Follow Friday, you ask? What the heck is that and just what it it all about? It is a fun “tradition” on Twitter when Tweeters list suggestions for others to follow from their list of people that they follow. It can get sticky, though. If you rattle off tweet after tweet with a list of follow friday suggestions it can come across as lazy and very impersonal. Then, there is the other side where you might just send out a couple of tweets listing just a few people, which can lead others to wonder why they weren’t mentioned. They may get upset enough to un-follow you. Can you see the stress that is Follow Friday? Crazy! I know! So, at times I have avoided it completely, but there are plenty of people I would recommend!
Scott Stratten, who I know as @unmarketing on Twitter made a wonderful suggestion. Rather than rattle a bunch of meaningless follow fridays on Twitter, he suggested we mention a few with reasons to follow them.
I decided to take it a step further and really focus on a post about someone that I have found to be a wonderful follow choice! Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every single mention I get on a Follow Friday, but for me, I want to share some of the reasons for my choices and 140 characters or less just can’t do it justice. I plan to make this a weekly post every Friday that I hope you will all enjoy. This week, I will start with Amy Lupold Bair @ResourcefulMom. Simply put, she is great! Here are just a few of the reasons I follow her and, quite frankly, think you should, too!
-She is a true engager on Twitter. I mean like real back and forth conversation. You may be saying, well duh! But, let me explain to you how rude I find it that there are some people with oodles of followers who don’t seem to have the time of day to respond to others. Let me put it this way, if someone walked up to your face and said “hello” would you respond or simply walk away? I really hope you would respond. Well, it is kind of the same on Twitter. If someone replies to your tweet or retweets something of yours, or asks a direct question, you should respond. Amy does just that. And she has WAY more followers than me and lots to manage at home and with her business(es). Because she chooses to make that effort makes her one of my favorite people to follow.
-Another great reason to follow @ResourcefulMom is because she is the creator and queen of the original Twitter party(even nominated for a Shorty Award-if you didn’t vote for her you suck, but the voting has ended now, so move on.). The reason I mention the Twitter parties as a reason isn’t just because there are usually fabulous prizes, but also because it is such a great way to connect with others and build your own community of Twitter “friends.” I know I have. And @ResourcefulMom deserves some of the credit for that.
-She also has great information to share and is a great wealth of knowledge! From product information to parenting and a bunch in between.
-One final reason you should follow her is because she seems like she’d be just as cool in “real life.” That’s right. I have never actually met her in person, but I sure hope someday I have the pleasure!
Please feel free to share some your favorite follows in the comments(with a reason, of course). I love meeting new people and appreciate your recommendations!
I think that's a great idea. Being somewhat new to Twitter (I signed on a little more than a month ago) Follow Fridays were very confusing to me. I wasn't sure if it was "ok" to follow strangers just because someone suggested them. I quickly learned that it was ok and that Twitter is a great community. However, I definately would like more insight into why people suggest other tweeps in #ff instead of just rambling off names! Also, it's a great way to honor a friend!
Thank you for the wonderful comment. It sounds like this was a little helpful to you. Yay!! I love Twitter!! 🙂