The popularity of the hashtag grew significantly in the past year on almost all social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, Youtube and many more. People use them to express their interest together with photos, web links and statuses. Hashtags can be used by anyone, even if it’s a company’s fan page or a personal page.
For those who are unaware, hashtags are words preceded by the Number sign (#). Used like that, the words are transformed into some sort of hyperlink which allows you to categorize and see other similar content that accompanies the same hashtag.
Being a relatively new marketing strategy, HEO (Hashtag Engine Optimization) is all about finding new customers through the right social media hashtag. Adopting HEO helps companies gain more exposure, form a loyal group of fans or followers, promote new product or services and many more.
There are a lot of ways businesses can use HEO to their advantage. Therefore, here’s what we think you need to do:
1. Get higher visibility on social channels
According to a survey conducted by RadiumOne, 51 percent on respondents would share hashtags more often if they knew advertisers awarded discounts or other offers. This is great news, especially for small businesses looking for new customers. So, along with our daily updates, you can use a relevant hashtag and ask your fans and followers to share it. In return, offer a discount or launch a giveaway contest where you can choose a winner.
2. Start a conversation by using a specific hashtag
Hashtags are great if you want to gather a large group of people and discuss over a specific subject (your company, an event, etc). If you want people to tell you their opinions about your company or brand, the only thing you need to do is invite them to an open discussion by using a specific hashtag. It’s much easier and allows your fans and followers to use it in everyday conversations on social media.
The great thing is that, whenever you want, you can track the conversation. For example: you can search a hashtag on Facebook that’s being used and see who mentioned you, get a better idea of what is being said and, in the end, figure out how to utilize that information.
3. Target a specific group of people
Using this new marketing tool, you can target a specific group of people or area. For example, if you want to market to people that like a specific sport you can use the hashtag #football or #tennis, or if you want to target people that attended an event, you just have to put the hash symbol in front of the event’s name. In this way, you are able to pick out only the people that interest you.
In short, HEO is the alternative of SEO that helps you boost your online visibility on social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Google Plus, etc).
What’s your opinion regarding Hashtag Engine Optimization? Are you using it? And if not, are you considering including it in your marketing strategy, in the future?
