Check it Out: The Value of Social Currency

During the month-long contest, Adidas saw more than 2,300 total tweets using the #vote, #nominate and #adizero16 hashtags; earned 822 completed nominations, including 435 different high schools nominated; and was able to engage users in a timely experience and make brand advocates out of new customer acquisitions, according to a Chirpify press release.

"What we know is that if we provide them something they're interested in, they'll become PR machines in their areas," said Jeremy Darlow, Adidas’ senior brand and digital marketing manager, in the Chirpify press release. "They spread the word to a degree that we never can do."

eBay: In March, eBay announced that it had filed a patent for "smart hashtags." Here's how they work: When eBay shoppers use the shareable widget on product pages, listings and guides, the e-commerce site displays a pop-up window containing a social post with a sharable link and one to three smart hashtags. The post then shares what the product's price is, what it's tagged as and if it's available to purchase.

eBay's Social Strategist Corrine Sherman said in a company press release that she would like to leverage social data in an innovative way to enhance what people were sharing, while at the same time enabling customers to easily discover products they're interested in.

"Smart hashtags also align to eBay's goals and the company's desire to create a more relevant and personalized experience for our customers," Sherman said. "It capitalizes on consumer behavior and leads us toward a new path I like to call social network optimization."