Have you noticed lately that the cool Twitter tools that enabled you to automatically unfollow people have all but gone?
With one click of a button we could target followers in our niche and in the next click, automatically erase those that didn’t match certain criteria we set. If you’ve been wondering why so many of these tools don’t allow you to do this anymore, that’s because it’s against Twitters Terms of Service. And in recent months Twitter has been systematically either closing these tools down or requesting they become compliant. I don’t know about you but the thought of cleaning out 1000 inactive followers click by click doesn’t sound like good time leverage to me! There is still a super efficient (almost automated) solution though.
Manage Flitter will clean up your Twitter followers in a matter of seconds.
Despite a run in with Twitter earlier this year, Manage Flitter remains one of the few surviving tools that allow you to clean up your account with a few clicks. I created a quick video demo below to show you how easy it is.
To think we almost lost this super efficient tool a few months ago when the developers received the following email from Twitter:
“We’re writing to let you know that your application, ManageTwitter, breaks our Automation Rules and Best Practices (http://help.twitter.com/entries/76915). Specifically, it facilitates bulk automated user unfollowing, which is not allowed. It’s best for both our
users and your users if your application follows the rules, so please make the necessary changes, such as removing the “Select All” option (and requiring users to decide on each user individually) to bring your application into compliance. “
After nearly 2000 people tweeted their support for the “Save Manage Flitter” campaign, they managed to come to an agreement with Twitter by removing a simple select all button. Given my own account showed over 1700 people that were either inactive or not likely to contribute any value, I couldn’t imagine deciding on each user individually as Twitter states above. We use Twitter to build solid relationships and have fun, so we need tools that efficiently manage who we hang out with.
If you’ve noticed any of your favourite Twitter tools have changed lately, I’d love to hear about it. Especially if you’ve found a replacement. And of course if you think this tool will benefit your Twitter followers, hit the Retweet button above and let them know!
Michaelé
Hi Michaela, great detailed video on how to clean up your twitter account. Surely Twitter understand that we need to somehow get rid of the inactive people we’re following, so that we can follow active tweeps. It shows the power of numbers when they have 2000 people make a request.
Hi Julieanne,
I totally agree. I get that Twitter want’s to create an authentic user experience by eliminating automated bulk follows etc.
But seriously, if we honestly had to clean up our accounts manually click by click this would decrease the user experience in my mind!
Not to mention the fact that it would probably never get done and so our accounts would just continue to become over cluttered.
Michaelé
Michaele,
Thanks for the informative tutorial on this. I had heard that many of the automated tools for Twitter had disappeared. This is helpful information and good to have handy. Hopefully, Twitter will continue to play nice with them.
Don,
Yep so many of our nifty little tools that we used to teach people to use are gone now.
Fingers crossed for Manage Flitter :)
Michaelé
Hi Michaele,
As per usual you are a wealth of information. Every time I come to your blog I learn something new. Thanks for letting me know about this service will definately be checking it out.
Deirdre
Hey Deirdre,
Thank you and I learnt about some very cool tools on your blog today too!
Michaelé
Hey Michaele
I have had this comment written for about 2 days now…. I thought I hit submit….!
Love the video! This tool is soooo cool. I’m going to check it out specifically to remove the people who haven’t tweeted for a while. I know that a lot of applications were shut down because of the whole automation thing. I’m not that savvy with Twitter… what are your own thoughts on their crack down on app’s that helped with automation of a lot of things?
cheers
Nat
Hey Nat,
Gosh I’ve done that so many times. Especially with emails!
Yes I thought being able to remove the inactive people in a few clicks was probably the most useful of all.
My thoughts on their crackdown on automation are that it’s ultimately creating a more authentic experience for everyone. Most of the spammy affiliate apps that allowed you to “get 10,000 followers over night” have disappeared. So not only has it cut down on annoyances, it means instead of the bloated numbers users were able to create, we will start to see a more genuine indication of the persons popularity/influence/engagement etc.
Michaelé
I use TweetTwain to clean-up my account.
Michaele,
This is perfect! I just discovered this tool almost 2 weeks ago and actually had fun “cleaning house.” i also found out that my Twitter grade went up to 100 shortly thereafter. It doesn’t make sense to have high numbers of followers if they are mostly dead weight.
It’s really about impact and movement across the social sites. Just by having a large following in numbers alone doesn’t mean a thing. Engage and be social is what builds a relationship. Thanks for sharing your video.
Ken Pickard
The Network Dad
Hey Ken,
Thats awesome info. I didn’t even think about the fact that it would impact your Twitter grade.
It makes sense though as the Twitter grader would be looking at the quality of your followers as well.
And you’re right, the numbers don’t mean a thing if you’re not actively building relationships.
Michaelé
Michaelé, another very professional tutorial from you. Seems like a very handy tool to have in our Twitter toolbox. Thanks for bring it to us.
Hey thanks John.
And yes it’s one of the only surviving tools that I know of, that can clean things up so quickly.
Michaelé
Hi Michaele,
Thanks for this! My twitter followers is growing steadily but I didn’t know what to do about the big difference between the number of people I was following and those who were following me back. This was perfect for identifying who those folks are as well as the people whose accounts haven’t been touched in quite some time. Thanks for providing great value to all of us!
Allegra
Hey Allegra,
I’m glad you found it useful as it’s the perfect tool for tidying up the gap that you’ve mentioned.
For me it just felt good to clear out the inactive followers.
Michaelé
This tool looks really helpful. I was actually wondering how I could do this the other day, but it just looked like to much of a task, not now!
Thanks so much for sharing this with us all.
Marty Ware
The SEO DAD
Hey Marty,
I’m with you there as once the automated tools started disappearing, I was at a loss as to how I was going to clean my account up.
Yay for Manage Flitter!
Michaelé
Hi Michaelé,
thanks for sharing this really cool tool. I just tried and I must say it work just perfectly. There were plenty of people who were inactive, without picture etc.
Congratulations for being nominated by Sue Price for the Blog Mastery Award, by the way. Well deserved.
Thanks again.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver,
I’m glad to hear it worked well for you too as it’s not so easy to clean things up quickly these days with the clamp down on automation.
Oh and thanks so much for the Congrats. I was so honoured that Sue chose my blog to be nominated.
Michaelé
P.S. Thank you for being so detail oriented and noticing the ‘é’ on my name :)
Really great tutorial, thanks Michaele! This is exactly what I need. My twitter account is kind of a mess, and this tool has all the features that will make the unfollowing process smooth. I have a feeling I’m about to have a whole lot more people following me than I’m following. :)
Thanks again for sharing your great social media knowledge with us!
Hi Beth,
I totally relate as my Twitter account was getting very messy as well!
Interesting to hear that Ken’s Twitter grade went up 100 after using the tool to clean things up. I wonder if it will have an impact on Klout.com…
Congratulations on the amazing comments your blog is getting on ThatMLMBeat.
You truly deserve it!
Michaelé
Hi Michaele, great post. Tool looks like it could be very useful for me. thanks again! Niro