5 Tips to an Effective #FollowFriday

#FollowFriday or #FF started as a trend in 2009 when Twitter users started tweeting out handles of users that they think are worth following. The trend was picked up by almost everybody and has since become a regular Friday activity. 

It is a shoutout and appreciation of some kind to Twitter users who’ve been providing you with interesting and useful update the past week. You are basically recommending that your own followers follow them. 

Although #FollowFriday is being practiced by most online marketers, we are still seeing quite a few who are not using it effectively. Wondering what the hashtag FollowFriday or #FF means for your business? Want to know how to make the most of it? Read on.

1.       Tell people why they should be following a user. Simply throwing out a tweet with the hashtag #FF and Twitter handle of the user won’t do ( #FF @MacsWomen ).  People reading your tweets will have no idea why the people you are recommending are worth the follow. Why would people follow them if you don’t explain why they should?

 If you want your #FF tweet to be checked out by people, you should at least mention what makes the user you’re recommending interesting? Are they an expert? What topics do they generally post? Are they funny? Are they always insightful? 

"Hey #ff @MacsWomen they will give you tips on how to leverage social media for your business."  (click to tweet this)

2.       Don’t mention too many handles. Always limit the number of mentions in each tweet. If there are too many usernames in a tweet, people will just skim through them. And you wouldn’t have enough characters left to explain why they should be followed. 

3.       Group the mentions. If you have people who are on the same field and are sharing the same expertise, you can have them in one #FF tweet. 

"Great thought leaders in the online business / marketing industry @ThisIsSethsBlog @GuyKawasaki"

4.       Don’t just recommend everyone. Be selective. Only recommend people who you truly find helpful, interesting or insightful. Choose a few that has standout the past week. This way you will not only be helping them gain new followers, you are also providing something of value to your own set of followers. 

5.       Avoid recommending people just because they #FF you. Mentioning users in your #FF just because they have #FF’d you is really not a good practice. The people who mentioned you may have nothing interesting or insightful to share so recommending them to your users is not a smart move. Again, as mentioned above, be selective. 

Over to you..

Will you be sending out your #FollowFriday next week? Will you be using the tips provided above? Do you have some Twitter tips you want to share with our readers. You can share them through the comments section below.