Hashtags initially gave us a way of grouping messages together and making searches easier, now they are a marketing tool that will not be ignored.
The pound sign (#)was first used by internet relay chat networks to label groups and topics or to mark messages as important to a particular group or individual.
It was in 2007 that a blogger called Stowe Boyd started the name trend with a short blog which included, “Hash Tags = Twitter Groupings”, that was when hashtags were born.
In 2009 Twitter started hyperlinking hashtags to twitter search results and in 2010 they placed hashtags of popular subjects on the front page of their website, that was when hash tagging became the powerful marketing tool it is today.
The right way
So how should you use it to your marketing advantage?
Make sure your hashtag is unique to you and your way of business, unusual in that it catches readers attention, and keep using it to establish a kind of hash-brand.
#makeitcount by Nike was a massive campaign win. They backed up their Twitter , Pinterest and Instagram with print and electronic adverts and simply asked their fans to share how they were planning to make it count in 2012, it was so successful they extended the camping into 2013.
#LetsDoLunch offered reduced price pizza so was bound to be a winner. Every time the hashtag was used in a tweet penny came off the price. One person got the price from 15.99 to 7.74. that is dedication for you.
The wrong way
Some of the classic hash tag fails recently have been,
#McStories where McDonalds asked their customers for some heartwarming stories, what they got was a ton of abuse and a harsh lesson that you should be certain that your customers will be nice about your business before asking for opinions.
#nowthatchersdead , started trending as she passes away after a slew of celebrities, unfortunately people read it as “now that Chers dead” forcing Cher’s people to make an announcement that she was not only alive but working on a new album. Lesson to be learnt is that you should proof read your hashtags.
Finally there was a classic from Blackberry as they advertised for candidates in the Research in Motion department. #RIMjobs got the wrong sort of attention as the Twitter world ripped them to pieces.
Try to remember that 500,000,000 people use twitter and it only takes one mistake to ruin your reputation or make it a laughing stock.
To take advantage of the continuing hashtag trench a search engine from Hshtags has been created. It pulls content from all the social media platforms and will prove to be a very useful tool indeed.
To make sure you get your social media campaign right ask our internet marketing experts at http://getsmartbox.com
