In near future, all Facebook users will be able to use hashtags. Hashtags help you include certain #Keywords in your posts. Every hashtag on Facebook has its own unique URL with a status update box at the top. Traffic can be driven to that URL from other sites to increase reach.
“To date, there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what’s happening or what people are talking about. To bring these conversations more to the forefront, we will be rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics. As a first step, we are beginning to roll out hashtags on Facebook.” Facebook’s Greg Lindley wrote on the company’s blog.
Now that hashtags are becoming a feature, here are a few things to keep in mind while using them:
- Avoid overuse- While using hashtags on twitter, you are limited by the 140 character limit. On Facebook, since such limits are absent, you might start putting too many keywords into a post. Spamming keywords is not a great idea and will make the post look like a mess. It will end up annoying the audience and confuse the search engine when it tries to put it in a category. Keep your keywords focused for best results.
- Tracking your brand- Make sure you use hashtags relevant to the post and to your brand. A good way to use hashtags is for tracing conversations about your brand. For example, we would tag our posts with #SellMojo. When this word is searched, we would be sure to find results more relevant to us than we would have if we had tagged #ecommerce. Using a keyword like #ecommerce is not a bad idea for expanding your reach but for tracing your own brand, stick to relevant keywords.
- Right Keywords- Use the right keywords. Use hashtags to specify your location, your field of business and terms relevant to your target audience. This will make your brand easier to find and also provide relevant information to your audience.
To see a live example, check this out – https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/infographic
Here are some suggestions for how page administrators can incorporate hashtags into their campaigns as outlined in a post on the Facebook Studio blog:
If you are already using hashtags in an advertising campaign through other channels, you can amplify these campaigns by including your hashtags in Facebook advertising. The same creative best practices on Facebook still apply — compelling copy and photography that is in the brand voice works best.
Any hashtags that you use on other platforms that are connected to your Facebook page will be automatically clickable and searchable on Facebook.
Like other Facebook marketing tools, hashtags allow you to join and drive the conversations happening about your business. We recommend that you search for and view real-time public conversations and test strategies to drive those conversations using hashtags.
Facebook Hashtags do not impact your distribution or engagement in News Feed on either desktop or mobile. We recommend that you continue to focus on your existing campaigns to drive your most important business objectives.
Facebook Hashtags are a first step in surfacing relevant and important public conversations. Over time, our goal is to build out additional functionality for marketers, including trending hashtags and new insights, so that you can better understand how hashtags fit into your overall Facebook advertising strategies and drive your business objectives.
Hashtags will definitely help you expand your reach. Make sure you use relevant hashtags when you post new content or give updates.
Originally written to explain Hashtags to our customers at SellMojo