Jul 13
25
Hashtags seem to be everywhere these days. No longer just used on social media to sum up a user’s feeling or the content of a post, hashtags have evolved. They are now used to promote TV shows, disseminate news, increase transparency in some governments, or even overthrow them.
Often, the problem with hashtags isn’t the tags themselves, but how people use them: Or rather, abuse them. Hashtags are actually a metadata tag that helps to group messages together. It is often used as a search function, and it’s particularly useful when combing through large volumes of information (say, a Twitter feed).
As digital marketers, it’s essential to learn how to effectively use hashtags. What else should you avoid?
Stop Carpet-bombing
As DAM’s Alan K’necht points out, . Carpet-bombing is generally worse. Carpet-bombing is the term used when a large number of tags are applied arbitrarily to a post.
For instance, this is a post that appeared recently on a social platform:
In my opinon, the first two hashtags are appropriate, succinct and somewhat useful to other users. They aren’t the problem. The problem IS that there are a total of 29 hashtags on this post, and most of them aren’t particularly useful for search parameters or trending. And that’s not to mention the lack of usefulness of so many tags, or the fact it’s not easy to read.
Am I opposed to a larger amount of tags in a post? Not necessarily. Sometimes, if the post or blog entry covers a lot of information, it’s understandable that you’d need more than a couple of hashtags. But if there’s five times as many hashtags as words in your post, you might want to reconsider your method for a few reasons. Incessant hashtag carpetbombings make it impossible to read or appreciate, and often leads to abandonment of the page or profile. Keep this in mind when determining your marketing approach and methods of promotion.
Piggybacking on trending hashtags is precarious. And tacky.
Remember this?
In one post, Kenneth Cole managed trivialize a serious political situation in Egypt, while simultaneously alienating its target audience and causing serious damage to its brand. Who wants to support a brand that disregards an entire nation’s struggle in order to shift a couple thousand suits? How your organization interacts on social platforms is often part of what potential customers consider when looking at brands. It’s no longer just about the clothes; it’s about the brand, the attitude, and the acceptability. But after this post, supporting KC became taboo, especially after the media starting covering the story. No company or organization will garner support for abjectly stupid marketing decisions, because no one wants to be associated with it. Another challenge of digital marketing: it’s there forever – so think carefully about what you publish.
Capitalization and grammar matter
Alan K’necht has also mentioned the importance of capitalization in multi-worded hashtags in a . The example used in his blog entry, #nowthatcherisdead, is ideal for demonstration how proper capitalization can be the difference between celebrating the life of a politician or a showgirl.
Ricky Gervais said it best:
I love this example for several reasons. The distinction between the two options is exceedingly clear, but it’s done in a straightforward, non-confrontational and comical manner. Not only did he make the distinction, but the considerable amount of interaction the post drew is what’s most valuable: people responded in droves.
Another, more serious marketing failure would be Susan Boyle’s album launch. Her marketing team started a hashtag trend about Susan’s album party. Sadly, due to a lack of capitalization within the hashtag, it did not go as well as planned. Instead of #SusanAlbumParty, it became:
True, it did receive a lot of attention, but for all the wrong reasons. Although you could argue that it was a brilliant PR move (it was one of the most retweeted hashtags in November 2012), it’s hard to believe any seasoned PR professional would knowingly promote a tag like this. More importantly, there is no data to support the idea that this PR coup was responsible for an increase in album sales.
Despite a few hiccups, hashtags can be an essential element to a digital marketing plan. Their versatility over 17 social media platforms, trending/search abilities and quantifiability make it a metric that has value to both users and brand managers. When used correctly, it can engage users. Being mindful of user behaviour and values will bring a better return on investment. When used incorrectly, it can alienate the brand and drive traffic away. Carpet bombing, ignoring capitalization and trend piggybacking are three easy mistakes to avoid. Although Social Media is a relatively new discipline, it’s clearly a worthy investment. Ensure its ROI by doing it properly.
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Jim Hedger
Jim Hedger is an organic SEO and digital marketing specialist. Jim has been involved in the online marketing industry since 1998 and a SEO since 1999. Best known as a broadcaster, interviewer, content writer and search industry commentator, Jim is a frequent conference speaker and organizer. He hosts the search focused radio show Webcology on WebmasterRadio.FM and is a WebmasterRadio.FM conference interviewer. Jim brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, passion and creative thinking to each project. Preferring a teamwork approach, Jim strives to inform and train his clients and their staff to run and maintain their own search and social media efforts.
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