Member Article

Twitter Takeover: How to use a hashtag in your branding strategy

Everyone is talking about social media marketing these days. As the world is becoming more and more integrated into the virtual world of the internet, social media is becoming an increasingly vital aspect of marketing strategies for all businesses. Twitter can be a powerful marketing tool, with an estimated 15 million users in the UK in January 2014; this is a potential audience that cannot be ignored. Twitter works based on a hashtag basis, with short phrases of 140 characters or less used to convey a message and link messages to different social media platforms.

The hashtag function of Twitter means that people are able to search for key words and allows you to become part of a bigger conversation, enabling you to reach a wider audience. If a certain hashtag is being used a lot, this hash tag begins to ‘trend’, and those trending become available for all Twitter users to see. This way, your product, business or event can be exposed to a potentially enormous audience.

When embarking on a Twitter marketing campaign, the first and most important factor is to have a perfect Twitter bio. This is where people will go to if they require more information about your business. The bio should tell people everything that they need to know about your business or event and have a link to the website or landing page.

It is important to do the research before composing a Twitter message. Tools such as TWUBS, What the Trend or Trendsmap are hashtag search tools which can tell you which hashtags exist, are the most popular, and when and why they’re trending, which is important because it would be a disaster to have your brand associated with an event or cause that is against what you stand for, or one that is overused.

When choosing hash tags, it isn’t necessary to choose too many; it’s much more effective to come up with something that is easy to remember and has staying power. However, it is advisable to avoid ‘spamming’ or overusing your chosen hashtag. This can turn potential customers against you or can saturate their timeline so much that the message begins to get ignored. Twitter is a fantastic way to start a conversation with your current and potential customers, so make sure you make the most of the opportunity!

Whilst it is important not to spam communities, it is definitely recommended that businesses maintain a healthy profile and post regularly. This shows you regularly maintain your online presence and shows that you are producing fresh new content.

There are tools available which will give information on hashtag followers, such as gender distribution, demographics, reach and sentiment analysis. This gives businesses the vital tools to understand who they are reaching with their marketing campaigns and create tailor made strategies for that particular group.

[printedbagcasestudy] Hashtags can be incorporated into offline marketing strategies as well. This gives the valuable option of linking online and offline campaigns, and allows consumers to really get involved will products and events. For example, adding your campaign’s hashtag to physical, printed merchandise (like Yorkshire Tea did recently with their printed bag and printed cup merchandise) could make your customer aware of your online presence and prompt them to search for your hashtag which they otherwise might not have known about!

So, once you’ve devised a catchy, innovative campaign and hashtag to help make your business the next national trend, think outside the Twitter box for ways to promote it, and become part of the social Twitter takeover.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Printed Bag Shop .