What’s more annoying than a mundane Facebook status? A mundane Facebook status with an unnecessary hashtag. Since hashtags came live on Facebook, my newsfeed has been flooded with images accompanied by #gymselfie, #sunrise, #cleaneating and #brunchwithdagurlz. Enough already!
It’s stressful enough to think of funny hashtags for my Instagram photos, and relevant hashtags for my twitter posts. So just why does Facebook need the hashtag?
FB is the number one social media platform so it’s surprising that it took so long for Zuckerberg to jump on the bandwagon. But as confusing and overwhelming as hash tagging can be, especially when people hashtag #useless words, our old friend ‘#’ can be a great PR tool, and what better platform to use it on than one of the most popular websites in the world.
In a recent PR blog post by an RMIT student, some advice is given to PR practitioners regarding the best way to use hashtags – ‘Make it worth it’ and ‘Make it funny’. These rules are necessary for all uses of the hashtag, but when it comes to PR hashtagging on Facebook, there are some important things to remember.
1. Don’t be desperate.
Hashtags can be great for directing traffic to your product or idea, but it’s clear when the hashtags become desperate and frankly, look amateur. Hashtagging every single word, or hashtagging your product with popular tags such as #swag, #yolo or #cute can seem sensationalised. Try instead sticking to one or two simple, effective tags.
2. Specify
Facebook is already a veritable hodgepodge of random activity, so why confuse your audience more with content that is irrelevant and random? Sticking to the point and keeping your post simple and your hashtags UNDERSTANDABLE will surely make your content stand out when someone follows your tag.
And finally… Keep it fun! No one want to see something serious, depressing or boring on their newsfeed! Keep your hashtags relevant but don’t be afraid to inject a bit of humour into your #hashtags!
