When Facebook introduced its Twitter-like hashtag (#) feature in June, marketers began to buzz about the potential boosting effects that this new Facebook trend can bring to brands and businesses.

Hashtags are gaining momentum on Facebook. If you are already using hashtags in your Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn or Pinterest posts, it’s easy to migrate and use the same hashtags on Facebook.  You can save time by being able to post the same content across several platforms.

Since Facebook hashtags are still in their infancy, setting a trend and getting your name out now is important. Taking any campaigns your company has been using on other social media platforms and tweaking them for Facebook can impact the reach of your message. By including a hashtag in your update, you can get in front of people who may not have seen your post otherwise and can create extra buzz and exposure for your business.

Branding your Facebook Page with your own special hashtag can help an idea or new product catch on.  By branding all your posts about a new product, you can break this information out into a separate stream of information and give people an easy way to share information about that product or idea.

You can use hashtags on personal and business pages, in groups and even in comment sections. You can use them anywhere.

How to Use Facebook Hashtags

Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in your posts on your personal timeline or Page. This helps people find posts about topics they’re interested in. To make a hashtag, write # (the number sign) along with a topic or phrase (always written as ONE word) and add it to your post.

For example: Lucky to be ‪#‎workingfromhome‬ today, great healthy home made lunch, comfortable clothes, get to do my workout. ‪#‎Happy‬!

 

When you click a hashtag, you’ll see a feed of posts that include that hashtag. You’ll also see some related hashtags at the top. You can search for a hashtag using the search bar at the top of any page.

Privacy Caveat

The settings that you CURRENTLY have in your personal profile will apply to your hashtags. Click on your privacy shortcuts button, next to ‘home’ in your top toolbar. See ‘who can see my stuff.’ If you have ‘friends only’ then only your friends will be able to see your hashtags. If your setting is “Public”, that hashtag has a wider reach – recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hashtag Etiquette on Facebook

There are 2 ways of using hashtags appropriately on Facebook:

(1) Use the hashtags within your update if they are simple, and fit into the sentence. 

(2) Use the hashtag at the very end of your post, underneath your update. It’s acceptable to use 1-3 Facebook hashtags consecutively at the end of your post. You should not use more than 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, hashtags have to be ONE word.   Capitalization doesn’t matter: You can choose whatever capitalization you want in the words themselves and the hashtags will show the same results.  #FacebookMarketing and #facebookmarketing show the same search results.

You can make up whatever hashtags you want. Consider your goals.  Make sure they are short and easy to use and understand. A hashtag that’s overly complex or hard to read won’t get much attention.  If you’re abbreviating, make sure it’s clear – a hashtag like STPANDTT won’t mean much to people.

Look for hashtags on Facebook by URL:

Easily search for hashtags or bookmark their results by using the URL:  www.facebook.com/hashtag/ then include your keyword on the end.

https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/FacebookMarketing shows you the results of posts that include #facebookmarketing or #FacebookMarketing (or any alternate capitalizations).

Conclusion

– Test hashtags as part of your Facebook marketing strategy and measure your results. 

– Use them wisely, not in every single post, and don’t stuff hashtags into your posts.

– Hashtags are firmly entrenched in all other social sites and aren’t going away anytime soon. They are just gaining traction on Facebook.

– Remember that at the end of the day, it is still the value that you are giving that will make your customers buy from you and spread the word about your products and services.

Have you started using hashtags in your Facebook posts? And if so, how often? Share with us.

More great reading:

How Hashtags Attract Wealthy Customers

How to Use Hashtags with Sense, not Offense! [infographic]