Slinging Some Hash(tags) on Facebook
I'll keep this post short and sweet. Recently Facebook finally did something right for us marketers by opening its network for #hashtags. Frankly, it's about time it did something right. Facebook has been losing ground as a marketing platform — well, maybe it was never even meant to be a marketing platform — but be that as it may, it's done much to disconnect brands from their hard-won fans.
That said and criticisms aside, this is a great opportunity to build your audience and get attention from people who might become your fans.
For those living under a rock, hashtags are the little "#" found at the end of tweets. A sign, by the way, that first appeared on press-button phones (I'm dating myself, but when they first put the # or pound sign on a phone, most of us had no idea for years what it did). Anyway, I digress. Hashtags are a convenient way for people to search on Twitter for a particular topic. For instance, when I tweet an article, say this article, I will use the hashtag "#SMM" for social media marketing. Get the idea?
Using hashtags on Facebook can amplify your brand's reach. Give it a try on your next status update. See if you get a few more likes and maybe a new fan or two out of it. Remember, it's a new feature so it will take some time to catch on, but I anticipate that soon, most marketers will be using them. So be an early adopter and "own" the hashtags for your industry.
Are you using hashtags on Facebook already? Let me know how it's going by posting a comment below.
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- Social Media Marketing
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
