Long before the advent of social media, # was just a pound sign called hash. It was Twitter that came and gave it an all new meaning by turning this sign into an online craze. Today, no matters on which social media you are in, hash tags will make you feel their encompassing presence!
What are # hash tags?
If you ask a social media novice about a hash tag, they will simply relate it to something confusing and pointless. However, using it judiciously, hash tags can actually help you get all the relevant information you are looking for.
A hash tag is basically a phrase or a keyword preceded by the symbol # that appears in social media posts. As you put a hash tag in your post or status update, it will be accessible to people with similar interest. These people may or may not be in your contact list. How does a hash tag attract people to your post? Another fact about hash tags is that they are clickable links. So, clicking on a hash tag will take you to the page where you can find all the related posts that are tagged with the same hash tag.
For a better understanding, let’s assume that you are looking to buy a Smartphone. Now as you type ‘#Smartphone” in the search bar, a news feed page will open in the display showing all the latest Smartphone models, reviews and buzz around them in the market.
How businesses harness the commercial value of hash tags?
Hash tags have actually emerged as iconic symbols today. Since your business page is public, your posts are not only visible to your followers but any user on that social media. Hash tags will make all your posts accessible to all those users who share common interest; that is your products or services. Marketers can actually exploit the potential of hash tags to create stronger and real time bonds with the consumers.
Unique and strategically thought out hash tags can actually target the correct audience for your products or services and also enhances their recall value. We cannot omit the fact that hash tags are instrumental for all types of businesses today in order to drive consumer engagement and branding. Both newer and older brands can track the performance of their products through the real time news feed conversations generated by their hash tags. They can also steer conversations successfully, to deliver the right messages to the users.
Reports prove that a majority of consumers look for new content as they come across hash tags. Almost all the brands today make notable impacts on social media through the use of hash tags.
How to create an Effective Hash tag?
So, how to make it a viable part of your marketing campaign and use it to your benefits? There is a right way of doing so. Mere tacking a hash tag at the end of an ad will not do enough. A good understanding of how people use hash tags and what will prompt them to select yours is the key. Choosing the right hash tag broadens the reach of your social media updates to thousands of customers as well as potential customers.
Creating a hash tag seems to be simple. All you need to do is include # with a phrase or keyword. Hash tags can be added anywhere in your post: in the beginning, middle or at the end. What matters is how relevant they are and how wisely you have chosen the keyword or phrase. Excessive usage of hash tags will only clutter your post which may eventually turn people off. Similar would be the case with over lengthy ones. It would be better to keep it simple with two or three clear, unique and relevant hash tags.
Here is how to do it:
If your brand is new, create content hash tags that are directly related to your business. This way, your brand will be exposed to all your potential customers on social media who are not familiar with your brand name.
There is one more smart way of using the hash tags in your brand’s favor. Go for trending hash tags that can boost your brand’s visibility by several notches. It is all about using the already existing hash tags that are fairly popular among the social media users. Make sure that your posts add value or else it will be lost in the noise of million other users. An informative post will be re-shared by the users enlarging the awareness of your brand.
The last but not the least is that the key to creating an impactful brand-specific hashtag is to ensure that your hashtag is unique and memorable.
