What We're Talking About...#Hashtag

Hashtags have been around since 2009 when Twitter introduced the hashtag into its code, and Facebook adopted them in 2013 (The Social Ms). We've all seen them, and most likely used them, especially on our personal accounts. But do you know how to use them in a professional setting to effectively generate new leads?

Hashtags sort content and create groups around the same topic, and can be incredibly useful in helping leads find your business, as long as you put in the time and research to ensure you are using the right hashtags for your buyer personas.

If you need to learn how to use hashtags to effectively generate new leads, here's what we're talking about...

This blog post is part of “Your Definitive Guide to Lead Generation” blog series.

Articles

How to Use Hashtag Intelligence to Generate Better Leads via. Inc.

“Using hashtags effectively can accelerate your company's growth, increase brand awareness, help connect you with influencers and prospects, and improve the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.”

This article talks about how to use hashtags strategically for your business. Using relevant hashtags can drive engagement which is especially important for marketing your events. Another tip given in the article is to use hashtags like a lead list can help you grow a targeted following for your business.

The Do's and Don'ts of How to Use Hashtags via. Hootsuite

“It makes your own content discoverable and allows you to find relevant content from other people and businesses.”

This article covers 3 tips on how to use hashtags including: be specific, cater hashtags to the social network and come up with relevant, unbranded hashtags. The article also covers 3 tips on how not to use hashtags including: don't go too long or too clever, don't have more hashtags than words, and don't hashtag everything.

How to Use Hashtags on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram via. HubSpot

“When used properly, hashtags are a great way for individuals and brands to make their social posts more visible and increase engagement.”

This article covers how to use hashtags on each different platform. HubSpot then further breaks this down into categories: how hashtags work on each platform, how to use hashtags, and how to find hashtags on each different platform.

How to Identify Relevant Hashtags for Your Business via. Convince and Convert

“By adding value to the conversation, we can start to build up a relationship that could possibly leads to a business transaction (or at the very least awareness).”

This article covers 3 tips to identify relevant hashtags: identify hashtags used by influencers, use starter lists of hashtags and gauge the relevance of your hashtags. The article also recommends some tools to get started identifying hashtags.

Infographic

The Ultimate Guide to #Hashtags [INFOGRAPHIC] via. ADWEEK

“Did you know that tweets with hashtags generate twice as much engagement – which includes clicks, retweets, favorites and replies – as tweets without?”

This infographic gives information on engagement rates, how many hashtags to use to get the highest engagement rates based on each platform: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Google+

Hashing Out Hashtags: What They Are & How to Use Them [Infographic] via. HubSpot

“Hashtags can be a great way to engage with followers on the proper platform, to introduce new products or services, and gain traction for an event. #UseHashtags”

This infographic lays out the basics for hashtagging on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. They also add some tips to help you run a successful hashtag campaign.

Podcast

Social Media Hashtags in a Nutshell [PODCAST] via. Social Zoom Factor

“Social media is about people. It’s about conversation. It’s about having a conversation to connect with real people.”

This podcast covers what a hashtag is, how to use it, what the benefits are and how to leverage hashtags to nurture the community and do market research.

Do you have any tips of your own about using hashtags to maximize the reach of your #marketing? If so, comment below!

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