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So I asked what I should write about for my blog today, and @MKJensen85 suggested:

Well since it’s Friday you can write about how #FollowFriday helps people on Twitter to build bigger networks..

That’s a great idea.

First, let me explain what #FollowFriday is on Twitter.

When you see a word preceded by # on Twitter, then you are seeing what is called a “hashtag”. This is a convention in social media that lets you know what the post or tweet is connected to. It helps people who are talking about the same thing stay in tune with the conversation.

So for example, last week, at Willie Crawford’s event, we were using #BBASH since it was his 50th Birthday Bash event.

So somehow (I’d love to know how – but don’t know yet), somebody came up with the #FollowFriday hashtag.

Basically, you tell the world who you enjoy following. Here’s an example. Earlier today, @JitUppal posted:

Some great IM mentors @FasterWebmaster @LeeMcIntyre @Alex_Jeffreys @BobTheTeacher @RichardLegg @ericfarewell @liztomey #followfriday

So now, anyone who wants to find an internet marketing mentor, and who also knows Jit, will have some good recommendations to go by.

This is a great way to build your network of people on Twitter.

First, as you suggest people follow people you like, they are likely to pay more attention to you because of your generosity. But also, the people you recommend will appreciate that you’ve done so. They may return the favor later on by recommending you on #FollowFriday. Or they may simply DM you (direct message) with thanks.

The third way this helps you expand your network goes back to the essence of the hashtag.

When a particular hashtag gets popular, the nature of its popularity grows in the amount of attention it receives. By using the hashtag #followfriday you put your voice in the conversation of thousands – and you never know who’s going to be watching.

Now you’ll notice two types of FollowFridays usually. One is a tweet where it’s simply a long list of usernames and #followfriday. This helps YOU connect with more people, but it doesn’t give the rest of us a reason to actually follow them.

My recommendation is that you do a #followfriday for each person individually, with a reason for that suggestion. This will help the person you are recommending more by increasing the chance your followers listen to your recommendation.

For example, one of my #FollowFriday earlier today was:

If you want better affiliate marketing training & strategies, @lynnterry #followfriday

(By the way, Lynn will be my next guest on IMSuccessRadio.com on Monday).

Whatever way you prefer, try to recommend people who truly deserve the shout out – especially if they are “undiscovered” by the masses (those with 500-3000 followers, as a guideline).

So jump on over to Twitter, and share your favorite people to follow – be sure to include their username with the @ in front of it (like @bobtheteacher) with no spaces so that it’s easy for the rest of us to follow. And include #followfriday to be part of the party.

Bob Jenkins

p.s. If you want a more permanent acknowledgement of the people you are recommending, add your favorites to the Follow Friday Squidoo lens I’ve created for that purpose.