1 Minute Marketing: How to Use Hashtags on Facebook
Before we talk about how to use hashtags, let’s answer the obvious question: What is a hashtag? In short, a hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the pound sign (#). If you write a post marketing a new product made in Humboldt County, you would use the hashtag #Humboldt.
When you do this, #Humboldt becomes a clickable link and anyone searching for that hashtag on Facebook to find out what’s going on in their area will see your post. You should also know that the way to say this out loud is “hashtag Humboldt.”
Twitter first came out with hashtags in 2007, and Facebook has now jumped on the bandwagon. There is one primary difference between the two: A majority of Facebook posts from users have privacy settings so they are not public, whereas a majority of tweets are public. Even so, Facebook e marketing strategies should still work in hashtags when appropriate to make your posts easier to find.
Locations are the most common use of Facebook hashtags. If you’re mentioning one of your locations or talking about local events, you should use a location hashtag. Short phrases are also popular hashtags, but the popularity of any given one varies by the hour. Unlike Twitter, Facebook doesn’t currently have a “trending topics” section that shows you what hashtags are currently popular.
You can check out trending hashtags when you log in to Twitter (it’s in the left column) to get a feel for what should be made into a hashtag. Some are based on current events (#BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck), some are promoted by TV shows (#Whodunnit) and others are event names (#socialfresh). Some users use hashtags as a sort of aside just to be funny or sarcastic, such as the tweet a recent Honda Civic ad mentions, “Oh it cool. It’s not like I had plans or anything. #Stupidcar.”
Hashtags should be used sparingly. If a majority of the text in your post is hashtags, you’re doing it wrong.