Facebook Finally Gets Clickable Hashtag

Social media's beloved hashtag is finally coming to Facebook.

While many users are already using hashtags on the site, they served no purpose until Wednesday, when Facebook announced in a blog post that they will be clickable and searchable.

"When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, you'll see a feed of what other people and Pages are saying about that event or topic," wrote Greg Lindley, Facebook's product manager.

The feature will allow users to join in on conversations like #NBAFinals and #NSALeaks.

Facebook has been teasing the feature since March, according to The Wall Street Journal, and it's now joining the list of other social media sites with functional hashtags like Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram, which Facebook purchased in 2012.

If trying to figure out how to properly use a hashtag, makes your head spin, read my blog: It’s Not your Grandmother’s Pound Sign: How to Use Hashtags in Social Media.

It’s Not your Grandmother’s Pound Sign: How to Use Hashtags in Social Media

In 2010, the same year that “BFF” and “viral” were added to the Oxford English Dictionary, “hashtag” joined the fray of digital-related words that have become part of  our everyday vocabulary.  

But of  them all including “LMAO,” “unfriend” and “social networking,” “hashtag” may be the most misunderstood. 

#Confusing

What’s a Hashtag?

Simply put, a hashtag groups tweets together on a particular subject. When you add a ‘#’ directly in front of a word (or acronym) on Twitter – a link is automatically created.

You’ll find hashtagged terms within people’s Tweets. They are typically at the end, but can be embedded anywhere. When you click on the link you will see all the latest tweets containing that hashtag, making them easy to find among the millions of tweets sent each day.

When a hashtag becomes extremely popular, it can become a trend. Big events in news, sports, or entertainment tend to quickly generate heavy activity.

Why Add a Hashtag to Your Tweet?

Typing a relevant hashtag into your Tweet will help readers find your message, even if they aren’t following you.  On any given day, an infinite number of hashtags are circulating, so using the right one is key to success.

If you’re Tweeting about a big event – such as a conference – usually the organizers have designated a hashtag for people covering the event in social media. Look on the event’s web site or literature to find the appropriate hashtag.

Outside of a major event, the best way to find the right hashtag is to test out the term: type it into Twitter’s search box, and if it’s in use, you’ll pull up a list of related Tweets. The larger the list, the more popular the hashtag.

Another way to research is to use an analytical tool, such as hashtags.org. This allows you to view a hashtag’s analytics within a 24-hour period, as well as see a list of prolific users, related hashtags and posts using that tag.

Creating Your Own Hashtag

Anyone can start a hashtag and hope it gets picked up by users. This can be a great way to promote your business name, brand or new product. 

However, starting from scratch requires a consistent effort. Although it's possible for some hashtags to go viral instantly, it’s more likely that you’ll need to do some consistent work to help it pick up traction.

Tips for Using Hashtags

According to hashtags.org, if you’re coming up with a brand new tag, use a term that is “catchy, short and concise, clear, and relatable – users see the value in using it”. More tips for successful hashtags:

• Keep your tag short: Because of Twitter’s 140 character limit, no one will use it if it’s going to eat up half their available characters.
• Don’t be vague: if you’re hoping to interact with farmers who like tech talk, use the specific #FarmersTechnology rather than the general #Technology.
• Be wary with acronyms. Aside from extremely popular terms -like #DWTS, for the popular TV show Dancing with the Stars - acronyms can leave your reader in the dark.
• Don’t overdo it. Twitter recommends no more than two hashtagged terms per Tweet.
• Add Value: Be sure that every new Tweet you send with your hashtag has good content for your readers and avoid repetition.

Hashtags are a great way to promote your business and develop Global Visibility. They allow you to spread your brand, take advantage of popular trends, and get your message out.

What already established hashtags have you used? Have you had success creating your own?

Tragedy Deserves More Than 140 Characters and a Hashtag

So many things that we say sound like clichés when we run them off almost with not thought. “Tomorrow isn’t promised,”  “make every moment count,”  “hug your kids everyday”…until a tragedy like the Boston bombing strikes.

Many of us, myself included, immediately turned to Twitter and Facebook to send out our sentiments.  Most of the messages were poignant, motivating, and inspiring.  Sadly this has become the new normal.  From catastrophe to catastrophe we bond via the internet for a day or a week or a month. It’s most likely because in a state of hopelessness, we feel like something…anything is better than nothing.

But it could also be hindering us from reaching out and actually doing the things that we write in 140 characters or less.  How many of us really made any changes in our lives since the Newtown shootings back in December?  Now here we are again, vowing to forgive, to let go of petty beefs we have with others, cherish every second with the ones we love.

I’m not hating on social media… creating global visibility using social media as a platform is my thing…but let’s not let our tweets and posts replace our traditional modes of communicating.  A mass message is not as meaningful as a phone call, and a smiley face can never convey the warmth of real smile.

A good friend of mine who admittedly has time management issues says that part of the problem is once she talks about a project or outlines it, it’s almost like she’s completed the task and she loses the enthusiasm. The same can be said for social media. Once we’ve pressed “send” on the tweet or message of encouragement or motivation, we feel like our job is done.

But it’s not – more work needs to be done.

Let’s face it. It would be impossible for our emotions to remain at peak level weeks and months after a horrific situation that doesn’t personally impact our lives. We wouldn’t function very well if we took on everyone’s problems and carried it with us for extended periods of time.  Those of us who are spiritual are taught to give our problems and burdens to God so that we can press forward and be of good cheer.

Somewhere in between the constant coverage of doom and mayhem we’re seeing on the news and the on-to-the-next-thing mentality has to be a place where we have time to create a sense of security for our children.  As hard as it is for me to process an eight-year-old dying in a bombing at a marathon, it has to be triple that for my two sons. Especially when breaking news is delivered to them via the Internet instead of through a compassionate discussion with an adult who can filter some of the information, answer their questions and lessen their fears.

I’m going to love on them today, as I always do. But I also realize that I need to do more. Sudden tragedies do serve to remind us that not even a minute from now is promised.

What IS promised is an opportunity to make this moment count.