These days you just can’t get away from social media. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter. Or even other social networks on a regular basis. One of the brilliant things about social media is that you can get stories or ideas trending through the use of “hashtags.”
If you don’t know what they are, let me explain. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks allow the use of hashtags. They are keywords that group together certain types of posts.
For example, let’s say that you use the hashtag #newyork. You can make public posts relating to something about the city of New York using that hashtag. Anyone searching for content using that hashtag will find your post amongst it.
The thing about hashtags is that some are more popular than others. The more people that post and use a particular hashtag, the higher the likelihood is of it going viral. For instance, take the #saudiusa example. People from Saudi Arabia living in the US will post up using it to show how proud they are of their roots and where they now call “home”.
That all sounds well and good, but how can a hashtag kick-start a marketing campaign, I hear you ask? Let me explain:
Make sure you’ve got something that people want to hear
Hashtags are useful for promoting messages; there’s no denying that fact. But how many people will wish to listen to what you have to say? If you’re planning a big marketing campaign, you need to use a hashtag that most folks can identify with.
For example, let’s say that you produce healthy fruit drinks. Part of your campaign might be to tell people how they can lead a healthier lifestyle if they buy your drinks. A high-impact strategy that uses a memorable hashtag will deliver your message to more consumers.
Get high-profile figures to use your hashtag
One thing you could do is get an endorsement from a celebrity or high-profile public figure. It’s one of the quickest ways to help your marketing campaign gain traction.
They will doubtless have thousands of fans on social media. If they post using your hashtag, it’s likely that their followers will share those messages with their fans and so forth. As you can see, such an idea has the makings of a viral marketing strategy.
Make sure you participate in the conversation
Hashtags are a surefire way of stimulating talk on a particular topic. To keep the conversation going, you need to make sure that you talk about it on a regular basis.
Use any social network that supports hashtags to do that. On some platforms like Twitter, you can pay to “promote” your posts to potential followers of your account. That way, you don’t have to just rely on good old word of mouth alone.
Don’t forget that you can also talk about your hashtags and marketing campaigns offline as well. For instance, let’s say that you have a stand at a trade show. You could erect a banner with your chosen banner so that all visitors can see it!
So, now that you know how important social media hashtags are for marketing purposes, the only question is which one will you use?
