#Hashtags: What Facebook's Hashtag Change Means to Your Strategy

The skinny:

In June 2013, Facebook announced the addition of hashtags to its platform. Hashtags are words or phrases with the pound symbol # at the front of the word , such as #marketing, #lifeisbeautiful, and #follow. The hashtags render the words searchable within the Facebook news feed.  This makes profile and fanpage posts containing the words discoverable, leading to potentially more visitors.

Google has also begun to permit hashtags to its Google Plus platform.  The hashtags make posts discoverable to Google Plus users, leading to more connections.

Both Google Plus and Facebook, among other platforms, use hashtags similarly to that on Twitter.  A hashtag such as #cars would feature tweets and links on the subject of automobiles.  Twitter became more associated with "hashtag success" as TV programs begun to host twitterchats during program air time.

The Takeaway:

So hashtags do seem to impact the reach of a post.  Inserting them into a few Facebook page posts can improved the reach of the post.  I am not sure if engagement is increased. The likelihood of gaining followers is uncertain as well.  While Facebook has improved the user interface for Facebook Insights, the metrics do not offer an opportunity to correlate a singular hashtag.  Without a plan of hashtag usage, it can be confusing to really discern which hashtag is working.

Without a hashtag plan in Facebook, it can be difficult to know what hashtag is working best for your page strategy

Some ideas in using hashtags effectively:

• Place up to four hashtags in a post so that readers can clearly see the tags. Keep ingthe number to a reasonable level (and consistent in multiple post) can help see to some extend i, and be reasonably consistent on topics.
• Click on a hashtag to see who else is associated with the topic. Make sure the pages and persons revealed are
• Facebook Users: Keep in mind that many Facebook readers have seen a hashtag when a Twitter post has been shared on Facebook, but may be uncomfortable with reading a ton of tags while reading a post. Be prepared to explain a hashtag if it is new.
• Post less - let posts linger longer on a newsfeed. Many people discover posts even days later from a publication time. Moreover, every platform has a different algorithm, meaning hourly posts on a microblog (Twitter) does not translate well on major blogs (Facebook, Google Plus, even your own).