Twitter, like most communities, has developed it’s own verbiage and it’s own traditions… one example being “Follow Friday”.

However, like most communities that has traditions, over time, they change and become something different than what they were originally intended to be.

The basics first

Before I get into detail, I should point out that this tradition is a once a week thing… on Fridays. Hense the name. Also, it employs one of two hashtags. They are #FollowFriday and #FF for short.

On each Friday, people use one of those hashtags and mentions a person or persons that they follow.

How it used to be

Follow Friday used to be a way of telling everyone that follows you that they should all follow someone or some people that you follow. For example, I find Fred very informative or funny, I tweet to all my followers something like “For top rate information, #FollowFriday @fred”.

Now everyone knows that I recommend Fred.

What is has become

Let’s be honest, most people on Twitter don’t use Twitter for marketing, business deals or anything even remotely resembling being productive. They use it because it’s a social website. They can joke, talk and share with other people.

Because most people don’t take it all that seriously, the Follow Friday tradition has transitioned from a “recommendation tool” to a way to give a “shout out” to friends or family.

What you see most of the time these days is a tweet that has #FF at the beginning and then a string of names afterwards that fill every last bit of the 140 characters they’re allowed.

And not just one tweet but multiple tweets. Some people mention dozens… even hundreds of people each Friday.

Where’s the value?

Ok, so maybe you don’t use Twitter to do business but even so, your Follow Friday tweets do have value… if you do them right.

Let’s compare these two tweets:

1. #FF @person1 @person2 @person3 @person4 @person5 @person6 @person7 @person8 @person9 @person10 @person11 @person12 @person13 @person14
2. The funniest guy on Twitter, you should definitely #FollowFriday @person7

Right away, you can see what a mess the first example is. Let’s say you are person7… it’s nice that the person thought of you, but do you get any real value out of that tweet? Do you think you’ll get any new followers?

If you are person7 and that person had used the second example, you’d definitely be seeing some new followers out of that. People know what to expect and more importantly than that, you’re the only person mentioned. It’s not a big mess of names!

Bringing value back to the tradition

I’d like to give you a few things to think about the next time Friday rolls around and you’re considering the whole Follow Friday thing.

1. Do NOT use automated sites/programs. They do their best but all they’ll do is dump a bunch of names at you and you’ll be right back in the no-value situation once again.
2. Keep each tweet to 1 to 4 names…  if a person is presented with a group of names, they might look for a name they recognize but that’s it. They certainly won’t go clicking on them all, much less following them.
3. Add in a short description of why you’re recommending those people. “Very funny” or “tech savvy” are good examples. Just 2 words, rather short but people know why you recommend them and if they fit their interests.
4. Notepad is the best program that ever came with Windows. I use it through out the week to keep a tab on people that I’ve had good discussions with, retweeted me of often, had great insights… you get the idea. Then on Friday, I Follow Friday those people. Afterward, I wipe out the notepad and start again fresh the next week.
5. Along the same lines as #4, if you do have people you Follow Friday every single week, put them into groups or categories, such as funny, informative, supportive, etc… then, on each Friday, pick one group and Follow Friday those people. The next week, pick a different group. This way you keep the number of names down each week (which adds value to those people) but everyone gets their mentions.

Conclusion

The whole idea is that you are getting followers to the people that you think deserve it. That’s the goal. A big mess of names does not accomplish that in the slightest.

Your friends may feel upset if they Follow Friday you and you don’t do it back but you know what, they’ll understand. It’s not a social competition. And that time when you mention them, and only them, they’ll appreciate it far more.

My final tip to you, if you want to add real value… recommend someone on a random day other than Friday. For example, on Tuesday, tweet “I know it’s not Friday but I really recommend you follow @person7.”

That person is guaranteed to get a new follower or two and will appreciate it far more. That’s real value.