Using Facebook Hashtags

They are new so it is not or would not be a surprise if you’re not using them or if you’re using Facebook hashtags in the right or best way possible, 9 times out of 10 you’re probably using them the wrong.

Coming after another long build Facebook build-up, Facebook finally announced that it is supporting clickable hashtags. You know just like twitter does. Facebook is saying this is the first step of “a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people and topics.” If you have played with them at all on twitter you can start to understand the power.

Few things Facebook has released have except for Facebook itself really transformed how social media users interact with each other within, but hashtags, hashtags can change all of that. Hashtags are basically identifiers (the # symbol) that indicate a theme or interest. These hashtags are pretty much everywhere Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr. Hashtags are just a way for users to scan strings of thoughts.

Hashtags are created by users are clicked upon, and they link an entire conversation thread on that hashtag. Hashtags presents people the chance to follow a conversation as well as reply to the same conversation without the problem of looking back to find the thread, so interact action, and engagement with you and your social media sight grains traction.

Hashtags on Facebook are working pretty much the same way they do everywhere else – with a few differences. Let’s look the differences that Facebook hashtags are and a couple of tips on how to use them, as a social media power user, can leverage them to your advantage.

MONITOR: The first step if you’re planning to really get the full potential out of your hashtags is to first understand how they are currently being used. Start by searching for a hashtag. Just pick a keyword you’d like to see information about and type the # symbol and entering it into the Facebook search box. Searching for the hashtag will return updates from other Facebook members as well that you may not be connected to. This can be both good (you can post with hashtags and like key words on a SEO dominate the word (for free) and bad (they might find your competition) but live with it. Searching regularly for hashtags related to your company is a valuable social easdropping tool on the competition. Using Hashtag research can start to give you an understanding of what’s being talked about, shared and discussed, providing competitive insights and an advantage when it comes to creating your own updates. 

As of yet social media management tools aren’t yet providing any statistics to track #hashtag word clicks, but I think it will happen rather quickly. Major money follows trackable items.

INTERACT: Once you have a good understanding of what hashtags are going around, as well as the overall tone of those hashtags (positive, negative or neutral) you can start interacting with the people who are using “your” terms. To really do this, you need to find posts of theirs you can like and share and, if possible, make a comment on it. Interaction is a basis of success in social media, so be social! Be audacious! Put your neck on the line and get out there in front of an audience, your audience that shares similar thoughts and needs, experiences and beliefs and you will start to find yourself in a  better positioned to receive not just a positive response but more positive responses more often.

Larson Notes & Satire:  But perhaps the most important thing to know about hashtags is just that they exist at all on Facebook. It will be important in the future to monitor their use related to your company, your brand, your product and/or service, your interactions and your engagement with the Facebook community. Hashtags don’t need to define your social media presence on the network, but they can support it and in a very proactive positive way.

And if you want your business to be more and have more, call us for an appointment.

Howard Larson

Larson & Associates

Target Marketing & Telesales Professionals for new account acquisition

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