I hate to say it, but there is a war going on right now between Facebook users, and Facebook marketers. On the one hand you have the chance to use hashtags to get new fans and interactions. On the other, you have tons of marketers abusing the heck out of this new opportunity. Here’s how to not be one of these spam marketers.
The Hashtag Rules To Live By
Courtesy of myadelaide.com.au
Rule #1: Hashtags Are NOT Word Substitutes
#If #you #hashtag #every #word #your #fans #will #hate #you.
Courtesy of facebook.com
- Words that are not KEYWORDS are not hashtags (eg: a, and, the, other, with etc)
- You should at any time, only use 1-3 hashtags in your post. This is because search should not dominate your post tone or style, or it will make you a spammer.
Rule #2: Hashtags Are Better At The End
Truly, using the odd #hashtag in your Facebook post is fine. It’s when you start using a few in your post where things get #confusing. The human eye is drawn to color, so many of your #Facebookfans will only see your hashtags, and not your message.
Courtesy of facebook.com
If you use too many #hashtags in your Facebook updates, they will be all your fans will see. And therein lies the danger. People on #Facebook don’t really like hashtags. If you overuse them, you will lose lots and lots of fans. #Hashtagfail
Instead stick to one or two max in your update, and the rest can go below your post, as stand-alone search-indexing tools.
Rule #3: Facebook Hashtags Are Not Twitter Hashtags
Whereas Twitter users use hashtags to explain a mood, or an afterthought – this will take time to work on Facebook, if it ever works at all. For now, using these are nonsensical, and they defeat the entire purpose of using hashtags in the first place. #Uselesshashtags4thewin!
Courtesy of facebook.com
Make sure that your hashtags are always simple, basic, and never contain more than 2 words or concepts. #Facebook is great, #Facebookmarketing is also awesome, but #Facebookmarketingisalldarageyo is dumb, confusing and no-one will use it.
Rule #4: Hashtags Need To Be Somewhat Personalized!
It’s nice to always use 3 major hashtags to get people to visit your pages, but ultimately one of these hashtags should be one of your content marketing assets that you use in most of your posts. That way, a fan can click on this hashtag at any time, and see posts that are uniquely yours, which makes browsing them easier for super-fans and researchers.
Courtesy of facebook.com
If you sell cars for example, #BobsCarLot could be your asset hashtag. Then you are at perfectly at liberty to use 3 other hashtags for descriptive purposes in search. But for the fans that want to see only your posts, the hashtag is waiting to be clicked!
Rule #5: Pick a Hashtag and Stick With It
I’m not the only one that finds hashtag ‘synonym’ users a total #irritation #annoyance #frustration #nuisance #bane #bother. If it doesn’t fit into normal language, then you’re doing it WRONG. Pick the most applicable and widely used hashtag, and use it. Don’t think that covering your post with 10 versions of the same word is going to help you gain fans.
Courtesy of facebook.com
Anyone that knows anything about Facebook marketing will tell you that if it doesn’t read well, then it doesn’t belong on your post. Research is key to finding and adopting the most suitable hashtags for use. People that don’t research, use synonyms.
Avoid these terrible hashtag mistakes and your fans will appreciate HOW you have introduced them to using hashtags. Flood them with poor practices, and you can say goodbye to a large percentage of your following. The hate is great with lots of users right now, and they don’t have the patience for any more hashtag shenanigans.
Have you made any of these Facebook hashtag mistakes yet?
Comments
8:12 am on June 19th, 2013
Whilst I agree with these basic principles I think from the user side, the majority of people will use hashtags in much the same way as they do on Twitter, and less like on G+ or LinkedIn, say.
4:38 pm on June 19th, 2013
Hi Nicole, you’re right, most users will adopt the Twitter-esque hashtag use, which is sad (and a little irritating) – but hopefully, business users aren’t lured in! It’s all about best practices when it comes to Facebook strategy, don’t you agree?
6:00 pm on June 19th, 2013
#yesabsolutelyaswithallsocialstrategy (sorry, I couldn’t resist, but I’m out of work mode now!)
10:25 pm on June 20th, 2013
Hello, I am new to all of this. How do I know which words I can put hashtags in front of to be able to refer to another article in another location?
12:38 pm on June 26th, 2013
#workmode error accepted
I’m already seeing Twitter hashtag use on FB. Share this link and save lives!
12:39 pm on June 26th, 2013
Hashtag words are keywords, so the same rules apply. Generally in marketing a hashtag should be short, simple and no more than 2-3 words. They aren’t used as links, but rather as a way to find similar content on the site you are using. Does this help?
1:01 pm on June 26th, 2013
[...] keep an eye on your communities in real time. It’s a great monitoring tool, as you can see which hashtags you have been mentioned in, or who has responded to one of your past [...]
11:56 am on June 28th, 2013
[...] Cómo no usar los hashtags de Facebook, con ejemplos reales. Social Media Marketing University. [...]
3:00 pm on July 10th, 2013
I feel like I have multiple personality disorder when it comes to personal vs business social media. Have you seen this infographic? http://pinterest.com/pin/239042692694624999/
7:31 am on July 11th, 2013
Wow interesting, especially that people want to take a vacation from social media! 31% for 18-24 year olds, that’s very revealing. This information fatigue is definitely going to increase in the coming years. Maybe I should do a post on it? What do you think Nicole?
10:36 am on July 11th, 2013
I know, but I do know a few people who have deactivated due to social media fatigue! I’ve written a similar post about why we’re defriended for my co. – I’ll link you up when it goes live. I think you should definitely write it up. It’s a fascinating subject.