Get Traffic Using Hashtags

Hashtags are everywhere these days. You see them on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and now Facebook

Hashtags were a user-innovation that was later adopted by Twitter as an actual feature when Twitter decided to hyperlink hashtags to search results. The rest of the socialsphere followed in its own pace, and Facebook, my wife's go-to social destination, only recently decided to give in and add hashtags as a feature.

What are Hashtags?
Most of you know what a hashtag is by now. For those who are just starting out, here’s a brief outline of what they are, and how they started.

History

Hashtags were first introduced on Internet Relay Chats (IRC’s were live chats and messaging - kind of a precursor to the social sites we use today). They became popular on Twitter, where they were initially used for “tweet chats”. Tweet chats are like open group discussions around a particular topic. The essence of the “tweet chat” is still relevant in how marketers can use hashtags today.

What are hashtags

Hashtags are a word, or group of words after the # sign (like #hashtag, #buylocal, #marketing or anything else). If you’re more technically inclined, you might know them as a metadata tag. For marketers - you’ll know them as a way to engage your brand with your market.

Now let’s get to the strategies…

3 Key Marketing Strategies for Hashtags
3 key marketing strategies for hashtags are:

• brand and campaign specific
• trending
• content

1. Brand and Campaign Hashtags
What they are and why you need them:

Brand and campaign specific hashtags are tags that you make for your own business. Use them to market your brand and promotions.

I’m defining a brand hashtag as your company name or a company tagline. Make a brand hashtag that is unique to your business. Make a brand hashtag that defines your business. Use your brand tag as your signature tag. Get people to use them, so that your brand gets marketed too.

I’m defining a campaign hashtag as a hashtag made for each of your marketing campaigns. For example, if you are having a sale at your store, you can make a unique hashtag to further promote this short-term promotion. Get people to use them, and your campaign gets extended reach.

Brand hashtags:

You create your own brand hashtag. Make it your company name, or a tagline that people know (or will know) about your business. Use it as your central business tag, that you - and your customers - can use anytime, and on any social site.

Make a brand hashtag that is unique to your company. Do a search for the hashtags you’re thinking about. Search for it on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and Facebook before you implement it. If your company name is common, choose a different hashtag name.

You also want to keep your brand hashtag pretty short, and easy to spell. You want your customers to remember your tag, and use it correctly. For example, if you are a retailer of discount designer furniture, use #discountdesigns, but don’t use #wegetthebestdiscountdesignsforyou .

2. Trending Hashtags
What they are and why you need them:

A trending hashtag is a hashtag topic that has become very popular. You’ve probably heard people talking about “what’s trending now”. They are often referring to the hashtags that are trending, or are the most talked about right now.

Trending hashtags are continuously changing in real time. A top 10 trend can come and go within minutes, for example.

Note: Do not spam trending hashtags. Posting to many trends particularly when they are unrelated to your business is viewed as poor etiquette. Spamming trends can actually get your Twitter account suspended.

3. Content Hashtags

What they are and why you need them:

Content hashtags are hashtags you use in your posts. They are not branded (and not used to define your business and marketing). They aren’t necessarily trending or highly popular. They are simply common hashtags that are related to your post content.

Content hashtags improve the SEO of your posts. They get your updates seen by your consumers who are searching for, or using, the hashtag words. For example, at Wishpond, we use a lot of content hashtags like #socialmedia, #marketing or #Facebook.

About LaraNet: We are a web design firm focused to help you to grow your business and communicate with your customers and prospects using two simple but powerful tools: 1) Interactive Website and 2) Internet Marketing Strategy on social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc …
Whether you want to work with just a web page, or launch or improve your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or communicate with your customers through newsletters, or improve the location of your business in the search engines through Search Engine Optimization, or start marketing your products or services online, in LaraNet we can help you.

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