Hashtags are becoming ever more popular. But why?
Constant Contact says 40.7% of hashtag users use them to express their personal feelings about things. But another 34.1% use them to follow brands. 10.4% use hashtags to promote corporate or social events.
Let’s back up a little. 34.1% of hashtag users use them to follow brands. That should tell you something.
What it tells me is that hashtags are useful tools to promote brands on social media. Currently, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ are the only social media sites (that I know of) using hashtags. Facebook has plans to incorporate them some time in the near future.
If you’re on social media, then I highly recommend using hashtags to promote your brand. But you should figure out a way to do it creatively without annoying your followers.
Here are a few guidelines for using hashtags for brand promotion:
- Keep them short. Don’t create hashtags that take up more space than your message. 10 characters or less is best.
- Don’t use them on every post. Just use them when appropriate.
- Check to see if a hashtag exists before creating one. If a hashtag already exists that may be appropriate for your post, then use it. You may discover a whole new group of followers just by using an already existing hashtag.
- If no hashtag exists for your topic, create one.
- Use at least one branded hashtag, but don’t overdo it. Just use them for your overall brand, if appropriate, and for specific products or services if you think you can get a following.
Hashtags are not hard to use. They can enhance your social media branding experience and open you up to whole new markets.