Hashtags have gained tremendous popularity over recent years, often as the punch line of a great joke. However, all laughing aside, hashtags can be pretty powerful tools to gain visibility and expand your business reach into the social hemisphere. Your organization just needs to do it right.
What is a hashtag?
Simply, a hashtag refers to a word or phrase placed after the # symbol. It’s used across all social media platforms, especially on Twitter. While it seems simple enough, many people use them incorrectly or fail to tap into their full potential.
Hashtags have a real purpose that’s intended to categorize messages and specific areas of content. Hashtags help users find relevant pieces of information and also contribute to a conversation in a smart way. For instance, if you are looking for information on a new product launch of a competitor, you can take two routes. The first one would be to visit the individual Twitter pages of all the people you think will be talking about the news, as well as do an extensive Google search. This approach is so lengthy that you might miss the breaking portion of the news!
The smarter approach would be to take to Twitter and search for a relevant hashtag such as #ProductA. Doing so will instantly provide you with a complete view of who is talking about the product and what they have to say. In just a couple minutes of informal analysis, you’ll be able to tell if customers think it’s a winner or a complete flop. On the other hand, if you are late to the game and you’re searching after the fact, Twitter will be harder to use. This social media vehicle is set in real-time and the search only goes back one week. For older conversations, you’ll need to look toward Topsy and other third-party apps and services that comb through archived messages.
#DiscoverPotentialCustomers
As a business, you have the ability to discover new potential customers with the right hashtags. Think about the interests of your target audience. Think about the problems and needs that your company uniquely solves, then put simple words and phrases to your top selling points. Search for these hashtags to find people that need you (even if they don’t know it yet) and “own” these phrases! The more you tag your posts with signature and strong hashtags (i.e. #UltimateClean, #NoGMO, #EnvironmentFirst), the more you create an identifiable persona for potential customers.
#TalkToPeople!
A conversation isn’t really a conversation without a hashtag in today’s world. Not only can you find relevant questions with the right hashtag search, but your informed answer will also show up in these trending topics. It’s a great way to be part of an important discussion when and where it’s happening. For greater impact, answer questions in video with a pairing hashtag.
Hashtags also give your exciting news and special promotions wings. For instance, give your biggest and best giveaway a name with a hashtag. This is especially instrumental for gaining traction if it goes viral and is shared across the masses. Make contestants “enter” through Twitter (by maybe saying something specific about how your company improves their life), and finish it up with the required hashtag. The more people that enter, the more your hashtag will be seen in the live airways, and the better it will be for your bottom line! And, if you are hosting an event, make sure people are using the right hashtag to spread the word.
If you want to reach the magical peak of a “trending topic” you’ll need to do the work. Tweet often in a short amount of time. And make sure your hashtag is original and distinct – don’t end up using one that’s already in use for an unrelated topic! And, stick to one or two hashtags. More than that and it will become distracting.
Finally, if you want to keep an eye on important hashtags at all times, look to third-party apps like TweetDeck or HootSuite for monitoring assistance. And be sure to measure the success of the hashtag, too. Numbers – such as how many Tweets contained the hashtag, or how many users were reached – are instrumental to carrying out equally (and more) successful campaigns.
#GoForth!
Now you are ready to put hashtags in your arsenal of brand building tools. Think strategically and realize less is more. #GoodLuck #AndProsper
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