Do you know the term hashtag? Further, are you aware of its purpose and how
to effectively use them? How about
retweeting? Or tagging someone on
Facebook and Instagram? These are just
little but important tools to enhance your social media marketing
strategies. Whether you are selling a
book, offering a service or want to become a prominent influencer, you’ll want to pay attention, and begin to practice
using these techniques.
Hashtags:
· The
metadata tags have been actually been around for quite some time, first being
used in 1988 on a platform known as Internet Relay Chat or IRC. They were used
much then as they are today, for grouping messages, images, content, and video
into categories. The purpose of course, is so users can simply search hashtags and get all the relevant
content associated with them.
o
Metadata is
defined as the data providing information about one or more aspects of the
data; it is used to summarize basic information about data which can make
tracking and working with specific data easier.[
· By
July of 2009, hashtags were formally adopted by Twitter and anything with a #
in front of it became hyperlinked.
Facebook and Instagram more recently adapted with the usage.
· For most people, the hashtag is used for fun. Others
help organize news stories around major events. Sometimes they're just made up
on the fly to make a Tweet sound funnier. The most basic function of a hashtag
is to create a single, organized feed of Tweets or updates around each topic. Popular hashtags are related to sports,
names, charities and politics . They
should be words or terms that are familiar, already trending and not outlandish
that nobody will ever search for them. Examples:
#POTUS #nfl #BreastCancer
#GeorgeClooney.
· Popular hashtags related to writing: #AmWriting #AmEditing #WordCount #WritersLife #LitChat #WritingParty #IndieAuthors #NaNoWriMo #SelfPub #WritingPrompt #BookGiveaway #MustRead #FlashFiction (do not use punctuation, and
they must read as one word)
· You may also use genres, and you should always
create your own with the title of your book, or your name, or brand with the
hope of going viral. For instance, mine
are #Bridges, #KymberlieIngalls, #WriterOfTheStorm, #RainfallPress, and
#neuroticy. Some of these are generic
terms or easy to misspell, but over time when people search for me or any
aspect of my work or social media posts, these tags become familiar to
them.
· Tweets or posts that include a link and a hashtag show the highest engagement
of any others.
Hashtags have become more than just a way to categorize posts or
add a narrative to your updates. Marketers have found new, innovative ways to
use hashtags as a means to drive conversation, harness the public support, and
garner attention to their brands.
Retweeting:
· A Retweet is a re-posting of a Tweet. Twitter's
Retweet feature helps you and others quickly share that Tweet with all of
your followers. You can Retweet your own Tweets or Tweets from someone
else.
· Retweets look like normal Tweets with the author's name
and username next to it, but are distinguished by the Retweet icon and the name of the user who Retweeted the Tweet.
· To see Retweets of your own posts, go to your
notifications tab. There you will see all activity concerning your
Tweets—including which have recently been Retweeted and by whom.
· If you're familiar with Facebook, then you may
have already seen a friend reshare a post that was originally posted by one of
their own friends or one of the public pages they've liked. Facebook sharing is
basically the same as Twitter retweeting. You'll have the option to add a
message of your own with the retweet before it's reposted to your profile, or
simply leave it blank and retweet it just as it is. That user's tweet will then
be automatically embedded in your profile and they will receive a notification.
· When you retweet, you're essentially
interacting with them. Unless they get a ton of interaction from thousands of
followers and have a hard time keeping up with notifications, they'll notice
your retweet and they may decide to connect with you or possibly even return
the favor. You're also introducing valuable information and suggesting new
voices to follow, to your own followers. Retweeting is what spreads good
information fast and makes things go viral.
· If you tweet something really great and a big
influencer decides to retweet you, their followers will see and they may end up
retweeting you as well or even following you. It's really the best way to get
the word out about anything worth sharing and the build your own engagement.
Tagging:
· Instagram has revolutionized how we
experience visual content. It allows people and businesses from around the
world to connect through pictures, graphics, and video.
· Tags are a convenient way for individuals
and businesses to expand the reach of a message or photo on Instagram. They allow
users to find content like pictures and videos that they would otherwise
not seen, helping to increase the reach of visual marketing materials..
· Adding tags on Facebook allows you to create a link to
their profile in your status update. People you tag will receive a notification
so they can see your post. The post may also go on the person's profile and
appear in their friends' newsfeeds. Because of this, be aware of what you are
including them in. Don’t post offensive
material or any kind of hard sell without their permission at the risk of
losing that connection.
· Tagging a page is a different than with a person. To tag a friend, you simply type in their
name and Facebook presents you with an option to tap or click that person and
automatically links their profile. Pages
have a different formula, more like Twitter.
Type "@"
followed immediately by the name of a Facebook
Page. Do not include the quotes or a space between "@" and the
name of the Page – just the same as a
hashtag. Click the name of the Facebook Page when it appears below
your cursor. This automatically inserts the name of the Page and turns it into a link.
You must know the exact title of the page. For instance, to tag me on Facebook, typing
in Kymberlie will bring up my
personal profile if we are connected, or anyone can type @writerofthestorm and tag my professional page.
Once you’ve become
familiar with these techniques, you should find you’ll have more activity,
engagement and traffic to each of your social media sites. Most sites employ similar tactics, a simple
search will turn up specific applications.
They’re essential tools to have in your utility box for effective
marketing and branding, so get started now because it will take practice and
time to develop. Don’t be frustrated if
you don’t get immediate results.
Patience and continued effort will get you far.
Sources: Twitter, hashtag.org, lifewire.com, Facebook, digitalli
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