If you spend any amount of time on Twitter, you’ll soon see that there are a few memes (or hashtags) here and there. Memes are ways to start conversations, and come in a variety of types, including the very popular #followfriday?. Is it worth your time and energy to participate in these memes? That all depends on what the purpose is and what your goals are.

Benefits of Using Twitter Memes

Truthfully, most memes are not worth much except keeping a cubicle drone from falling asleep in his cubicle on a Friday afternoon. That being said, there are some distinct advantages to taking advantage of these web-wide conversations that go on on a daily basis. Here are a few.

Traffic. You can gain a lot of traffic if people like what you’re saying and click through to your profile and then website.

Followers. Your followers will invariably go up when you participate in these memes, no matter how silly. This is because there are a number of others who obvi0usly have at least one interest in common with you.

Conversation. Even among your regular followers, you may find that you start a lot of conversations just by using a popular meme. They might not be part of it, but may be intrigued by what you have to say and end up responding.

Community. This might be the most important use of these memes.  There is a sense of community and belonging around them when used for the same cause and purpose.  My favorite ones are of course #Latism, #VivaViernes, #TheOnlineMom, #Roc

Events. A very practical way to follow an event. The content, updates, who’s going, best deals, hotel discounts and so forth.  Usually, every time I register for a conference, I tend to follow it’s hashtag to stay up to date and miss nothing.

Choosing the Right Meme

There are dozens of these things on Twitter and you’re going to find everything from #winewednesday and #monkeymonday to #healthyhumpday. Some of these are complete wastes of time . . . unless you happen to have a business revolving around wine or monkeys, of course. However, there are others that can really be good for traffic and building up your followers.

When looking at a meme, you need to look at what the purpose of it is. For example, with #followfriday, everyone recommends people they think are worth following. If you’re following those in your own niche, then they will likely recommend other Twitter users in that niche, so it can be a great way to find more worthwhile people to connect with.

Not only will you meet new and interesting people by following the right memes, you’ll also get a chance to thank those who offer great tweets. Recommend your favorite Tweeps on the #followfriday mem and they will notice that you’re promoting them . . . always a good thing! You may even end up with more followers because they see that you are promoting their Twitter ID and if they weren’t following you before, they might start.

There are many reasons to avoid Twitter memes, many are a waste of time. However, if you select those which have a purpose that matches with your Twitter goals, it can be a great way to fast track those goals.

Do you use memes on Twitter? Which ones?

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