Hashtags - 7 ways to use them in your marketing

When hashtags were finally recognised by Facebook in the summer of 2013,  and by Google Plus in the Autumn of that same year,  they had effecively achieved across the board recognition in terms of social media. 

So you might be surprised that the original idea of hashtags had actually been muted in 2007 when Chris Messina posted a blog in which he explained “I’m more interested in simply having a better eavesdropping experience on Twitter. To that end, I focused my thinking on contextualisation, content filtering and exploratory serendipity within the Twittosphere”

(I love that phrase “exploratory serendipity”!)

Now, the first hashtag  was used during the San Diego fire on October 23^rd 2007 - #sandiegofire – but it was not officially adopted by Twitter until August 2009.

So why use hashtags? Well effectively as a filter to help you find users/content grouped under one hashtag setting and -  where appropriate - join in on the conversation.

For example during the Olympics you could join in on the commentary of hundreds of strangers sharing their excitement through the inclusion of  #Olympics in their posts. Isn't that brilliant? It’s easy to use hashtags and, if you never have, here are some simple rules:

• The words that follow a hashtag are run together without a space
• Make them focused – everyday words won’t make the grade so #worldcup but not #football
• Test your hashtags to find out which work best for you.  Apparently the White House team tested 26 different versions for a State of the Union Address before settling on the most successful 7.
• Don’t use more than two hashtags in one post, one is better. Remember it’s a label for your content – there’s a reason why jars only have one label – more than that confuses! 
• Be careful your hashtag cannot be misconstrued. UK tweeters talking about the death of Margaret Thatcher used #nowthatchersdead – in the States this caused some consternation who read this as “Now that Cher’s dead…”

So how might hashtags be used to help you market your business?

1. Did you know that up and down the land you'll see local businesses talking together on Twitter at agreed times?  For example #fleethour brings together businesses around Fleet in Hampshire between the hours of 8pm and 9pm on a Tuesday. Definitely check out if your local area is doing that if you‘ve not already done so!
2. Are you working with third parties to help you promote your products or services? Using a hashtag will allow you to track how effective this is even when they have forgotten to include your @name
3. Take a look at hashtag searches around your own expertise.  Why not solve problems whilst including one of those hashtags?  For example #marketingtips are often looked for - why not be a regular provider of great ones?
4. Hashtags are a great way of putting humour across – always good to build relationships with your target market.  For example, here in the UK we might say “Heard its going to be hot and sunny next week #justseenaflyingpig
5. Is your product or service complementary to a niche topic?  Why not piggy back on a popular hashtag that has appeal to your likely target market for example you might be producing great soups from only #organicvegetables
6. You can see trending hashtags on the sidebar of Twitter making it easy to join in the conversation. But - cardinal rule – join in only if your product/service is relevant to that hashtag not just to jump on a bandwagon.  That would make you very unpopular.
7. On Facebook using a hashtag in front of a word turns that word into a clickable link - what a great way to drive traffic to a certain place.

When I recently ran a Twitter workshop I was amused to hear about one of my attendee’s daughters who, on hearing where her Mother was going, made the sign of a hashtag with her fingers and said “cool”.  So hashtags have even moved into speech.

Now whilst I love to hear how language evolves in that way you have to be careful about overdoing it. Here’s a great video showing what might otherwise become of us all...

 

Thanks to Ken Varnum on Flickr for the great pic

How to do business on social media

Some people get it wrong when networking face to face,  so I guess it’s worth pointing out that – when doing business via social media - people are NOT there to be sold to.

This means, just like networking, your communication should be light, friendly and conversational.

And that communication should mostly NOT be about your own product or service but about regularly sharing something that's relevant and interesting to your target market. 

What you're trying to do is persuade fans or followers to become leads;  those leads to become prospects and the prospects to finally become customers. 

This requires relationship building not selling.

Along the way - in terms of “birds of a feather stick together” – you’re trying to get those initial followers to share your posts with other like-minded individuals so that they too  start their way through the process fans to followers to prospects to customers.

This won’t happen if you’re paying lip service to the content in a desperate attempt to put something – ANYTHING - out on social media. It’s absolutely vital to remember that you’re only as good as your last post. 

This has become even more critical on Facebook where your post will be pulled out of the News feed of those who once liked you and shared your content but who have since stopped doing so…

This is because  “the goal of News feed is to show people the right content at the right time.” 

So what makes high quality content? Facebook has actually answered this for you in their most helpful blog post. And indeed, this is relevant across ALL content marketing activities.

This can be read in full here, but to summarise, you need to put yourself in the shoes of your target market who will be thinking: 

• Is this timely and relevant content?
• Is this content from a source I can trust?
• Would I share it with friends or recommend it to others?
• Is the content genuinely interesting to me or is it simply trying to gain News Feed        distribution? (e.g., asking for people to like the content)
• Would I call this a low quality post?
• Would I complain about seeing this content in my News Feed?

In summary, it's better to do a few well thought through posts than a high number of irrelevant one. 

For those tearing their hair out trying to find the time to churn out an increasing number of posts it might be helpful to remember that less is more. Perhaps an elegant sufficiency should be your goal...

If you need help with social media campaigns or content just get in touch via janebuswell@businessfulcrum.co.uk 

Thanks to cloudy thoughts on Flickr for the pic

Treat "word of mouse" like "word of mouth"

When I started my business nearly 10 years ago I did an awful lot of networking.  I remember one more experienced business owner advising that I network my socks off so that “even if you’re not there they will still think you were!”

For a time I was dubbed the networking queen and it certainly worked - my name became intertwined with the subject of marketing and I gained great clients, great contacts, great friends and an ongoing opportunity to do presentations and workshops on the subject.

However, I consciously learned which groups worked well for me and which didn’t - and I quickly worked out that all the time I was travelling and chatting I couldn’t be billing.  So there had to be a sense of perspective about the whole exercise – or more correctly – marketing activity

Not everyone worked that out, a networking colleague and I used to refer to one group of business owners as the “mini bus crew”.  Our theory was they actually didn’t have any work to do so used to fill up their time by going from networking event to networking event and getting free tea, coffee, biscuits and sandwiches as added extras!  By the way I’m pretty sure most of those entrepreneurs are no longer trading.

For myself I  have largely committed to one weekly and two monthly groups where I can really engage with the local business communities. And despite the fact that I have to get up at 5.35am every week to go to one of them (yeuch!)  I regard these as an intrinsic and immoveable  part of my business week for all sorts of reasons.

So, if you were to agree with me that you have to get perspective about driving “word of mouth” is it so different to think the same about driving “word of mouse” – or social networking?

I believe that If you’re constantly posting many, many times a day you simply cannot be concentrating on the work that pays the bills.  Oh, by the way, that’s the work your client or employer is paying you to concentrate on…. 

Don’t get me wrong I love blogging and tweeting. I love the fact that you can share and interact – and it can be hugely effective but it’s supposed to be done mindfully not mindlessly.

I recently read a seeringly honest and thought provoking blog post by Craig McBreen which opens

“When I first dipped my feet into the blogging pool in 2011, I was focusing on all the wrong things.

And ignoring the business I spent 17 years building.

Enamored with praise, comment count, and an increasing number of visitors, my dopamine center was in overdrive.

I was ignoring my business, writing with no end in mind, and I figured it would all pay off, somehow.

But I wasn’t even listening to my own advice. You been there? Hankering for that fix?”

I suspect there are a few others like Craig where the penny is about to drop. Marketing is about what your target market wants - not what you want!

Yes, it may be more accessible, less costly and more “cool and exciting” to do social networking rather than direct mail, advertising, newsletters, events, door drops, search engine optimisation and so forth. 

But please try to remember it’s part of the marketing jigsaw NOT the whole box.

Thanks to captainmcdan on Flickr for his hamsterpic

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Twitter how to: tweet like a DJ

When you first start tweeting it feels a little strange.  You're throwing things out there and wondering whether anyone is going to respond.  Often no-one does…you feel like you still have your Twitter how to L plates on.

The full version of this blog post is now here

Thanks to Zellaby on Flickr for the retro pic.

A Pinteresting Marketing Tool?

Pinterest (Photo credit: stevegarfield)

Have you come across www.pinterest.com yet?   

This is a social network and social publishing site based on photos which allows you to create an "online collage" or "digital pinboard" or "virtual corkboard". 

Using this you can gather together inspirational images to do things like plan a wedding, decorate your home, plan your summer wardrobe or share the beauty of your surrounding area or your passion for pugs.

Believe it or not, it is already the third most popular social network in the US - although this still seems a little under the radar for most small UK businesses. Certainly at the time of writing in April 2012 I failed to find a Hampshire based business using this so would love to hear of one. In the meantime, for more detailed stats on the site I would thoroughly recommend you looking at Modea's infographic 

In order to populate the themed boards users either re-pin images from other Pinterest users (in fact over 80% of Pinners do this) or use a “Pin It Button” to capture web images or upload from their own computer library.  In fact you are not restricted to images; you can also upload a video.   

But what has this to do with marketing?  Well first of all you can add “pin it buttons” to your blog pages which will encourage Pinterest users to upload your images. This then provides a direct link back to your blog (which might be shared over and over again depending on how attractive/cute the image is) To do this you simply have to go to www.pinterest.com/about/goodies/

Secondly, if your target audience is females aged between 25 and 44 the site may be of interest to you since  US stats show that the highest number of users  are within this age band.  In some instances this will mean that  they are working towards purchasing decisions based on their Pinterest  boards portfolio. This is a dream for product-driven or aesthetic–centred businesses like photographers, interior designers, artists, stylists, image consultants and so forth. 

Take a look at online style magazine Casa Sugar's Home Decor pinboard

When you start on Pinterest the main thing to remember is to include your business name on your profile and add a paragraph about who you are and what interests you in the "About Us" section. Coming up with an interesting and innovative board name will also help to raise your profile.

Most pins are about design, fashion and home décor - but should you ignore Pinterest if you are a B2B business without products?  Not necessarily - people are creating pinboards based on visual content like infographics, e-book covers and business graphs. 

Indeed,  I was initially prompted to look into Pinterest having spotted a tweet which talked about the SEO benefits of Pinterest.  If you would like to find out more about this I suggest you pop onto where Cendrine Marrout's blog post where she talks about the way in which Pinterest boosted interest during the pre-launch phase of her e-book.

I would love to hear if you have used Pinterest for your business…please get in touch and share your experiences - and your pinboards!

P.S. If you are interested in all things social networking you might enjoy:

How to write a blog post that engages
How to blog successfully - 23 key things to remember
6 ways to decide who to follow on Twitter
Blogging basics - make the most of what's available
That LinkedIn Business

5 top tips to building a better customer relationship

How proactive are you at maintaining a good customer relationship?

Did you know that it is six times easier to sell to an existing customer than a new one?

Did you know you could do this without spending a bean? Here's how:


1.  Keep in touch "formally" 
By going across their radar screen on a constant basis you will be the first person they think of when they/a friend/a relative/a colleague/ a fellow Networker needs your type of product or service.

• Do this via newsletters, e-newsletters or through social networking sites like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus

2.  Keep in touch "informally".
Make a note of their birthdays, hobbies, holidays and e-mail accordingly

• Have a great day!
• I saw this and thought of you
• Did you have a nice time?

3.  Include these two questions in your customer feedback forms

• If you are interested in the following (list your products or services) please tick
• Would you like to receive our regular newsletter?

4. Invite clients and contacts to a celebration

• 1 year in business
• New launch
• Christmas bash

This need not be expensive coffee and cupcakes would do nicely!

5.  Use a customer matrix

• Write your customer services down the left hand side and your prducts and services across the top
• Tick off which services/products each customer has taken you up on
• Where are the gaps?  This is what you should be promoting to customers who have missed out so far!

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What are your keywords and when did you last check them?

Search engines use the keywords that are woven into your code and your web copy (including your blog) in order to point potential clients in your direction.

But are the words you gave to your web designer all that time ago the best ones possible? Could you be missing out on a higher traffic term that is similar to one you suggested but not the same?

Here’s an example of local searches per month for the following terms:

Letting Agents 450,000
Letting Agent 368,000
Letting Agencies 301,000
Lettings Agents 110,000
Lettings Agent 74,000


As you can see six times more people are looking at the top term than the bottom one, so might it be worth spending some time checking that you are getting as much traffic as you can?

And make sure you check on a regular basis. When I was investigating keywords for social networking advice site www.businessblogbuddy.co.uk the term “social networking” showed 110,000 local searches. 6 months on it is pulling 450,00.

This is a clear indicator that more people are showing interest in this subject so it would be savvy of me to talk more about that subject in my blog wouldn’t it?

Are you being savvy about your keywords? If not why not?

Social Networking - Bewitched bothered or bewildered?

I do hope you’ve not faltered to a halt in your marketing activities because I’ve not recently written a blog post (as if)! I do have a good excuse, as I’ve been exceptionally busy launching a complementary business with my colleague Samantha Russell of The Social Sardine.

www.business-blog-buddy.co.uk is designed to help you if you are bewildered or beleaguered at the thought of how to use it within your marketing activities or totally baffled by what to write.

And speaking about writing that is the new challenge of course. As per the intro to our eBook 4 (How to turn your fleeting visitors into loyal followers:

“Suddenly everyone needs to be a copywriter! And please remember that this is not about being grammatically correct or making sure there are no spelling mistakes – although we hope that you will automatically be making sure of such crucial things!

No, the challenge in writing on a platform (which, yes, is friendly and transparent and all those good things) visited by a lot of people is that ultimately the words you write have to work hard to convince a contemporary audience to go on a journey which ends with them parting with a portion of its discretionary income!

Now the journey may be educational and inspirational and motivational and so forth but nevertheless for most organisations the ultimate destination is the same.

So you are relying on the power of your words to move people’s minds…”

If this fills you with horror- you now know where to get some help! www.business-blog-buddy.co.uk

Are you legal, decent, honest and truthful?

I am sorry if you have missed my pearls of wisdom but I have been caught up in one of the most stressful experiences other than getting up for a breakfast networking meeting - yes I have moved house.

It was worth it but it was indeed stressful and time consuming!

Anyway, do the words legal, decent, honest and truthful ring any bells? They should if you ever place any advertising, since you are obliged to comply with those requirements as laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority.

These have previously not applied to claims made on your own website or in social networking activities but as from March 1st 2011 they will do so. This is good news for those of us who may have fallen victim to spurious claims online.

The good news is, for a change, this is going to have teeth. Anyone running dodgy advertising campaigns online may find that search engines have suspended any paid for search activities leading to the sites hosting them.

There is a fine balancing act between marketing to capture peoples' imaginations and sheer exaggeration. So make sure you are on the side of the angels by March 1st next year!

You heard it here first.