Category: Social

Whether you’ve been watching the news, looking at a billboard or gone to a tech-friendly wedding, you’ve probably seen a hashtag being promoted. Calling for you to use them, people, organizations and businesses have rallied around hashtags as a way to draw attention, discuss a topic or enter the marketplace.

But what is a hashtag? What can hashtags do? And how can they being used effectively?

Let’s start at the top:

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag is a word, a phrase or an acronym after the pound symbol (#). No spaces or other characters (!, ?, -, %, @, ., $, etc.) are allowed in a hashtag (with a few exceptions).

The hashtag was originally used in IRC forums and resurfaced on Twitter in 2007 with the goal of using it to connect people around certain topics of discussion.

how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]?

— Chris Messina ✌︎ (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007

It grew in popularity and in common usage, even being accepted into the Oxford English Dictionary as a word in 2014. 

What’s it used for? What can it do?

Hashtags are used to connect people to a topic. They are public and searchable, and when people look for a specific hashtag, they see the conversation related to that topic. People, brands, businesses, sports teams and nonprofit groups use hashtags to build an easily findable and joinable conversation around a subject matter.

In 2013, Nimrod Kramer saw the rise of the hand signal for a hashtag or the finger hashtag, which went viral. Hashtags rose to the top of popular culture with their integration by brands in marketing campaigns and by news organizations during TV broadcasts. They’ve had their share of people poking fun at them as well, such as in the famous Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake hashtag skit.

In 2013, Amex and Twitter partnered to let people pay for products using the hashtag #paid in tweets. 

Tweet #AmexWarby, get $20 back 1x on purchs totaling $95+ @WarbyParker w/cnctd Amex Card! RegLtd Exp 7/6/16 Terms:https://t.co/iDenyHT6QV

— American Express (@AmericanExpress) April 6, 2016

Amazon also integrated payments into tweets, allowing people to purchase items from Twitter using a hashtag in a reply.

Star Wars used hashtags to create social buzz through Star Wars–themed emojis, which were inserted into tweets when people used the specific hashtag.

The force is with these new #StarWars emoji for Twitter #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StormTrooper #BB8 #C3P0 http://t.co/vCzMmQOPFj

— Kelly Taylor (@kmtwanderlust) May 4, 2015

TV shows have used hashtags to rally fans of a show together. For example, the marketing managers behind Scandal created their own hashtags for the show but adopted the fan-made hashtags, too.

And for upcoming elections, candidates often use hashtags to build awareness, while networks hosting debates use them to center the discussion on candidate replies.

Original New Yorker @BernieSanders talks with me about growing up in Brooklyn. Watch: #FeelTheBern https://t.co/jb6FWuPU7b

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 18, 2016

But most often, hashtags are used by ordinary people to discuss an issue in the news. Several of the top hashtags used in 2015 related to current events, such as #PrayforParis after the terrorist attacks in Paris, #LoveWins when the Supreme Court made it legal for same-sex couples to marry, and #IStandwithAhmed when Ahmed was arrested for bringing a clock to school.

I am devastated by what just happened in France. #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/IxEbScqYFh

— jean jullien (@jean_jullien) January 7, 2015

Or to, you know, discuss something important.

Where can you use hashtags?

Many social media platforms accept hashtags used for linking. The most prominent is Twitter, which has set most of the standards for hashtags used in social media posts.

“The sea is as near as we come to another world.” — Anne Stevenson #WednesdayWisdom https://t.co/WkWY9lMX2A

— Monterey Aquarium (@MontereyAq) March 30, 2016

In 2014, Facebook launched the ability to use hashtags in posts and search for people using them in the top bar. One to two hashtags in a Facebook post is just enough if you’re going to use them.

Instagram only lets you search by hashtags to find information about a topic (as opposed to by keyword or phrase), so they are essential to connecting to popular topics and growing your following on the platform.

Doggie #DosandDonts: Do go nuts with #peanutbutter selfies. #NationalNutritionMonth

A photo posted by petsmart (@petsmart) on Mar 28, 2016 at 8:05am PDT

On Pinterest, hashtags are only clickable in a pin description, so adding them into your about or board titles won’t bring them higher in search results.

Also, searching for them brings in not only the hashtags, but also pins that have that phrase or word in the URL, the photo name or the product page connected to the pin.

Google+ uses hashtags differently. Instead of search curating around a specific hashtag, they connect you to hashtags around a specific topic. When you post on Google+, they also assign you hashtags to make your content more findable.

Tumblr has the most open policy to hashtags. Unlike most other sites where words and phrases must be connected, Tumblr allows for spaces in hashtags.

How can you use it well?

Join the conversation with your audience

Find a hashtag or create one that would connect with your customers. For instance, you could use a trending hashtag and add to it with your company’s perspective. Or if you’re a pizza chain now offering gluten-free pizza crusts, you could connect with people using the #GF hashtag to let them know about the new offering.

Vegan? Pizza lover? We’ve got the menu just for you… https://t.co/O6X4SWBhDb #ColourMeZizzi ? #Vegan pic.twitter.com/asRuQeDz3R

— Zizzi Ristorante (@WeAreZizzi) April 9, 2016

Speaking of pizza, a few years ago Digiorno played up their #DiGiorNOYOUDIDNT hashtag on Twitter, talking smack to NFL teams and trolling delivery pizza chains during football season. They were able to include their brand name in the funny, playful hashtag and create relevant tweets around the football topic. Their branded hashtag added to the smack talk of the tweet instead of sounding like a corporate marketing push.

Even years after the original campaign, people are still using the hashtag, and often tweet how much they miss it.

Eating this @DiGiornoPizza makes me miss #digiornoyoudidnt from two years ago. pic.twitter.com/AplIOe369P

— Matthew Crooks (@ImHotBoyRonald) December 24, 2015

Pay attention to the topic at hand (don’t use a trending hashtag incorrectly)

If you see an interesting trending hashtag, you might jump at the opportunity to post something clever. Not so fast. Businesses can fall prey to using hashtags incorrectly, and that viral idea may turn into a brand nightmare.

For instance, during the Casey Anthony trial, Entenmanns tweeted using the hashtag #notguilty without realizing it related to her being acquitted for the murder of her daughter. Not the right time or place to use that hashtag.

Or in the case of Digiorno, who tweeted “#WhyIStayed You had pizza”. They didn’t realize that people were using the #WhyIStayed hashtag to share their heart-wrenching stories of living in abusive relationships.

Example of a brand using a trending topic without understanding the context #Advertising #SocialMedia #WhyIStayed pic.twitter.com/iTSmfaT6Xv

— Scott Paul (@scottatslee) September 9, 2014

After realizing their mistake and removing their insensitive tweet, they responded by replying to as many people who they had upset and had shared their anger on Twitter.

Using a hashtag without context is like overhearing a conversation and jumping in with an unrelated and coarse joke, not realizing that they were discussing a serious subject. You may have made a dumb snafu at best, but at worst you could have greatly offended someone and ruined your reputation. Don’t do this with your brand.

Don’t try to push your own (unless it’s really, really good)

Many people saw the Doritos puppy monkey baby push as obnoxious, or trying to push a specific trend. Hashtags come across best when they’re created organically by people and not at the brand level.

Rita’s Italian Ice connects their events to hashtags in creative but practical ways. Each year they offer free italian ice on the first day of spring. With people lined up in front of their stores to receive their free Italian ice; what better way to market it than by using the #ritasfirstdayofspring hashtag?

it #InternationalDayOfHappiness & free ice for #RitasFirstDayofSpring , coincidence?? I think not !! pic.twitter.com/GNQ3sPOeyh

— manda (@mandaa54) March 20, 2016

This type of hashtag worked because people were already engaged and excited about getting their free ice. The desire to share was already in motion, so Rita’s could easily include their own hashtag to keep the conversation going.

—

How have you used hashtags in your marketing? And how are you planning on using them in your upcoming local marketing campaigns?

New things frighten us. They’re weird and complicated, and they can loom overwhelmingly above us when we think about them. But we can get through our fear when we remember that things are always changing and we’ll always need to adapt to something new.

Especially social media.

While there are always skeptics of new media and technology, now is not the time to be one. People say the Internet makes us antisocial, but keep in mind, it isn’t the first type of technology to get such a bad rap.

Whether it’s the wheel, the mill, the radio or Snapchat, technology is a tool to be used. Online technology such as email or Twitter enhance your productivity or increase your reach.

And more often than not, your customers are using new media to connect with their friends, their family, popular influencers and even businesses. Meanwhile, businesses and brands often participate in these mediums, too. Whether they’re advertising in magazines, showing commercials on TV or promoting a hashtag on Twitter, companies use these popular ways of communicating information to showcase what they offer.

At the end of the day, you are still connecting with real people at the other end of these technologies, along with all of their emotions, fears, desires and concerns. Apply solid business principles and people skills online just as you currently do offline, and you’ll do just fine.

Which brings me to my main point: Your business goals should be consistent regardless of the medium. Don’t try to separate the value of one type of technology over another. Whether in print media, on a billboard, through a jingle on the radio or in a Facebook post, your offline and online goals should be in line. 

[bctt tweet=”Your business goals should be consistent no matter what the medium”]

So what are a few of the goals you can have in the digital space? Here are a few with which you’re probably familiar:

1. Brand Consistency

Whether visitors find your website, your Facebook page or your Instagram, they recognize you. You’ve made it clear with your imagery and your messaging that you are the same and you are trustworthy.

2. Staying Top-of-Mind

Billboards, radio sponsors, direct mail, TV commercials, online advertisements, you name it: The goal is to remain at the top of their minds for a specific product or service.

3. Lead Nurturing

Most people don’t make a purchase in their first interaction with you. They need time to get to know you so that, when they’re looking for a product or a service you offer, they are already sold on you. Putting them in a lead-nurturing funnel helps people make a quicker buy when they’re ready than if they were meeting you for the first time.

4. Value Sharing

If shoppers are connected to you on a deeper core level than your actual product or service, they will go out of their way to shop with you. Sharing your core values with consumers helps to build trust and strengthen relationships between businesses and their customers.

In other words, people don’t just buy products that interest them. They buy from brands that connect with them on a deeper level than a transactional exchange. If Apple emphasizes how they value thinking differently and being cool, then anyone who shares those values is drawn to Apple products. Sharing your brand’s values allows customers to be drawn to you as well.

5. Reputation Management

People will talk about you whether you want them to or not. Do you want to be part of the conversation? Maintaining a positive reputation is key for building relationships with current and potential customers and transitioning into selling them your products or services.

6. Social Validation

In the early days of the Internet, consumers would just check review websites. Today, more and more people are looking for other types of social validation before making a purchase. What do their friends say? How many years has the company been in business? How many products have they sold in their history? How many people follow them on Facebook? All of these questions need answers before a buyer is ready to commit to a purchase.

7. Lead Generation and Sales

The bottom-line business goal comes down to profitability. To continue to meet your goals of building a prosperous business, you need to turn prospective customers into buyers, and then encourage those buyers to come back.

---

What marketing goals are most important for you to keep consistent offline and online? And how do you do it? Let me know in the comments below, and you may be featured in an upcoming blog post!

Social media can be a great tool to boost sales and increase traffic to your website or storefront. However, if you’re new to social media, jumping in can be overwhelming, and you may be unsure where to begin. Here’s a list of 5 do’s and don’ts to help you get started and optimize social platforms for your small business — without succumbing to the most common pitfalls.

#1
Do: Use clear, concise images

Don’t: Use that photo of you and your entire family from the last reunion

Your profile picture is the first thing people see when they visit your page — and the first item that people will correlate with your business. Using an unrelated or blurry picture doesn’t make for a positive first impression.

Most businesses use their logos as a profile image, but if it’s just you, using a photo of yourself can be just fine! If you do so, use a picture where your face is the focus. Avoid using full-body shots, which are not thumbnail-friendly and do not translate well to mobile devices.

For cover photos, there is more wiggle room, as you have the space to display more about what you do, show off some of your skills, or give your viewers and customers some extra inspiration. Keep it topical to your business, and avoid making it too personal. While your dog is the cutest on the block, this is not the place for his photo if your goal is to promote your music classes. Save it for a fun post about what you like to do in your free time instead (more on that in #3)!

The images you use on your social media pages are more important than you might imagine. If you plan on expanding to more platforms than just Facebook, it is generally best to use the same profile images across the board to build consistency.

#2
Do: Invite your friends and family to like your page

Don’t: Invite them five times and get upset if they don’t respond

You know that inviting friends to like your page is an easy way to start building your profile. So you’ve gone through and sent out 50 invites but only received 20 likes. What gives?

It is important to not take their lack of action personally. Keep in mind, everyone interacts with social media differently, from the social butterfly who consistently sends friend requests and engages online to the minimalist with a small group of friends who may not respond to every invite. Avoid sending the same invite repeatedly to the same individuals, as it can start to feel like spam, causing your page and your business to lose credibility.

#3
Do: Keep your page fresh with content, not just sales

Don’t: Be too salesy

When it comes to social media and your business, of course you are there to advertise your product or service. However, if advertising is the only thing you’re doing on your social profiles, you likely won’t see a lot of return. In addition to sales-oriented posts, you need content that informs, entertains and inspires your audience to become loyal fans who return to your page again and again.

Like many businesses that are utilizing social media, you might find it challenging to strike a balance between sales-oriented and engaging content. Bombarding your profile with promos might feel like a good way to ensure that everyone is seeing your message, but dynamic, diverse content is critical to the social media experience for your customers. In The Social Media Business Equation, Eve Mayer Orsburn suggests following the formula of 40 percent interaction, 20 percent entertainment, 20 percent engagement and 20 percent selling in your content. Yup, only one out of every five posts should be a sales message.

By engaging your audience, you are building your reputation with users, who will begin to view you as the “go to” person for your product or service. This way, when you have a marketing message to share, it will come across much more powerfully.

#4
Do: #Hashtag and emoji when appropriate

Don’t: #Hashtag #too #much 🙂 😉 😆 😎 😀 

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, hashtagging refers to the process whereby someone uses the “#” symbol with a word — for example, “#happy” to show you are in a good mood. Used primarily on Twitter and Instagram, the hashtag provides a way to categorize topics and view related posts, as well as express thoughts and emotions related to a topic. However, since their creation in 2007, hashtags have spiraled out of control from time to time. Lately it has become popular to attach as many hashtags to a post as humanly possible, which looks something like this:

I just ate a cookie #yum #chocolatechip #myfav #cookies #thebest #sogood #milk #cookiesncream #random #ilovecookies #food #love #dessert #delicious #greatday #lazyday #sweets #instafood #nomnom #atetoomanyeventhoughitmakesmystomachhurt #lol #dontcare #cookiemonster #mmm

While hashtags can be an important social media tool, you’ll want to abide by some simple rules to avoid spamming your audience with a sea of hashtags:

1. Use a maximum of two hashtags per post
2. Keep them short; avoid hashtags that string too many words together
3. Do not use any spaces or punctuation, as this will break the tag

For emojis, it’s a similar story. Use too many, and they lose their impact. Additionally, an overuse of both hashtags and emojis can make you seem unprofessional and juvenile.

#5
Do: Fill out your profiles in their entirety

Don’t: Leave an excessive amount of blank space
Social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter rank high in Google searches, so these platforms can be crucial to your online presence. Fill out as much of the requested profile information as you can, but remember to keep it business-oriented and avoid personal data. The more you enter in, the easier it is to find you online!

A Few Pro Tips

• Even if you do not plan on using a certain platform, you may still want to create a profile if it’s one of the “big four” (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus). Since these are all ranked high for searching, it’s a good idea to have one of each created. If you plan on never utilizing that social media page, just leave one post that shows the platforms you are active on, as well as any contact information you want users to have.
• Claim vanity URLs for your platforms — that is, a unique URL that is branded for marketing purposes (for example, facebook.com/YourBusinessName). These URLs can make a big difference for searches as well.

Using these guidelines can help give you a jumpstart with your profiles, but remember that social media is something that needs to be continually nurtured. All businesses are different, and over time you will begin to see what kind of content and interaction works best with you and your customers.

Additional Resources

• The Social Media Business Equation by Eve Mayer Orsburn
• https://blog.kissmetrics.com/personal-branding-seo/
• http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/10/10/vanity-url
• Social Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach, by Melissa Barker, Donald Barker, Nicholas Bormann and Krista Neher
• http://blogs.constantcontact.com/facebook-cover-photo-ideas/
• http://howtohashtag.com

 

Social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all the rest — is a fact of life these days, and you might be surprised how many ways it can be of value to you, even if you barely dip your toes in it yourself. For example, if your hobby is playing an instrument, you can share your talent with friends, find new listeners, and garner advice and feedback. If you’re a teacher, you can attract inquiries and offer resources and engagement opportunities for your students. For a business, social media involvement is essential: Whatever your endeavor, social media can take it to the next level, and you can have fun and discover new opportunities along the way.

But how do you build a quality presence?

Here are 10 ways you can use social media marketing to spread the word about your projects:

 1. Start Small

Do you really need to have a Vine, YouTube or SnapChat account from the start? At the beginning, posting consistently on a few channels is more important than posting every so often on 10 platforms. Start with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages to round out the main social spaces. If you have a smartphone and can take pictures or short video clips, also consider having an Instagram account.

2. Be Consistent

Set up your social media page names and imagery to be consistent on every network. Your imagery is as big a part of your branding as your product, services and customer service are. Most people get used to seeing a specific image, too, so try not to change it once you have one. Have the profile photo be your logo or the face of your company, so that visitors to your Facebook and Twitter pages recognize that it’s about you.

Also, keep your name consistent on your social media profiles. Just like the brand imagery, having the same username makes it easier for people to recognize who you are.

We here at Simply Music love a good acapella song..@jimmyfallon takes it to a whole new galaxy ? #acapella #starwars https://t.co/Teh0TSSi9T

— Simply Music (@SimplyMusic) December 19, 2015

3. Find your Community

It might seem like more fun to follow random celebrities and brands on Twitter, but influencers in your industry give you more value. Search for other people in your field who have a number of followers and high engagement. These influencers have great content to share, innovative ideas that you can use and personalities that shine through their accounts. People follow them for a reason, so look to them to learn good ways to post and talk on social media.

4. Don’t be Salesy

Unless your followers are breaking down your door like Justin Bieber fans at a concert, you shouldn’t push to sell, sell, sell. Instead, focus on creating and providing value to your followers.

One popular way of posting content is to use the 4-1-1 rule:

• 4 pieces of relevant, interesting content from others
• 1 retweet or share from others
• 1 promotional post

A promotional post doesn’t need to tell people to buy or contact you. It could be as simple as sharing someone’s testimonial about your brand. If you want someone to take action from that promotional post, give your followers an action to take, such as clicking a link or calling a number.

5. Hat-tip the Source

Don’t you like to be recognized for your work? Others do, too. Whenever you can, try to link back to the original creator of the article, video or song you’re sharing. It takes a little extra effort, but it shows that you care about the work they’ve done and you appreciate it. And who knows? Maybe they’ll decide to share your post, too.

6. Share Behind-the-Scenes Info

People don’t want to follow an image of you and your business. They want to see the authentic you. Photos are one of the best ways to do this. For instance, if you’re a music teacher, share photos of your sheet music, your students and their concerts.

A photo posted by Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee (@sidecardoughnuts) on Feb 19, 2016 at 8:48am PST

7. Engage with Others

As you continue posting content and getting more popular, more people will be replying to your posts and sharing them with others. One of the worst things you can do is ignore them. Instead, respond to any questions they have or thank them for retweeting you. A little kindness and respect goes a long way.

8. Plan Ahead

Any special events you’ve planned this year? Want people to know about your summer discount? Schedule out posts ahead of time leading up to the event. That way, you’ll be set and can put some of your posting on auto-pilot for that time.

9. Check Your Stats

Which posts are performing well, and which ones are being left alone? You can check how many likes/favorites, shares and comments/replies your posts are getting on each network.

On your Facebook page, you can click the Insights tab to see some data about your page growth, your engagement and your posts’ performance. For Twitter, if you have an advertising account set up, you can also see your most engaging tweets and how many people they reached. LinkedIn and Google+ also have dashboards to see how your page and posts are performing. Use these numbers to see what type of content you should post and on what social networks.

10. Put Spend behind your Content

Now that you’re posting frequently and building a system, put some spend behind one of your Facebook posts or highest performing tweets. Boost a Facebook post to your followers and their friends to get even more engagement. Even spending a few dollars a day for likes and followers can steadily increase your following. From what we’ve seen, just $2 a day on Facebook or Twitter can get you over 1,000 followers in a year’s time.

Your Turn

How do you market yourself well on social media?

I hope you can take away some helpful advice from these guidelines. If you have any tips or strategies, let us know in the comments!