These Simple Steps Can Make You the Most-Followed on Facebook

Here’s your guide to becoming a social media junkie.

The dos and don’ts on Facebook. (Photo: The Quint/Liju Joseph)

When Modi cried at the Facebook town hall, the country’s Facebook status quickly became ‘feeling emotional’. When the earth shook, our status showed we were ‘feeling scared’ and when Paris was under siege, our Facebook profile pictures took on the colours of the French flag in solidarity.

If you are among those who like to express solidarity with those stuck in a human or man-made catastrophe and update your status to reflect that, here are some basic hygiene standards. This guide will make your status clean, thoughtful, uber-cool, interesting, and fun.

Hashtagging every damn word isn’t going to make you go viral.(Photo: iStockphoto)

1) #How #to #use #a #hashtag

The usage of hashtags has evolved tremendously. From its harmless presence on landlines to its current usage as a necessary evil in your status, hashtags have crept in slowly but steadily.

Hashtags have a very important role to play in your status. If used judiciously, they have the power to make your status a world-wide phenomenon. Even a cursory glance at any Facebook timeline will prove how hungover Facebook is by Instagram (Instagram only works only through hashtags).

Here’s a little tutorial on hashtags:

A bad status update: #I #Loved #prem #ratan #dhan #payo. #salman #khan #rox

A better status: I loved #PRDP. #SalmanKhan is super cool.

The key is to identify viral elements in your status and use a hashtag only on them.

#Sincerely,

A non-hashtag-lover.

Keep earthquake selfies and status updates for later. (Photo: iStockphoto)

2) Aaahhhh Earthquake!

Well yes, earthquakes are an exigency and you may want to hashtag them. BUT, posting about the disaster while you are in the middle of it will not save you. Please save yourself, your family and your friends first. Status and pictures can come much later.

Although it helps the rest of the world to know about the extremity of the situation, let’s make it a cardinal rule to keep earthquake selfies and status updates for a little later.

This Sri Lankan posed with his deceased uncle for a selfie and uploaded it on Facebook. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

3) Death selfies

I mean c’mon people, we understand you want the whole world to mourn the sad demise of your loved one, but please, put it out at an appropriate time. This selfie feels distasteful.

Here’s a prototype of the #Rain status. (Photo Courtesy: Santosh Hariharan‘s Facebook page)

4) Dekho baarish ho rahi hai, it’s raining, it’s raining!

Monsoons make us happy and Facebook very happy. Often, before you have had the time to look outside your window, your Facebook friends would have updated you about the fresh downpour.

Another status aid:

No need to hashtag clouds or rain.

Lastly, one million hashtags will not double your status or image’s visibility on social media. It will add to the clutter. As emphasised earlier, keep it simple and identify the viral elements. Follow these steps and you will become the most followed social media junkie in no time!