Now that hashtags are live on Facebook, you need to consider using them (strategically) in your social media marketing. Hashtags are used on numerous social networks (Twitter, G+, Facebook, Instagram) and offer marketers an easy way to be seen by more people. So here are a few tips to get you started:
What is a hashtag?
It is simply a quick and easy way to follow topics or conversations. Place one or more words (with no spaces) behind a hashtag (the # sign) and this makes the “hashtag” a phrase that can be searched and tracked.
In Facebook, anything you type after the # becomes a “clickable, searchable” link. So you can make up your own hashtags or use popular/trending hashtags.
For example, a few hashtags for our Facebook Page are: #SocialMediaTips – #FanPageFriday – #FacebookTips – (notice how it makes the hashtag easier to read when you capitalize the first letter of each word)
Facebook Hashtag Features
When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, a new window pops up with a listing of posts that contain that hashtag.
You can also type out a hashtag in the Search bar (i.e. #FacebookTips ) Note: comments with hashtags will not show up in Search; only posts with hashtags will.
Hashtags from other sites, such as Instagram and Twitter will also turn into clickable words/phrases on Facebook.
Hashtags don’t work on mobile (yet), but they show up as clickable words/phrases on your desktop when sent from a mobile post.
Every hashtag will have its own unique URL. For example, the URL for #TwitterTips is https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/twittertips
Hashtags function as clickable links on Fan Pages, Personal Profiles and comments.
Privacy settings remain intact: privacy settings on your posts continue to work as you’ve set them up. So if only Friends can see your posts, any posts with hashtags will be seen by Friends only. You shouldn’t have to change any current privacy settings, unless you want to make your posts more visible and change a setting to “public”.
Hashtag Strategy
Use hashtags on Facebook to connect with your target audience based on keywords they will be searching for (use this same strategy for posts on Twitter, Google Plus and Instagram).
Determine what keywords are important when marketing to your target audience. Or create your own hashtags that identify your business or a product/service you offer.
Hashtags give your Pages more visibility – people who have never seen your Page will Search for or click on a hashtag (in someone else’s post) and see your posts in the pop-up window.
We saw this in action already when we used the #FanPageFriday hashtag in the posts about our Friday networking event. A participant mentioned finding our Page for the first time when searching on the hashtag #FanPageFriday.
Start using hashtags strategically in your posts
Keep in mind that your content should remain of a consistent high-quality. Creating a Facebook post where #every other #word includes #a hashtag #makes it #very difficult #for users #to read.
Depending on the length of your post (and unusually long posts don’t always get high engagement on Facebook), I recommend testing out a maximum of 1-2 hashtags per post for now. And you may not want to include hashtags in every post. Start testing on your Page and see what engagement looks like for posts with hashtags versus posts without hashtags.
You may also find that you have to educate your Fans: tell them how hashtags work and how to use them in their Facebook interactions. You could create a post that explains a hashtag, lists a few key hashtags you use regularly and tells them how to Search for hashtags. Pin that post to the top of your Page’s Timeline; then re-Pin it periodically for any new Fans.
Let us know if you have any questions about using hashtags on your Facebook Page. We’d be happy to help you design a custom strategy!
About Terry League