TGIF! How To Use #FollowFriday To Get More “Targeted” Followers

Twitter is loaded with awesome features and users continue to come up with cool stuff every day. Here is a self-made Twitter evolve-ment story:

• Once upon a time, there was the Twitter bird tweeting 140 characters at a time. Suddenly…
• A genius created hashtags to make Twitter updates more readable and searchable (Click here for information on how to use hashtags effectively)
• Twitter @Mentions were created to allow users to mention names of their Twitter friends in their tweets(Click here to learn how to use @Mentions to grab attention)
• Soon enough, the Twitter bird blended hashtags and @Mentions and came up with two fantastic features:
  1. Twitter chats (Click here and here for excellent Twitter chats tips)
  2. #FollowFriday: a well-known Twitter tradition (a combination of @mentions and #FollowFriday or #FF hashtags) that allow users to recommend people they think other tweeples should follow.
• And the story continues…

Before getting to #FF, let me explain what I mean by targeted followers. These are followers that match a certain criteria that you have in mind. They could be prospects or influential people in your industry, you name it.

So Far So Good! How to Use #FF to Increase “Targeted” Followers?

There are two proven ways to help you out:

1. Check Out Other People’s #FollowFriday Lists

You can take the easy route of doing a Twitter search for #FollowFriday but that would generate a huge result.  Instead, use Twitter advanced search and add specific usernames to narrow down the search. These people represent the link between you and your target followers.

Depending on your target followers’ criteria, you will choose the right people and “eavesdrop” on their #FFs.

For example, you may check the #FollowFriday of your competition or influential people in your industry.  The result will look something like the following:

The good news is that you don’t have to check the individual Twitter profile to see each user’s info. Just click on the time stamp (pointed to by the green arrow in the above screenshot) and you will find everything you need in one screen:

Now, all you need is a quick glance to figure out which people fit your target followers’ criteria. It’s that simple!

(Additional tip: you can install Google Chrome browser Klout extension to view the Klout scores of your Twitter stream, as pointed by the green arrow. This will help you make a more informed decision about the people you are checking.)

2. Create Your Own “Targeted” #FollowFriday

Think of creating #FF lists of people that your target followers will be interested in. Here are some tips to help you out:

• Here is no-brainer tip: Your #FF list main purpose is to recommend people to follow. So, you must lead by example and follow them before nominating them to others
• Create #FF for one person: In this case, you will @mention one name in your #FF and the reminder of the tweet should include reasons why you think people should follow him/her. It is a good idea to include a link to this person’s content. Needless to say, that mentioned person will be touched by your kind gesture and most likely will reciprocate by following you back or even mentioning you in his/her #FF list. I love that thought!
• When including more than one user in your #FF, it is a good idea to correlate between them to make it easier for people checking out your #FF. Here are some examples:
  • #FF Awesome social media gurus @user1, @user2, @user3…etc.
  • #FF top contributors to my paper.li newspaper @user1, @user2, @user3…etc.(Click here for a complete guide on how to paper.li for Twitter content curation )
  • #FF #SEOBloggers @user1,@user2 ,@user3 …etc. (Notice that in this case I correlated between people using a second hashtag )
  • A word of caution here: avoid using A-listers that are followed by millions of people! You don’t want people checking your #FF list to go: “Duh! I am already following these people!”   If you filled your #FF lists carefully, people will look for them every week. The key is to select interesting people that others don’t know much about .
  • If you featured a group of people in your blog (as in the case of creating a top 20 list), You can mention them in your #FF and link back to your blog
  • Now that the holiday season officially began, you can add some holiday tag(s) to increase the visibility of your #FF tweets

  Don’t You Just LUV Twitter?

  With all these awesome features, that allow you to expand your social reach and acquire more targeted followers, you can’t help but fall in love with Twitter!

  But be wary as I haven’t heard of any cure to Twitter addiction! Even Dr. Phil is there for heaven sakes!

  Who will be on your next #FF list? I can’t wait to find out…