More Than a Beginners Guide to Hashtags

So yesterday we promised you part 2 of our basic Guide to Twitter. And as we always keep our promises here it is. In today’s blog we’re going to give you more than a  beginners guide to hashtags and how to encourage a following to promote your business.

#Hashtags????

A hashtag, appropriately represented by the # symbol has been made famous by Twitter. Other social media platforms have followed suit and have started using hashtags, Facebook and Instagram, among others.

A hashtag is used to help Twitter users join in on a conversation. E.G.

“I cannot believe Mathew Crawley is dead #DowntonAbbey”

When you have used the hashtag symbol twitter turns the word into a hyperlink, when you click on the word you are taken to a list of most recent tweets of people who are using the same hashtag as you. 

So, by using the hashtag #DowntonAbbey everyone who is following this hashtag will be able to view my tweet, even if they are not following me. 

The purpose of this? You can strike up a conversation with someone new or make new connections with people / businesses who are talking about similar things.

To use a less geeky example; a client of ours is a wedding planner. We suggested to them to use and follow the hashtag #WeddingPlanner our client has managed to gain new clients from those who newly engaged who have tweeted something along the following:

“ahhhh so stressed, did not realise how much work this would be I need a #weddingplanner”

Even if you cannot sign up new clients you can offer advice on your industry hashtag in the hope to get re-tweeted and your brand exposed as wide as possible.

Another great use of hashtags, for businesses, are hashtag hours:

Let’s take #MerseyBiz as an example. #Merseybiz takes place every Tuesday from 08.00pm. So on Tuesdays from 8-9 login to Twitter and write a tweet including #MerseyBiz so you have the opportunity to tweet, re-tweet and follow all business joining in on this conversation. 

Hashtags are a great way to build up your following, which brings us nicely to our next topic:

How Do I Build Up A Following?

The ultimate goal of your Twitter account should not be to get as many followers as quickly as possible. Remember quality over quantity.

If you are tweeting relevant and interesting tweets about your industry / product then you should find that your following will quickly start to build. People will start to Re-Tweet you and mention you in their tweets, therefore spreading you further on Twitter, so more people come across you.

As mentioned in part 1, when you follow someone they are notified of this, and if you have spent time to target the right people, they will no doubt, want to follow you back. Please note: “target the right people” - try to be specific on who you follow, not everyone will find what you have to say interesting to target those who are most likely to be interested in you or can benefit from your tweets. 

To keep your followers interested in you, you must be interesting. Take a little extra time to think of something interesting to tweet rather than an idle sales tweet, they rarely get a good response.

Once you start to gain followers you should then start to engage with them, for example: ask them questions and re-tweet their tweets.

Social media is about sharing and caring. Twitter is an excellent marketing tool to expose your brand and show everyone how much of a leader you are in your industry.

As we have mentioned before, should you need further help with you Social Media accounts then so consider One Media Solutions as your Social Media Agency.

We also specialise in SEO and can drive the right traffic to your website increasing your online conversions.