HOW TO: Understand & Use Hashtags

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For

millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another.

A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”

― Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

What is a TRIBE

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Social Media Rules

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● Every social site has a culture○ understand | engage | innovate

● Everything has balance.

● USE the Content Rules:○ 20% rule: Only 1 of 5 posts should be self-promotion

● Make sure profile / contest matches business. ○ if you wouldn’t do it offline, don’t do it online

● Strategize, PLAN & AUTOMATE (end of slideshow)

What are #Hashtags● The # sign followed by a word(s) - NO spaces

○ #InsertHere # ● Used to categorize something / create context● Makes it searchable● Associates content with a topic

● To do research● Add / create context● Increase visibility● Join / encourage conversation● Measure (roi, engagement,

conversation, etc)● Add humor● Build brand value over time

Why Use Them

History of Hashtags...the where

Started in 2007 in a tweet-Hashtags were included as part of Twitter’s successful IPO-popularized by use in news

*Then used by Instagram

*Adopted later by Facebook, Pinterest & G+

The HOW Hands-On-Examples

1. Promotion - events, products, services, brands, news2. Searching - live feed for monitoring people, companies, ideas, news3. Engagement - gives people / groups way and reason to communicate 4. Gain Followers - Twitter more likely to retweet / follow with 1-2 #s5. Create Relationships - people love common ground6. Exposure - giving people way to find YOU, can create your own keyword7. Cross promotion - can create convo across multiple platforms, can build

brand value for others (partners, sponsors, Community members etc)8. Easy to follow - searchable & categorizes what you talk about9. Customer Input - can get you access to your tribe’s thoughts.

10. Measure ROI - creates a ruler for measurement. (hootsuite & hashtracking)

---Competitions, Live Q & A, Webinars...The source: http://thedigitalelevator.com/social-media/10-reasons-use-hashtags/

THE RULES:● Don’t Overuse (Unless it’s instagram)

○ Jimmy & Justin #Hashtag skit (click to view it - it’s funny)!

● The use on each platform needs to match CULTURE of each platform○ Don’t hijack a hashtag unless you know it’s context

(See hashtag fails slide)

● Don’t use them blindly. Research.● RESPOND to people. Search Your brand’s hashtag. Search

industry hashtags.● Promote your hashtag OFFLINE.

○ Marketing is most effective across both online & offline platforms.

Define Goals & Decide Where

● Goal = WHY are you using it○ What is your intention○ Can you use multiple strategies over

multiple posts?

● Make sure a hashtag has a purpose○ Sometimes good to leave a post without a # ○ It’s a balance.

Every Platform is different● Twitter

○ Public, business / data driven, highly adaptable = 2 Hashtags per post● Facebook

○ Very personal platform, more private, direct, *Brand, humor & personal engagement 2-3 Hashtags (1 = Your brand 1 or 2 = topic related)■ Not necessary to hashtag personal content unless it’s funny

● Instagram○ Medium personalization, sophisticated demo, HIGHLY used for convo,

contests, etc *25 Hashtags (in first comment)● Pinterest

○ Most use for categorization / branding - not necessary to use hashtags as it searches keywords now

● Google +○ Will search keywords. It’s a google product. Use targeted text with your targeted

keywords: Use similar to Facebook

The #hashtag Fails:

● #McDStories● #Susanalbumparty = Susan Album Party = Sus Anal Bum● #Frankenstorm (Urban Outfitters)● #Aurora (clothing line) = Aurora shooting at the same time● #NowThatchersDead = NowThatCher’sDead - AHH ● #LGBTFacts - Did they want to start the conversation? May be a hashtag strategy gone

right??

Click here for the details

Tools | Tips | TO DOs:Research & TEST

Promote - use it, cross promote it, pay itEngage - with others, events, news, trending,

Monitor - search it, board it, cross-check it

Use:Hashtagify.me

TagboardExtra tools for hashtag tracking + Integration

Automation: Hootsuite, Google calendar

TO DO cont...

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