From Facebook to Instagram, hashtags have truly brought a new era to social media marketing.
Did you know that the term hashtag has just celebrated it’s 10-year anniversary and is now officially in the Oxford dictionary? It is a word that is synonymous with social media. However, many companies find it difficult to run a dedicated hashtag campaign.
Companies that do run successful hashtag campaigns harness the true power of social media marketing and drive a lot of traffic and awareness to their brands.
So why do brands run hashtag campaigns on social media?
A successful campaign is not dependent on the size of your business, how many marketers are on your team, or your product or service. The main reasons to run a hashtag campaign are to:
- Create brand awareness
- Increase the visibility of your product or service
- Easily track and quantify your campaign
- Boost followers and retweets
- Get your target audience involved
- Promote events effectively
- Find out what your audience is talking about
- Launch a product or service
How do I choose a hashtag?
The key to success is choosing a hashtag that can easily go viral. Before your team starts brainstorming on a whiteboard here are some pointers that may help:
- Your hashtag should be original. Never copy a competitor
- It should be easy to understand
- Never combine more than 2 to 4 words together
- Do not make your hashtag just about your brand
- Nothing offensive or demeaning
Not sure if your hashtag is up to par? Always read your hashtag out loud a few times and ask a friend or coworker. This could save your company a lot of headache. Do you remember the hashtag fail of #susanalbumparty? Yikes!
Another brand hashtag fail was by Burger King when they saw backlash to their #WTFF campaign. It was originally meant to launch their low-fat fries and ideally it was mean to stand for “What the French Fry”. But unfortunately it ended up becoming a new acronym for What the *BLANK*ing *BLANK*, if you know what we mean. Not good!
Hashtags can take your brand to the next level, if done correctly. Your team will avoid a lot of mistakes by planning your campaign and having a walk through prior to launch day.
And remember: always double check your content before posting.
