Using Hashtags on Twitter to Aid Your Marketing Efforts

If you are on Twitter, but have had trouble figuring out how you can use Twitter to better market your business, there are ample ideas for taking advantage of all that Twitter has to offer.

I recently received an email from Twellow, a Twitter search engine that I’ve used to find various target markets. In their email blast, they focused on March Madness. While I’m not into following the NCAA basketball or joining that community, the premise of the email gave me inspiration. I’d like to inspire you to use specific keywords or #Hashtags on Twitter for better results. If appropriate, let your customers know what #Hashtag you’ll be using, like Twellow did to engage their readers.

Twitter #Hashtags are used to:

• Categorize: Let people know exactly who your information is for or what it’s about. I often read tweets and understand the “angle” after I’ve read the #hashtag. Hashtags help me discern information and avoid wasting time. The #hashtag may make the difference in who clicks to find out more.

Example: “Great opportunity in rural Minnesota” #jobs #employment

Example: “Great opportunity in rural Minnesota” #education #scholarships

Example: “Great opportunity in rural Minnesota” #ag #farming

Since Twitter only allows 140 characters and you have the challenge of catching people’s attention, you have to make use of your creativity, along with #Hashtags. You can see how the change in #Hashtags alters the meaning of the Tweet significantly.

• Track: If you want to follow a specific topic, #hashtags allow better tracking. If it is a time sensitive #Hashtag, you can easily track events such as conference or legislative update.
• Reach: If you’d like to find out what people are saying about a specific brand or trend, #Hashtags allow you to search quickly and easily.
• Add Value: Adding a #Hashtag to your tweet ads value to people, as they sort through thousands of tweets. With all the mobile devices and applications available, some people like to follow specific #Hashtags and sift through the barrage of information that way.

Example: A budget conscious person may be watching for new tweets with #coupons or #sales in them.

Example: A person searching for employment could be streaming only tweets with #jobs to their phone.

Example: A farmer may be watching #corn prices or #agchat topics.

How to Write a Great Tweet

Using #Hashtags can be very helpful in using Twitter, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

• Don’t Over Use #Hashtags; too many can be distracting. 1-3 per tweet is the norm.
• Don’t Use #Hashtags in Every Tweet; Twitter is about relationships. You don’t need to categorize or track every conversation with #Hashtags. Be personable.
• Write Your Tweet First; focus on what you need to say first, and then add #Hashtags if there is a reason.
• Never Use Unrelated #Hashtags; just because a #Hashtag is highly used and searched, doesn’t mean you should use it if it’s not related to what you’re saying. This is spam.
• Always Join Words; Never leave a space in your #Hashtag. If you want to make “South Dakota” in to a #Hashtag, you’d leave the capitalization in place and remove the space like this: #SouthDakota

Popular Twitter #Hashtags

Some of the most beneficial #Hashtags I’ve found for small businesses are your city or state, such as #Hutchinson or #Willmar or #MN to find people or topics related to your area. I also like to see what people are talking about in regard to #fail, a #Hashtag people use when talking about poor customer service, products that have let them down, brands they feel are failing in their marketing, and more. You’ll get lots of inspiration on what people like and don’t like; then apply it to your business and Tweet about what you do well (opposite of the #fail)

Here are a few more popular Hashtags:

#nonprofit

#quote

#blogpost

#mobile

#fundraising

#jobs

One resource I like to use in searching for popular or trendy #Hashtags is Twubs.com

If you have a question about Twitter you’d like answered, please leave it in the comments below. Be sure to join our Facebook fan page where lots of social media topics are discussed daily.