Defining the Role of Hashtags in Search and Social Media Platforms

After Facebook “Likes”, the latest trend adopted by the social media community is Twitter’s “Hashtag” symbolized by “#”. Everyone must have heard, used or seen hashtags – an indication that it’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Hashtags were used almost exclusively by early adopters of social media. But as people started to understand the mechanics of hashtags, they became widely adapted and embraced by the marketing and advertising industry, making it part of pop culture.

People have different interpretations of hashtags. Some associate hashtags with social media while others see them as a way to express the thought of the moment. Still others find them as annoying disruptions to logical discussions. These varied interpretations just point out how widely misunderstood, abused and misused the term is.

Hashtags, are in fact an efficient way in finding content that has relevance to specific topics and the people talking about said topics. Social platforms also have search facility just like in Google, Yahoo or Bing. Searches on Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest are made every day using words and hashtags.

What hashtags primarily do is to make visible to others on social media platforms and search engines, conversations, contents or updates when optimized with the word hashtags. If you click or search for a hashtag, you will see a display of those using hashtag in conversation. This instantly identifies an audience sharing common interests.

Using Hashtags in Search

Clicking on a hashtag is a search function. Clicking on it will reveal all updates with that hashtag along with related promoted tweets which is the same function for queries in search engines.

Creating and Registration of Hashtags

Anyone can create a hashtag. It can be registered on Hashtags.org. The same site also provides tracking for all hashtags. While there’s no clear rule on hashtag ownership, it could be vital to discussion around a trademark, event or promotional campaign.

How to Use Hashtags

People who create hashtags want others to use it as many times as possible. You should include hashtags on social media profiles if you are promoting a specific event. Or better yet, include it on the related website in a post. In many cases, hashtags pick up momentum and peaks interest of others who didn’t really understand what the hashtags meant. It used to be that hashtags are only used in Twitter but now they appear online and offline, obviously intending to promote engagement.

Why Use Hashtags?

If you want to find out what discussion your customers are engaged in or what your competitors are doing, you can use hashtags to determine and identify the frequency of discussion of specific topics, the extent of reach, and the audience sentiments.

Hashtags are also a great way to engage people in discussions. People who are interested and want to join discussions on search engine optimization on Twitter can click “#seochat”.

For widely supported hashtag-identified discussions, Twitter displays “trending” while Google+ calls them “hot topics”. So far, Facebook isn’t as transparent with hashtag activity and LinkedIn has not recognized hashtags yet.

Hashtags have also proven to be effective in streamlining communication around circumstances where other forms of communication – TV, radio and print, are not effective in reaching audiences. World events such as the Tsunami in Thailand, Superstorm Sandy, Oklahoma tornados and other similar disasters, reached global audience through hashtags. Conversely, hashtags are also used to share happy news and events like the announcement of birth of the royal baby of Prince William and Kate.

Other uses of hashtags include:

  • Promoting an event or conference

  • Reaching consumers

  • Announcement of special promotional campaigns

  • Promoting the brand

  • Anchor campaigns

Hashtag is a useful tool that can be used to reach out to new audiences, connect like-minded people and facilitate discussions and conversations making it an important part of social media strategy.


SEO and SEM: Differentiating the Two Internet Marketing Terms

Marketing has taken a different dimension – from the traditional techniques to the optimization techniques designed for online marketing. Businesses have been introduced to two marketing terms that are often confused and interchanged when it comes to what each term represents or connotes.

Search Engine Optimization or SEO and Search Engine Marketing or SEM are two different services despite some similarities in functionality. It is likely that many business owners are more familiar with SEM as it refers to the important strategies for Internet marketing. SEM includes tactics such as paid listings, search engine optimization and other search-engine related services.

SEO

One definition of SEO or search engine optimization is: the strategies and techniques are used to ensure that a website is accessed by search engine crawlers thereby increasing the chances of the website being found by the search engine. These are the strategies that affect the visibility of a website or a web page in the natural/organic or unpaid search results. Search engines like Google are driven by the desire to provide the users with the most relevant web pages pertinent to what they are looking for. The continuous update of the search engine algorithms are fueled by such desire of relevant content and information. SEO has on-page and off-page categories where specific elements are used in order to improve the page ranking with search engines.

SEM

Search engine marketing is a broader term used to include various options available to use a search engine’s technology that includes paid advertisements. It offers an opportunity to pay only for each click on the ads that leads to your website. Such advertisements will appear on the page of consumer’s specifically looking for your products, goods or services. This should result in a higher conversion rate. A popular example of an SEM strategy is PPC or pay-per-click advertisement.

The Difference Between SEO and SEM

While both terms target to achieve the same objective of getting more searchers to visit the website, they differ in the methodology they use to achieve those objectives. While SEO concentrates on organic search results, SEM uses the search engines to promote your website or business, making SEM an important follow through component of SEO.

SEM traffic is one of the most important sources of online traffic because it is specifically targeted. People use the Internet through the search engines to find solutions or information about a specific problem or need. As they are likely to see your website as part of their search results, when they click on an ad they are likely to convert. The relevancy of the displayed ads makes SEM traffic more valuable compared to others in terms of conversion.

Hence, it is probably safe to say that SEO and SEM are not competing terms. They complement each other. A website that has a solid SEO buildup and foundation has to rely on the targeted traffic that will come from paid advertising. On the other hand, no SEM campaign will ever roll if a website has no solid SEO platform for how else can the website with the paid ads be found if they are not search-engine optimized? SEO must be the first stage in promoting the site through organic optimization techniques and after the site has ranked well with search engines to ensure visitors find the site will SEM be implemented in order to achieve conversion.  SEO and SEM cannot be effective without each other.


Understand Twitter Specific Terms Like A Social Media Expert

Technology has prompted the introduction of new terms or words used to denote specific meaning or specific description for some functions. Coined words like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, infographic are just a few of the new terms that have been popularly used these days especially by people whose lives revolve around the online world.

Twitter, for example, have developed a language of their own. Some may sound funny and strange but they all are nonetheless Twitter-unique.

In order to use some of the Twitter terms like a social media pro, get familiar with these words and their corresponding meaning.

Common Twitter Language

The “at” (@) sign is used to mention another Twitter account. For example, @HubSpot. Used within the Twitter account, it becomes a link to that account’s profile. While it may be used by others as a geographical reference, @ is Twitter-specific.

Understand Twitter Specific Terms

The “hash” (#) is used to highlight keywords, events, topics or emotions in a tweet. A hashtag in Twitter turns the word or phrase into a link to easily see and screen certain tweets that contain the same tag. For example, “loving the #weather” or “feeling #tiredandemotional”.

The “caret” (˄) is also known as a hat sign and is used to denote a tweet composed and sent by an individual on behalf of a group account that is used by multiple people account. This is how it is used in tweet – “^JS”.

The “dollar sign” ($) is used in Twitter as a financial hash tag for a company’s shortened stock market name/code. For example, Google’s shortened stock market name is GOOG. “$GOOG” becomes a link to Google site.

“AFAIK” means “As far as I know”.

“CC” – its original meaning is “carbon copy” like how it’s used in memos and email. CC is a way of making sure a Twitter user sees certain content. If used with “@”, e.g. “cc @Bob” – it will draw a Tweet to someone’s attention.

“DM” is “direct message”. It’s a way to privately message a follower on Twitter. It’s a counterpart of Facebook’s “PM” or “private message”. In tweets, you’ll often see “DM me for details” or “I’ll DM you the price”.

“#FF” stands for  “Follow Friday” – an endorsement or shout out to other Twitter users suggesting that people follow them.

“ICYMI” is for “in case you missed it”. This is often used when a Twitter user retweets his/her own content from previous tweet.

“MM” stands for “Music Monday” used to suggest music you are currently enjoying or artist recommendations. While this is no longer that much popularly used these days, you may still see “#MM” tweets once in a while.

“NSFW” means “not safe for work”. This denotes a potentially inappropriate content.

“OH” is “overheard”. Used in Twitter, OH is a way of reporting a funny or eyebrow-raising comment.

“PRT” means “partial retweet” which is used to let people know some editing had been done to a tweet. It can also be used to mean “Please retweet”.

“RT” stands for “Retweet”. When another user’s tweet is forwarded with an added comment RT is used. For example, “Must see! RT @John: This video is hilarious www.funnyvideo.com”

These are just a partial list of the terms commonly used in Twitter. Some new words may be expected to develop in the foreseeable future. Just make sure, you remain updated so you can catch up with the Twitter lingo and not be left wondering.


Internet Marketing Company | SEO Powered by SEO Hacker. Optimized and maintained by Sean Si. © 2010 - 2024 Web Outsource Force Inc.