to get along. Some people just get on other people’s nerves for whatever reason. Heck I know many that just don’t like me, and that’s ok.

So over the past few years I have been connected with someone all over the social graph. I mean everywhere. We have engaged some, but there was always something a bit off. The only time the individual ever commented on anything I wrote or shared it was always in a very condescending, arrogant and argumentative way. Have you ever experienced someone like that?

After more than two years of this largely out of mind situation, I decided I would investigate a bit further. I watched what they did when engaging others. Whether they shared other people’s content we were both connected to and what the support looked like that they afforded those other people.

Here’s what I discovered:

1) They were in fact considerably more antagonistic with me then with anyone else we were mutually connected with.

2) They were considerably more supportive to others we were mutually connected with.

3) They did have an occasional troll-like temperament with some other people, but not as consistent as with every engagement with me.

Once I had confirmed my feelings through my investigation, I asked myself the following questions:

1) Do I genuinely like this person?

2) Are they supportive of our company and our technology?

3) Are they likely to ever purchase and use our product?

4) Do I consider them someone who has similar industry ideals as we do?

The answer to every single one of these questions was a definitive NO, which led to a final question…

WHY am I connected to this person, sharing their content and being supportive of them and what they are doing?

Answer: There really isn’t a good reason.

With that, I took a few moments and quietly disconnected from every single social network connection where we were “friends”. To be honest I did not feel bad at all. I don’t particularly dislike this individual, but I also don’t like them either, and just like in real life, you don’t have to hang around business associates you will never do business with and don’t particularly get along with.

So here’s the deal; You DO NOT have to have your brand or personal social media accounts connected with people who are not a good fit. Don’t feel obligated to remain in relationships that offer no value. If you’re using social media for marketing, you do in fact need to be polite and open, but you don’t have to continue in circles with connections that are not uplifting, enjoyable or a non-prospect for what you do. Be kind, be discrete and move along.