Do you feel confused by most things #social? Do you wonder why the hell people use that bloody #hashtag everywhere?
And do you feel like #hiding under a under a rock when someone asks "So, how's your business doing on social media?"
Don't worry, you're in good company. Here will we spend a few minutes getting up close and familiar with the good old hashtag (#) – the symbol that used to stand for 'number' or 'pound sign', but now has a whole new meaning.
While social media users have joyfully embraced hashtags as a powerful way to discover new content and connect with others, many companies are still blinking in the headlights.
Quick lesson #1: What IS a hashtag?
Since its first appearance on Twitter in 2007 the humble hashtag has pretty much achieved world dominance. Today it can be seen on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and almost any social media platform you care to name. You'll also see it on TV, at the movies, on billboards, and even in conversation.
Hashtags are the quickest and easiest way to search for and find out what Twitter users are saying about a certain topic. This is helpful to know as you're developing you're social media strategy.
Hashtags also make it super easy for you to track what's being said about your industry and your business. While you cannot control the conversation you can be a part of it and, with some skill and guidance, you can spot trouble ahead and steer the conversation in the right direction.
Takeaway: A hashtag can help you position your brand AND see how your customers are responding to it all at once.
Quick lesson #2: What, why and how to start?
You can start by understanding the following 3 reasons for how you can use hashtags for your business:
- Build your brand
- Run a campaign
- Follow real-time news and trends.
Build your brand using #hashtags
As Forbes' Denise Lee Yohn points out, hashtags are only as valuable as the engagement they produce.
Just because someone uses your hashtag in a tweet or post doesn't mean they are engaged with your brand. Hashtags should be used less as a message and more as a call to action that leads to greater brand engagement.
In other words, hashtags can lead to greater brand engagement if they are used as the starting point for participation. You need to spend some time thinking through what kinds of engagement would fit with your brand, and then create a call-to-action that will encourage users to engage with your brand.
Takeaway: A hashtag can help you use the power of your community and customers to share your brand.
Here's a great example of a successful brand-building campaign
Run a campaign
Hashtag campaigns can be great on their own for creating buzz around a product, idea or event. However, they can be even more effective when used alongside other tactics. For example, if you are using hashtags to increase engagement and offering something in return (a prize, free membership etc.) you can capitalise on user response by asking readers to opt-in to receiving your regular monthly newsletter or becoming a fan of a social media page.
Use your hashtag campaign success to immediately increase your reach potential by developing an expanded email newsletter audience. Offer incentives for readers to share these emails and voila!, a larger social media fan base will help you reach even more potential customers to build relationships with.
The key here is to find engaging ways to encourage participation. Unlike traditional marketing, which employs a broadcast (ie one-way) model of information flow from company to consumer, social marketing has a disruptive potential in its ability to turn social media users into content generators for your brand.
Look for opportunities that can turn a fragmented social media conversation into a cohesive one your readers and followers want to participate in. You can then use this aggregated conversation to monitor, track and curate reactions to your campaign. You will always know what's going on.
Connecting your digital ad buys to your campaign by targeting people who have already searched for your hashtag will expose you to an audience of people who have already shown interest in your brand - which is a good thing.
Takeaway: A hashtag can help you connect with already interested customers.
Communicate with your customers in real time
Real-time marketing rewards risk-taking and quick thinking, and savvy companies can deploy hashtags to drive vast social media engagement among the millions who flock to Twitter during TV shows such as large sporting events or a must-see season finale.
Hashtags allow you to find specific content online in real time. This can be an advantage when a conversation is getting out of control and you need to be on top of your responses - as you would already have planned for in your risk management plan, right?
Have a look at how Australia's live democracy-in-action broadcast and online television show QandA recently handled their latest damage control. Using a little smarts and a splash of creativity companies and organisations can insert themselves into these conversations and be rewarded with large audiences and viral reach. Focus on events that have an obvious tie-in to your target market. Or find a clever way to insert your brand into the conversation without resorting to overt sales pitches.
Takeaway: A hashtag can help you stay on top of what's being said about your brand.
See some more great Twitter campaigns using hashtags here