How to Make Your Follow Friday Posts More Effective
Follow Friday is an awesome Twitter tradition. It’s one of the easiest ways to generate engagement for your account, and to draw attention to your account. It’s even a great way to get the people you follow to follow you back.
A basic #FF accomplishes all of these things fairly well. But there are just a few more things that you can do with your Follow Friday posts that will make them even more effective.
Add a compliment
A Follow Friday with a long list of names is sort of nice for the people who get mentioned. They like it. But it’s nothing special.
If you want people to love your Follow Friday posts then you should think about adding a compliment. “#FF for awesome, informative tweets:” is a lot more engaging than a long list of names. People know that they’ve been chosen for a reason.
In addition, this type of FF might actually inspire people to follow the accounts that you list. It says that you’ve put some thought into the accounts that you’ve chosen, and that there’s something of value there for the people on your own list. This means that your #FF has a higher chance of creating a tangible benefit for the people you are showcasing. That tangible benefit is so much more than a throwaway shout-out, and will reap rewards as a result.
Use a theme
Occasionally you might want to change things up. Since repetition isn’t always a good thing on social media, you can break up the compliments with “themed” follow Fridays.
Themes work a lot like compliments because they provide some context for the accounts you’ve chosen. You can go with just about anything: “#FF Good Causes,” “#FF Local People,” “#FF Hot Clubs…” whatever is appropriate for your business, your location, and your audience.
Thank people with an RT when they #FF you
There is an art form to responding to Follow Friday posts just as there is an art form to creating them. When someone includes you in a Follow Friday re-tweet the whole #FF and thank them. This gives them a mention. It also helps them bring even more attention to the accounts they’ve chosen. And it gives you the chance to give those accounts some attention as well. It’s a win-win for both you and the original person.
If you’re not already following that account, consider doing so if doing so makes sense. You might just get a great new connection out of the deal, which is, after all, what Twitter is all about!
Richart Ruddie is an active consultant and adviser to small and medium sized businesses who need help managing their social media and online reputation to actively improve and promote businesses on the internet.
