Friday is usually a day to take it easy, dress casual, and bite your nails while waiting for the fun weekend ahead. But in reality, companies need to work double time on Friday if they want to cease the day and gain exposure.

Ever since the #FollowFriday trend took off back in 2008, it has become one of the best days to increase followers, receive mentions, boost Klout and spur conversations. The idea is to hand-pick influential Twitter users and suggest them to your followers, which serves as a third party recommendation. This is worth its weight in gold.

As an example, check out the above image. I took 7 users that I find interesting and dropped a simple Tweet mentioning their names. Takes no time and has a big impact. (Shout-out to @SeanDonahoe, @PowerBlog, @RichardEByrd, @socialmediazine, @SocialSteve, @uSampMR and @MobileFoodNews).

From a marketing perspective, #FollowFriday is a day to cultivate new relationships and give back to customers. If a customer writes an awesome article about a product, the company should give back by thanking them on Twitter and mentioning their name in a #FollowFriday message. Respond to good deeds with good deeds.

In conclusion, take your feet off the desk, put the latte down, and start participating in #FollowFriday today. Carpe diem!

Aaron Schoenberger
@TheSchoenberger
The Brainchild Group

Aaron Schoenberger is Founder of The Brainchild Group — a world-renowned Internet marketing agency that specializes in Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). He’s known for his work with celebrities, top restaurants, automotive manufacturers, professional athletes, educational institutions, luxury brands and Fortune 500 companies.