Linking social media updates back to your business website can be an excellent way of increasing traffic however the judicious use of Twitter’s hashtag (#) may help extend this reach.
What is a hashtag and how does it work? Quite simply it is defined as putting the # symbol before a word on a Twitter update thereby turning it into a term capable of being searched. For example a camping company may wish integrate the hashtag term #camping into a selection of their status updates. This may help them extend their message beyond their followers, to include those interested in finding information on the subject.
Example: New article explains #camping holidays on the Central Coast. (link to article on the website).
Twitter users will then be able to access all entries containing the term #camping by either clicking on it from the update or entering the term in the Twitter search box. People interested in viewing updates on this subject would then see all status updates with that term, including your own updates.
Quick, easy, effective and cheap marketing for your business! The hashtags can extend the reach of your status update on selected terms significantly by having the potential to reach anyone interested in finding updates of that subject.
It is important to do the research on keywords though. Look for those hashtags within your business’s interest that are popular (trending) and those that are not. This is done by simply entering a selection of key words preceded by a hashtag into the search box of Twitter. Once you identify which of these keywords are popular, use them judiciously in your Twitter posts.
Be respectful of hashtag etiquette. As hashtags are now used extensively by spammers, you should never enter a term that is not related to your updates. Use hashtags judiciously, don’t cover every word with them as people will treat this as spam and it is wise to not use hashtags on every update you post.
Hashtags are also useful for connecting tweets about a specific topic (such as a conference) and monitoring interest in new product launches. If you are a current content client of Article Writers Australia, talk to us about social media marketing. We’ll write up and post your status updates (including hashtags!). For more information contact Leonie here.
