#FollowFriday – Downfall of a SuperTag…

If you know anything about Twitter you know about #FollowFriday.  This hashtag is one of the most commonly used on Twitter along with other favorites including #musicmonday and #fail.  This search pattern (#hashtag) allows the user to profile their favorite twitterers.  In many cases, this allows a follower to see other users that may be worth following.  It’s a win win.  Right?   hmmph…

Lately, my feeds have shown this hashtag less and less on the past Fridays of 2010.  Where have they gone?  Why is something that once was a mainstream trending topic is now a seldom used triage for pinching at new followers?  I have addressed a few items here which may give light to why this is a ‘weaning trend’.

My first observation is the sheer amount of time it takes to create a proper #FollowFriday.  To dissect a proper FollowFriday tweet you must adhere to a few rules.

1. The tweet must include #FollowFriday or #FF (or any combination of the capitalization you may find cute and unique that week)
2. You must use a mention to your follow worthy friends.  This often includes manually keying avatars or utilizing autocomplete functions that you find in HootSuite and Tweetdeck.
3. Optional:  Include a snippet of why your followers should follow them.  After all, you don’t want to blindly lead someone astray if you think there is no ‘real’ value to be gained.

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Lucas Shaffer

With 15 years of digital creative experience and work in dozens of major industries, Lucas writes to communicate the importance of digital strategies useful for every company from Startup to mature Brand. He currently is Creative Director at @StandAndStretch, a TEDx Speaker, SEO Expert, Father to 3 boys and married to his lovely wife, Whitney. Schedule a consult today!