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Expert Feature: Facebook Hashtags are Now Available – Let the Fun Begin!

Posted on June 19, 2013 in 2BH Expert Contributor, 2BH Original Content, advertising, Branding, Content Marketing, digital marketing, Facebook, Facebook Graph Search, Facebook Marketing, Instagram, internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Sales, Social Media Tips // 1 Comment

The hashtag is one of the most powerful social media features and it started on Twitter. Used in a tweet, for example, the hashtag marks the collection and development of a topical discussion.

Hashtags are used to identify conversations around events, people, tragedies, food – just about anything and everything one can imagine. Hashtags are used on Instagram, Pinterest and Google+.

Up until this point, Facebook just stood by waiting and wondering whether or not they make conversations in their network so transparent.

Well, the day has – finally – come and hashtags are here!

We were instantly able to find conversations; some of them were generated on Instagram, another Facebook feature that allowed hashtags in posts from other networks to work on Facebook as well.

Here’s an example of how Hashtags work:

facebook hashtags

In any Facebook post, type a word with a hash in front of it, for example, #FourthofJuly.

To see the post in a search, type “#FourthofJuly” into the search window in Facebook. Here’s what I see:

In this figure, the results show a few products. Hashtags are a great way for businesses to be seen. The use of popular hashtags allow brands to become a part of the conversation.

That said, popular hashtags are not yet available, but Facebook promises to add this feature sometime in the future.

A big concern is how the use of hashtags will affect the success of Graph Search. Graph Search was supposed to allow users to search for anything and everything. Hashtags are much narrower and yet, they’re so widely accepted that perhaps they will be more widely used than Graph Search.

Also, hashtag conversations are limited by the privacy settings of users.

Private conversations simply won’t show up.

What do you think? Do you like the idea of using Hashtags on Facebook?

Or would you rather use Graph Search?

How will you incorporate Facebook hashtags into your social media strategy?

 

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About Melanie Yunk (50 Articles)
Melanie Yunk, President, Roaring Pajamas Melanie Yunk started working as a social media and search engine optimization consultant early in 2009, when she founded Roaring Pajamas, a digital marketing agency in Northern California. Melanie is passionate about helping businesses market their products and services online. She brings more than 20 years of marketing, engineering and content experience to clients from various industries, including search engines, construction, retail, B2B, wholesale, heavy duty trucks, authors and more. Melanie previously founded Melanie's Fine Foods after purchasing Big Acres® Gourmet Sauces where she expanded the line to be distributed nationwide and in Canada. She also founded Yunk Consulting where she assisted software and semiconductor companies in implementing international standards for electronic databooks that she also helped developed while working at Intel Corporation. Her earliest career began at Honeywell Commercial Flight Systems where she worked on the Boeing 777 and MD11 cockpit projects. She continues to write on the Roaring Pajamas Blog and also as a guest blogger writing about all natural and gourmet foods. Melanie volunteers as a Board Member for the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce and former President of the Advisory Board for the Rosalie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto. She lives in San Carlos with her husband Kent and two Cornish Rex cats.
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1 Comment on Expert Feature: Facebook Hashtags are Now Available – Let the Fun Begin!

  1. Michael Neuendorff // June 23, 2013 at 10:27 pm //

    I’m not sure how I feel about Facebook introducing Hashtags. In one sense it’s smart since they’re so prevalent in other places and are increasingly being used in traditional advertising to make the jump to social easy. On the other hand I feel like they aren’t innovating but simply copying what others are doing.

    I do believe that Hashtags will be used increasingly by marketers, especially the ones who are on Twitter already. It’s a natural for them. End users who are also on Twitter will likely use Hashtags as well. For the uninitiated I think Hashtags will just seem like more clutter on Facebook, which is surely doesn’t need.

    So, you could say the jury’s out with me on how this new intro is going to fare. Appreciate you bringing it up for discussion though!

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