Newbies at Twitter are often recommended to find inspirational quotes and sayings from famous people for tweeting. Good motivational quotes and memorable sayings are worth repeating, but when so many Twitter users are doing this, it can become irritating. Ultimately I think tweeting a lot of quotes could deter followers who keep seeing the same quotations being tweeted and retweeted.
Some authors and aspiring writers use quotes in their tweets, and I always wonder why they cannot think of something original to write in 140 characters. If they are to become known for their writing ability, why would they want to quote something written by another person?
Business people using Twitter often tweet motivational quotes. These can be effective for gaining attention, but there is more to business success than the ability to find quotes online to copy into tweets. Why not write some original thoughts and share ideas that people will want to retweet instead. When I see a Twitter profile showing only updates consisting of quotes and promotional links, I will probably not be motivated to follow.
I have tweeted and retweeted quotes myself, but it is not something I do regularly. Occasionally I see a memorable saying I want to share because I think it is clever, inspiring or moving. Most of my tweets are linked to online articles and blog posts, but I do love it when one of my rare non-promotional tweets gets retweeted because someone appreciated my original words.
Do you find that tweeting motivational and inspirational quotes is a good way to get more Twitter followers and retweets or do you think too much quoting can cause annoyance and put people off?