What is a hashtag and how to use it in marketing your business
Created by Twitter users in August 2007, hashtag use is continuing to grow in popularity as a marketing tool and is now used by a broad range of social media networks such as Instagram, Vine and Google+. Hashtags can do more than merely direct a user to your website; they can open up a conversation between you and your target audience which is the ultimate goal when trying to bring your brand to the front and center of the social media world. When used properly, hashtags can leverage social media to enhance brand popularity and recognition as well as to promote products, services or events.
When using hashtags as a marketing tool, remembering the following guidelines will help maximize the usefulness of the hashtag trend.
Short but Memorable – Given the volume of social media content generated each day, it is important that your hashtag is short and easy to remember. Avoid uncommon abbreviations and acronyms. If a user can’t say it, they probably won’t remember it. Also avoid long sentences as a hashtag. The goal should be to use only 1-3 words for your hashtag. A reader will get bogged down with a string of words and lose interest very quickly.
Less is More – As a marketing tool, hashtags should be used to highlight a thought or word in order to direct readers to your post or to advertize a product, service or event. Too many hashtags in a post will serve only to distract a user from this goal. The purpose of a hashtag is to organize and direct users to content, not #to distract #a user #from #the #information #given.
Rule of thumb—use no more than two hashtags in a post and none at all in an update.
Know Your Audience – Be as specific as possible when creating your hashtag. A user researching their next car purchase is more likely to click on #Toyota or #Top2014Cars rather than the general #cars. A specific hashtag might generate less volume over all, but that volume will be more relevant to the type of attention wanted.
Research Your Hashtag – A simple search of your hashtag on hashtags.org or a similar site will save you the embarrassment and potential business damage of using a hashtag already used by a competitor or used for a negative topic. Alternatively, incorporating a hashtag that is already trending can positively impact your business presence in social media.
By consistently following these four simple steps you will create memorable and useful hashtags to enhance your business’ presence in the social media world. Happy hashtagging.
