Hashtags – why we use them, how we use them
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Mashable‘s articles on hashtags is definitely a must read for anyone who is trying to study (or is simply interested in) social networking.
When studying the whole social networking phenomenon (especially for business purposes) , I found especially useful the Beginner’s Guide to the Hashtag and 5 Ways Your Business Should Use Hashtags articles.
For those of you who are too busy to read the entire articles, I am going to make a summary, but I strongly recommend you read them.
Characters you can include in hashtags: basically any alphanumeric characters, but don’t you ever make the mistake to include spaces.
# vs @ while # turns any word or group of words that directly follow it into a searchable link, @ will Tweet at a person directly.
Platforms: twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pintrest, Instagram.
Essential steps for your small business:
- create an account for your business in order to consolidate your brand
- be relevant and consistent when using hashtags
- follow trends
- create your own hashtag (read 6 Successful Twitter Hashtag Campaigns to get an idea on how to do it)
- generate buzz (you can always do this by creating a contest, for example)
- seek business-related conversations
- organize your social networking dashboards by relevant hashtags
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Sources:
The Beginner’s Guide to the Hashtag,
5 Ways Your Business Should Use Hashtags,
6 Successful Twitter Hashtag Campaigns