When to Use Hashtags on Twitter and Google+

The misusage of hashtags on Twitter irks me! Hashtags are a phenomenal tool that can be utilized in social media marketing to build a successful online strategy. Recently though, I have seen brands attempting to implement hashtags for everything. For example, a local restaurant converted everything on their menu to hashtags while a local realtor converted every house on their roster to a hashtag. Is there anything fundamentally wrong with this strategy? Absolutely not. However, going on a hashtagging rampage is not the best solution either. This article is going to explore the proper and improper usages of hashtags on Twitter and Google+ for brands and businesses. Hashtag principles for individual and personal accounts differ from the strategies talked about in this post.

What are Hashtags

Hashtags are an excellent tool that can be found on both Twitter and Google+ as well as several other social networks. These hashtags (# + word/phrase/code = #hashtagoverload) can allow people to “tag” their posts or conversations so that people discussing similar subjects can network with one another and ultimately connect based on similar interests. Hashtags also allow individuals to get involved in conversations with people discussing like-topics.

When and When NOT to Use Hashtags

• DO USE hashtags to tag a tweet or a post with something relevant. Let’s say a tweet comes down my timeline and it is a brilliant idea hashtagged #innovation. Maybe I want to see more brilliant ideas so I click the hashtag link. I am brought to a page with anyone that has tagged something #innovation. If you also used #innovation in your tweet, I am likely to see your tweet, click through to your profile and possible follow you.
• DO NOT get cutesy with your hashtags. Let’s say instead of using #innovation, you wanted to be clever and use your own hashtag #innovativebrilliance. Well, good for you! You created a new hashtag, but no one is going to find you profile or see your tweet because no one else used that same hashtag. Use something common.
• DO USE hashtags to represent a campaign. If you are launching an ongoing discussion or campaign, use hashtags to denote when you are talking about that idea. For instance, the #LYproject has done a good job with this!
• DO NOT always put your own hashtags in your tweets. One of the biggest turn-offs in social media marketing is when brands constantly do self-promotion and selling. That is not what people are looking for when they follow you. Constant self-promotion a surefire way to lose your following and get them unengaged. I mean, what is appealing about following someone that only talks about pushing their own initiatives all the time?

Hashtag Best Practices

• Brands should never put more than one hashtag in a given tweet. It is sloppy, too casual and makes it look like a 13-year-old girl is running your social media marketing efforts.
• If you have a large, engaged following, you are more likely to be successful with creating and launching conversations around hashtags. If you have a small following and you just feel the urge to use a hashtag, first search some existing hashtags and see which one will get you most noticed.
• Using a hashtag in every tweet is downright obnoxious, there is no benefit other than making your timeline look more colorful, so use hashtags sparingly.
• Encourage your followers to use a given hashtag over and over again to make it stick. Put it on your blog, in your Twitter Bio, in your store, on your TV commercial… If people know a hashtag exists for a certain campaign, project, sale, etc., people are more likely to include it when they talk about your brand.