How to Use Twitter #Hashtags in Your Small Business
Know what a #Hashtag is? If you’re not a social media maven, and particularly Twitter, you may not have a clue what a #hashtag is. No need for that being the situation any longer. A hashtag is a # followed by a word or phrase to perform a number of functions. Twitter users attach hashtags to tweets as search conventions, a method of categorizing, and marketing tactics. #Hashtags can also be used in other social media platforms.
#Hashtags guidelines
Be sure to do your standard due diligence and see if the keyword you’d like to use is not used elsewhere. This is as simple as doing a little research (a search on Search.Twitter.com) to ascertain whether or not that #Hashtag would be a good option. Also, don’t try to make hay with misleading #hashtags, even when they are seriously trending. This will almost assuredly blow up on you. One more thing: make sure to proofread prior to when you create that #hashtag!
4 Ways to market with #hashtags
- Keep them short and simple – Making your #hashtag brief and to the point is your best bet. Combine a couple if need be, such as #apps and #smallbiz, but avoid stringing together a half dozen: it just appears you don’t know what you want to say.
- Make them #hashtags to not forget – Great #hashtags are far more likely to be shared widely. Give some thought to this and you may get your wish and have it go viral.
- Use them on multiple social media channels – A #hashtag isn’t much use if it’s not shared. Although started on Twitter, #hashtags have become employed across multiple social media channels including Facebook, Google , LinkedIn and Pinterest. This assists to instill the #hashtag into the minds of their audience.
- Make use of keywords – If possible, work in your brand or major keywords. This isn’t always feasible, so choose judiciously.
Make the development of memorable #hashtags a to-do item in your social media marketing check-list. It will work to keep your brand and buzz in front of your social media audience!