On Friday, I took a look at the basics of how to use hashtags on Twitter. Now it’s time to get to the real nitty gritty of how to use them to boost sales, generate leads, and generally dominate the world. If you’re a bit late to the party of social media, it’s time you get caught up on what you’ve been missing out on. If you’ve been partying all along, you can like still learn a thing or two about how to fully optimize your social media usage.
Before we begin, do me a favor…
- Go to Twitter and search for the hashtag #thepoweroftwitter
- Search for “all” tweets, not just top tweets.
- Now scroll down. Further. Further. Further.
What do you see? Hundred of tweets about “The Power Of Twitter,” right? And that’s just in the last few hours and days. So we can safely assume that Twitter must be pretty darn powerful if that many people are talking about it, right? Because… obviously… if it’s on the internet, it must be true.
Seriously though folks, Twitter can be a powerful tool for your website, startup, small business… or even just your personal rants about news, politics, and sideboobs.
How to Use Hashtags Effectively For Business
Don’t Go Crazy!
Hashtags are a great blend of keywords and secret codes, but don’t get too crazy or your tweets will just look super spammy.
Example: Check out my new Tech blog with daily promos! #tech #blog #fashion #free #whatiwant #sideboob #celebrity #getsome #strawberries #lolcats
Sure, including tons of hashtags will get your tweets to show up in more conversations but if the hashtags aren’t relevant to your post, do us all a favor – don’t use them.
Overuse and inappropriate use of hashtags is not PC.
Custom Hashtag Win
Creating a custom hashtag for your business or a special event or topic related to your business is a great way to track your results. You can search how many tweets include your hashtag and how many people you reached with your message.
Example: If you are having a one-day sale at your online store, which is named Pete’s, you can add the hashtag #OneDaySaleAtPetes to your tweets about the event.
Due Diligence
Before you get carried away creating all sorts of fun, entertaining, and inviting custom hashtags for your business and events, take the time to search for the hashtag. Make sure no one else is currently using it or your results will be totally skewed (and so will theirs).
Track Your Results
Once you’ve gotten more comfortable adding hashtags to your tweets, consider using an application such as HootSuite or TweetDeck. These apps allow you to monitor certain hashtags over an extended period of time.
Tweet apps also allow you to schedule your own tweets, get notification alerts for new Tweets, and customize your feeds and filters.
Don’t be scared. I know Twitter and hashtag usage can be intimidating but it is WELL worth the effort. Once you get awesome at it, you can even learn to boost sales, generate leads, and make new friends in just 20 minutes a day.
