Streamer Tip: The Dreaded Follow for Follow

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The Dreaded Follow for Follow

If you're reading this chances are you are a Twitch, YouTube, or similar type of streamer who's heard of or received a request for a "follow 4 follow" or "F4F". If you're new to streaming you may not know what it is and if you're experienced it can be annoying. Hopefully I can help with how to deal with this ongoing issue and provide some tips and tricks.

What is "follow 4 follow" (F4F)?

In short, "I will follow your channel if you follow mine". The idea behind this is growth which usually is due to a yearning to grow your channel to fulfill one of the affiliate/partner requirements. Becoming an affiliate or partner on a specific platform allows you to get paid to stream. It sounds like a great idea but, is it really? 

The truth and side-effects of "follow 4 follow".

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I will be honest, at the beginning of my streaming career I heard of "follow 4 follow" and without thinking decided to try it on one or two streamers. Sure it worked but despite the follow I never saw that streamer in my stream from that point on. Fast forward to my current position in streaming I would never do "follow 4 follow" again. I'll outline the reasons why, to make things easier. 

  • One very important reason is that you not only annoy the streamer but, you'll annoy their community. In streamer etiquette that action of "follow 4 follow" is frowned upon.
  • It creates a desperate image of you
  • Despite what you may think, some platforms like Twitch for example, pay attention to these requests.
  • Follow 4 follow does not get you genuine connections, followers or a community.
  • Even if you reach the required follows it does not guarantee viewership. Viewership suffers most when you successfully gain a follower through this method.

At the end of the day viewership, new friends, and connections are going to be your most difficult and most important asset in channel growth and reaching your goal for affiliate/partner status with your chosen platform.

If "follow 4 follow" is bad, what can I do to grow?

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Growth feels slow. Believe me, I know! Luckily, I can give you some pointers. The following is what I have done and works the absolute best!

  • Discovery: Make all the social media accounts you can think of or are interested in. Link all your social media with your social media and stream platform. Link your stream platform to your social media. Link your links with your links with your links. Cross-link-a-fication. Link-ception. I can go on.
  • Network: One of the easiest and most important ways to earn followers is to network! Networking is a very important skill to learn and is used for some of the most important careers now outside of streaming. It's also a new way to make some friends! "How do I network Ben?" It's easy! Just go in someone's stream that fits your niche, personality, or just someone you have an interest in. The next step is to chat. Chat with the streamer, their community, etc. That's it. It doesn't guarantee anything but if you work at it, you'll reach your goal. Don't limit yourself to streams. Respond in social media to random people (even non-streamers) as well. 
  • Discord: Make a discord account, make a server, immerse yourself in other people's communities. This is also networking. Get to know other people and their communities.

There is another way to grow but may take some hunting (Twitch only, I think).

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That's right! There might be an even easier way. Could you believe that there are some streamers out there that will follow you with viewer rewards? That's right! If you watch a streamer long enough, chat, maybe financially contribute (gets you points faster), some streamers will have a viewer reward that earns you a follow! It isn't very common but at the bottom of this post, I will guide your hand to a few of these generous streamers!

The conclusion and the short answers.

To sum this up quickly and easily, don't "follow 4 follow" it is bad. It annoys people and gives you a bad reputation. There are plenty of ways to get followers and can be even faster. These can also generate views which get you to your goal even faster. If you're having some real trouble, there are a few streamers out there that you can earn a follow through viewer points. 

I hope this post was helpful to you! Stay tuned for additional tips and tutorials for streamers

Streamers who will follow you through viewer points!

Viewer rewards are subject to change. This list may grow or shrink over time. Reward points per streamer will differ and never guaranteed. 

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