Ways to Leverage Hashtags to Enhance Your Brand

Hashtags are so pervasive these days, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon spoof them on TV. Companies now integrate hashtags into commercials, window displays and websites. Consumers use hashtags on Instagram, facebook social media marketing Pinterest and Twitter to filter their results and share their TBTs (or Throwback Thursday photos).The reason for their popularity? Hashtags allow you to find timely content online in real time. When you search a specific hashtag, you find recent, if not instant, results. These results can be refreshed and updated minute by minute. This is quite different from using keyword terms on a search engine and finding an article that could be several years old.Also, for companies and their owners, hashtags allow you to track what’s being said about your industry and your business.While their functionality is pretty straightforward, hashtags can be leveraged in ways beyond doing a simple search.Email marketing still beats social media marketing any day of the week. This is the main point that I hope you take away from this article. Email marketing is still the best way to reach your present and future customers. Social media provides a great, and mostly “free” way to reach people, but people still respond best to email.In 2013, 3.6 billion people had email accounts, according to Jeff Bullas. It’s estimated that by 2016, that number will increase to 4.3 billion people. While social media has huge numbers, so does email.Social media friends and followers are limited by what these platforms allow them to see, but 100 percent of the people on your email list receive your emails.disadvantages of social media marketing When you interact with the people on your website and email list you have multiple opportunities to create life-long customers for your business.Don’t believe the hype. Always evaluate what’s right for your business.The big key is that sharing video only recently became a main stream form of content on Facebook.Something that is fun for the participant and funny for the viewers is a great combination.

Virtually attend and participate in industry events

Need to attend an industry event to connect with consumers or experts in your field but don't have the budget let alone time to attend in person? Virtually participate by using the conference’s hashtag. hotel social media marketing You'll be able to follow along in the comfort of your own home office, with no airfare or conference fees needed.And you don't have to wait till the day of the event to get started. Typically, conference and event planners share their specific hashtags well in advance to help attendees connect and network beforehand. By using the conference hashtag, you can keep current on industry trends while connecting with the speakers, too.Start by searching the conference's hashtag results on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook on the days leading up to the event. This will help you determine who is speaking, when. Then, on the day of the event, tune into the conference livestream, decide which platform you'll engage the most on and introduce yourself! Be sure to include the hashtag in your tweets and posts so your comments will show up in the search results.As a best practice, set a goal. Are you participating to expand your network or connect with strategic alliances? Tweet three attendees. Looking to keep current on industry trends? Read conference recaps and blog posts from the media in attendance.Last, search the hashtag stream that day to see what topics are being discussed, what attendees have to say. You can retweet comments. You can favorite tweets and share your own thoughts, too.Dumping a bucket of ice water over your head is such a simple, silly thing to do. Who doesn’t want to see people you know in this compromising position and if you yourself have to participate, it’s worth it. atlanta social media marketing Because it was fun, people of all ages and all walks of life took part and that included celebrities. These de facto endorsements would have cost billions of dollars if they had involved a typical, contractual agreement vs. a spur-of-the-moment viral event.The only time this would have worked was mid-summer when the weather is, in most places, acceptable for a stunt like this.

Use hashtags to establish further credibility

Want to boost your online presence, credibility and visibility? First, participate in a few Twitter chats. You’ll be able to share your expertise while also observing how the hashtag can be used for engagement and tracking online impressions. how to do social media marketing Twitter chats, typically an hour in length, hone in on a specific topic and often have a Q and A format. The moderator and participants are able to reply to one another and the questions at hand by including the chat's designated hashtag in their tweets. This allows for conversations to be organized. You will be able to search and filter results versus having to scroll through your followers tweets (without any guarantee that the content you are looking for, and trying to respond to, can be quickly found).Then, after you’ve had some practice, host your own Twitter chat using a custom hashtag that you've create. This will give you further credibility, promote awareness of your company's brand and provide you the opportunity to connect directly with consumers and influencers.Few people would be willing to throw a bucket of ice water over their head in the middle of winter even for a worthy cause such as ALS.People felt they were a part of something in two ways. They were having a shared experience with others and the charitable element turned it into feel-good cause marketing. Most people would not have done this if not for the charity element.The lesson learned from the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” is that if a basic social media marketing plan is well-constructed, there is no limit to the effect it can have on your business. social media marketing trendsThink about what you want to accomplish and then sometimes the simplest, most entertaining idea, combined with the right timing, can have a big impact.Vine users can now import videos from their camera roll into the app. Previously, users had to record their six-second clips directly through the app itself. Users may choose one video to import or mix together multiple videos.