We see it every day - the little pound symbol that has turned into a social media must: the hashtag. The hashtag has created a way for people to create fully custom tags on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Companies use them to get their product trending and grow their popularity. No one does this better than news stations during a big storm.
This year’s Blizzard was no different. Marketers came up with hashtag campaigns like #blizzardof2015 and #snowmaggedon2015. These hashtags drive mass amounts of traffic to their social media pages and allow the news stations to connect on a more personal level with viewers.
The hashtag is a quick way for digital marketers to light fire to their campaigns. Within seconds of announcing a hashtag, we see news stations flooded with tweets, pictures, and videos all using the same #blizzardof2015 or #snowmeggadon2015 hashtags in hopes of being featured on the news. These hashtags go viral in a matter of seconds during huge storms and major events.
So, what if you aren’t CNN or NBCNews or even your local news station? How do you make a hashtag go viral? Well, for starters, develop a creative marketing campaign with a couple of good hashtags you can use consistently. Also, advertise those hashtags to your clients and get them to start using those same hashtags, as well. Create interaction with your customers.
Hashtags have virtually taken over digital marketing and are now one of the most important ways to interact with followers. Ever since the hashtag became popular, newsrooms have showed us how to be successful in creating one. Every tweet and post they send out uses the hashtag and, in return, their huge following uses the same hashtag, filing away images, videos, and tweets with other like-minded people.
