Facebook Introduces Hashtags
Yesterday, Facebook announced it is rolling out hashtags across the social network in order to facilitate public conversations and bring them to the forefront to benefit users. Now, words beginning with “#” will be grouped together and operate in the same fashion hashtags are currently used on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr.
Content discovery has been a huge weakness for the billion-member social network and the move to integrate hashtags into over 4.75 million pieces of daily content is a vital new way for users and brands to connect and converse about real-time events.
Like many Facebook updates, this will be a gradual process and only a small percentage of people and Pages currently have the functionality.
Hashtag Functionality
Now users can:
- •Search for specific hashtags
- •Click on hashtags in content shared from other social services
- •Join in the conversation directly from the hashtag feed and search results
- •Add hashtags to Facebook ads
How Brands Can Leverage Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way for brands to unify messages across platforms, amplify their voice on multiple channels, and increase the discoverability of their content. While Facebook cautions that hashtags will no impact News Feed distribution or engagement, hashtags certainly open the door to new audiences and conversations with potential fans.
The same standard rules of hashtagging apply to Facebook that you’ve already mastered on channels such as Twitter and Instagram. Here are a few reminders:
- •Research branded hashtags to make sure it’s original and not already in use by somone else.
- •Only use hashtags relevant to the content you publish.
- •Promote hashtags across all channels, branded landing pages and email communications.
- •Utilize more general hashtags in your Facebook ads – save branded hashtags for posts. Don’t forget to A/B test multiple hashtags to see which ones resonate with your audience.