The social media world is all about new trends and #FF is one of these. If you are a newbie to the world of Twitter, you might be bemused by seeing the hashtag #FF, for the first time.
You might also be wondering about all the social media trends, so that you do not lag behind. Don’t worry, we will take it from here.
Throwback to Friday
It all started in 2009 when a person called Micah Baldwin tweeted that he was starting Follow Friday. He recommended a few Twitter accounts for his followers to follow. The trend Follow Friday has grown ever since.
Want to know what #FF means? Then hop on over here for a quick lesson on FollowFriday.
How to Do It?
Simply type a message and add #FF or #FollowFriday to the message, then the @name of the person recommended, as well as a genuine reason why you want others to follow them on Twitter.
Why Is #FF Such a Hip Trend?
- With #FF trend, people and especially businesses can get tons of followers in a small span of time. The idea behind this trend is to get others to check out a profile and follow it.
- If there is a business or a person you feel passionate about, now is the time to share it with the world.
- If you tweet about someone using the #FF hashtag, then someday, they might return the favor by doing a shout out for you! Keep the community flowing and rolling.
The Do’s of #FF
To get the most out of #FF hashtag, keep it simple.
1. Spell It Out
In order to squeeze the most in the few characters of a tweet, tell others why they should follow your recommended Twitter user. Rather than just throwing in the name of the user, share with others what is so special about them.
Tell your Twitter followers why they should follow the person recommended. Is there any service or product that the person offers? Or perhaps they are key person holding high importance in their field?
Or is it some small business that never fails to impress you with its customer service? Give them a nice, heartfelt compliment via Twitter and spread the word about them.
Here is an article written by Micah Baldwin himself, highlighting the reasons why #FollowFriday was started and the reasons behind it.
2. Share Relevant Users in One Post
It is not recommended to make your post clutter-y and full of usernames.
However, if you are bypassing this rule, then be sure that no matter how many users you are sharing in one post, they all are related. For example, the following tweet lets you know that all the people are fitness pros.
In this way, you can capture the attention of all the fitness freaks in your circle and at the same time, give a shout out to all the marvelous fitness fanatics you know!
3. Be Genuinely Interested in Follower’s Success
Use the #FF to cultivate a longer lasting, friendly, and personal relationship with your followers. If you are using social media just to enhance your trackability, it might show.
Take genuine real interest in your followers’ and friends’ success and celebrate it. It shows and you will garner quite a many professional relationships and acquaintances on the way.
4. Be Courteous and Polite
If someone takes your name with the #FF hashtag, acknowledge it. Reply with a tweet thanking them for recommending you to their followers on Twitter.
Here is an example of how you can thank them in a reply tweet:
5. Share One User per Post
Show love to your Twitter followers. Let’s suppose here is tweet number one:
#ff @yourname @user1 @ user 2 @user3 @user3 @user4 @user5 @user6
And here is the second tweet:
Hey friends, be sure to drop by @yourname a pretty cool friend of mine who is an inspiration for me and her posts make my day. #followfriday
Comparing the two, if you were the user recommended, which one would make you feel loved and recognized? Obviously, the first one.
Don’t treat the #Followfriday trend as a trend simply to enlist as many followers as you can, in one go, because this does not serve any meaningful purpose. Take it one user at a time.
The No-No’s of #FF
Sometimes, the #FF doesn’t turn out to be pretty amazing. This article lists just some of the problems associated with #FF.
1. Posting About Many Followers
Do not post a long list of usernames, please. This kind of post appears to be all over the place. Worst, you hardly get any recommendation from this post.
As discussed earlier, it is good if you have grouped together all the users along and they are relevant to each other. However, if the post only lists names, it appears cluttered at least and a spams post at worst.
2. Sending a #FF Just Because They #FollowFriday’d You
Just because someone has #FF’d you doesn’t mean you should send them a #FF too. This appears as fake and the users will not like following a person who just tweets time-wasting posts. Be selective and genuine in your posts so that your tweets are valued.
So, as you have read above, we have highlighted a few of the many ways in which you can turn this trend in your favor and be a part of the talked-about crowd.
What do you think of these suggestions? Are there any other tips that worked brilliantly for you and you would like to share with others? Share away and enlighten us! We would love to hear from you. Visit the social media guide for more social media hacks and tips
