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Many Internet Marketers today include Twitter in their overall Internet Marketing Strategy. It’s proven itself to be a great platform for reaching out to consumers and clients, and is an effective communication tool.

What many Internet Marketers don’t realize is that Twitter accounts can be suspended and permanently terminated if the system is abused. In fact, the Twitter rules state that they reserve the right to immediately terminate any account, if that account is violating their rules or terms of service.

Why Does Twitter Have Rules?
Twitter basically wants to provide an open network where users can share content with others, and have a great experience doing so. Their usage guidelines and rules are meant to discourage spam and other types of abusive activity that would negatively impact the Twitter experience.

What Is Twitter Spam?
Twitter considers the following activities to be spammy or abusive:

•    Posting harmful links to phishing or malware sites.
•    Posting the same tweet over and over again.
•    Aggressively following and un-following other accounts.
•    Updates that consist mainly of links, and not dialogue or useful updates.

There are many other rules and guidelines that Twitter considers when making a determination as to whether an account is creating spam or being abusive. You can find the complete list of Twitter Rules at:
https://support.twitter.com/groups/33-report-a-violation/topics/121-guidelines-best-practices/articles/18311-the-twitter-rules

How About Automated Tweets and Follows?
Many Twitter users use automation tools to tweet at scheduled times, or to grow their list of followers more quickly. Twitter doesn’t state that you can’t use an automation tool, but they do strongly discourage the use of them, and have adopted very strict rules and guidelines concerning their use.

The most common automation practices discouraged by Twitter are:

•    Following and un-following large number of users over a short period of time.
•    Posting the same tweet over and over again.
•    Mass promotion of affiliate offers or advertising.

Before using any type of automation tool, you should carefully read the Twitter Automation Rules and Best Practices article. In fact, we’ve found that one of the most popular Twitter automation tools available today actually provides features that are in violation of the current Twitter rules. If you do decide to use an automation tool, be sure to review the Twitter Rules, and proceed with caution!

What To Do If Your Twitter Account Is Suspended
Fortunately, Twitter is willing to work with you if your account is suspended, and as a result, you’ll have an opportunity to appeal their decision. In fact we’ve heard that they will re-activate an account if the account holder changes the behavior that resulted in the initial account suspension. For more information about the appeal process, please checkout the article My Account is Suspended.

Conclusion
It’s important to remember that Twitter is keeping a close eye on activities that impact their primary goal of providing an open network for freely communicating with others.

If you use Twitter in a spammy or abusive manner, you risk account suspension and eventual termination. BUT, as long as you use Twitter to have an open dialogue with others, and you’re providing useful information, you should be fine. Happy Tweeting!