Online Marketing 101: Hashtags for Effective Marketing Campaigns

www.sophisticatedrelations.com

Ahh, hashtags.

 A fairly recent term for what used to be what people called a sharp key or a pound sign and an apparent evidence of just how much Internet Technology has evolved.

I must admit when I first heard of this rather colloquial word uttered by my friends, I was confused.

And when it started making its debut on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, I was even more baffled. I had absolutely no idea why this nondescript pound sign which was followed with a bunch of seemingly unreadable words mashed next to it became suddenly popular and trendy
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Deciding to ride with the trend, I started using hashtags in what would perhaps be the most inappropriate way possible. As I had no idea what using hashtags entailed, I just did what I thought what everyone was doing: write a pound sign and write a phrase or sentence next to it (no matter how long)

Of course, by now, all you social media-savvy users know that this is not the way to utilize a hashtag.

And when I did discover what novice mistakes I was making, I began to realize the true potential of the hashtag.

Marketing campaigns

When that sunk in, it became clear just how much this new online trend can be exploited and utilized by online business owners and marketers. However, utilizing the hashtag may seem easy but more often than not disastrous results can happen when applied incorrectly.  

Let this article serve as your guide in navigating the ways of how you can harness the true potential of the hashtag in your marketing campaigns.

Understand that placing a hashtag anywhere before a bunch of words would not help you 

 Placing a hashtag before a bunch of unreadable words may seem like a tempting idea to try, but it is the wrong way to go about how to use it. Additionally, it would not help the cause of your marketing campaign. If you are a smart internet marketing agency, you would know that this is a basic mistake.
Not only that, it would make you look #superannoying.

Hashtags when properly used can be a source of unifying force across all of your marketing campaigns, making you easy to find. To illustrate just how powerful the hashtag is, take a look at a local commercial you see being aired today and more often than not, you will see a hashtag splashed on the screen at some point.

This is an effective way of letting viewers know that should they want expansive information regarding a certain product or whatever is being promoted, you can find it online through that hashtagged phrase.

Twitter- Where it all began

This recent genius all started from Twitter where it made rounds the first time it was successfully introduced. However, there is no denying that its popularity has certainly spilled over other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram—thus becoming a well-known staple variant for a profitable viral modern marketing campaign.

It has been stated that for maximum engagement, tweets with a hashtag or two are most effective. But be cautious, it has also been noted that exceeding two hashtags in a tweet decreased your chances of engagement by 17%. Choose your hashtags wisely and make sure they are appropriate to your campaign.

This alone can increase your exposure and your click-throughs on the site.

Tread carefully with Facebook

Facebook may allow the usage of hashtags but people who are on the site tend to abuse this feature granted by the social network. In fact, they have been so overused and inappropriately used in Facebook that research conducted by EdgeRank found that posts with hashtags had less engagement than those without.

Like twitter, the formula is easy. One or two hashtags a post will do you wonders and that fewer hashtags will grant you more engagement. However, it is not as straightforward as we want it to be. Utilizing hashtags on Facebook would require you to test out some of your campaigns and see if your audience is receptive to it.

Forgoing the usage in Facebook altogether is not exactly the best solution as you will lose the cohesion across cross networks that would better serve you ultimately. Just test out a formula and limit your hashtags.

Google+ is boon for your marketing campaign 

The beauty in using Google+ is that it automatically assigns a hashtag for your post even without you assigning one. Consequently, your post will be made searchable through the juggernaut of search engines. Additionally, when you don’t assign a hashtag on your post, Google would assign at least one to your post using your post text or the headline of the link should there be one.

Organizing their hashtags by category is also a feature and they include them in their searchable database as well as use them to collate trending topics. Let that sink in for a moment and marvel as this wonderful addition to the social network.



So there you have it, some useful tips to keep in mind the next time you hashtag a post. Keep in mind that hashtags are effective when they are used appropriately and sparingly. Picking just any bunch of words and phrase that comes to mind and hashtagging it is a preschool mistake. Use a hashtag that fits your campaign perfectly, give it a lot of contemplation and make sure no one else has been using it.

When you have found just the right hashtag for your post, you can maximize your engagement from there.

DO’s and DON’TS of Using Emojis in Marketing Campaigns

www.mintel.com

Technology is evolving every single day.

That much is a fact as evidenced by how far advanced the Internet is nowadays compared to how it was ten years ago. Along with that evolution, was the rise of the social media trifecta: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These three juggernauts have managed to wheedle themselves into an average person’s daily lives.

And smart online marketing agencies are exploiting it. However, since the advent of this online rage, a few things have been making their rounds online as well. Consequently people both young and old are very receptive in utilizing it.

Take the Emoji for an example. What was once largely overlooked by users is now causing quite a stir and is making a lot of rounds online. And as of recently, it seems like even online marketers are capitalizing on its popularity. However, as tempting as lacing your marketing campaigns with Emojis is, this rather intrepid task is more of a hit or miss when being utilized in marketing campaigns.

But fear not, this article will walk you through the most basic DO’s and DON’TS in applying such in your campaigns.

DO NOT FORGO WORDS

Just because Emojis are trendy, it does not necessarily follow that every single one of your readers and followers can read them or speak it fluently.

Take a few seconds to give your post some brief contemplation, if it looks like it was composed by a teenager then odds are, you are doing it wrong. Apart from looking unprofessional, people would likely ignore your post because decoding your message is an absolute waste of time.

Stick to equal parts of message and Emojis. Use your words.

DON’T UTILIZE EMOJIS WHEN CONVEYING A SERIOUS MESSAGE 

There is always a time and place for the usage of Emojis.

Conveying a serious message is not. Emojis are meant to be accompanied with lighthearted, humorous and fun posts. And if you want to have an effective marketing campaign, then you should stick to this tactic. The utilization of Emojis in conveying a serious message or post can earn you the ire of your audience.

It would not only seem shallow on your part, but incredibly insensitive and callous as well. Additionally, your sound advice would fall to deaf ears. Don’t make the mistake of favoring Millennial targeting over making your post sensible and judicious.

DO USE IT CREATIVELY AND CREATE AN INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

Emojis are popular because they are trendy and your readers and followers are rather receptive to it because it is familiar to them. And more often than not, these users employ Emojis in their daily communications which is why as a smart online marketer, you  should acquaint yourself better in the usage of such.

You do not have to create a customized set of Emojis just so you can relate to your audience better, use what is given to you instead.Develop a habit of using Emojis in communicating to your audience and never forget to include them in your campaign in order to make your marketing strategy more inclusive and interactive.

Have fun with the Emojis, think of ways you can turn those little icons into games and see your post gain traction.

DO USE EMOJIS TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE BETTER 

A smart and practical way to utilize Emojis is to commemorate momentous occasions and events. Though some pre-composed Emoji laced messages might be more of a hit or miss thing, never underestimate the power of a well-timed Tweet that can benefit from an Emoji or a lot of Emojis.

The frequent utilization of Emojis by various brands manifest their human side to their customers, as should you as an online marketer. Should the occasion call for it, get creative with Emoji art (include them in your Tweets in the same way, you would in a text message). Of course, as earlier stated, be careful in utilizing Emojis when topics are sensitive and serious.




Let’s face it, Emojis are here to stay. And if you want a successful marketing campaign, it would not hurt to include something trendy such as these Emojis.

After all, isn’t it much better to accompany your message with a round smiley faced fellow rather than a text that simply states *smiles*?

Tips and Tricks Online Content Writers Can Learn From Fiction Writers

www.internetbillboard.net

You may think that there must be something vastly wrong with the title. How can content marketing ever get tips from fiction writers?

Content writers provide information that could potentially lead to link building services while fiction writers still do offer substantial information but would more towards creative writing.  How do you harmonize both? Moreover, how is anything in content writing related to fiction writing?

Is there even a similarity between the two?

A common misconception is that there is none. However, like fiction writing, content writing in itself is still a form of storytelling and because this is so, content writers can take a leaf or two out of a fiction writer's style and technique in drafting unique content. Here are some of a few:

Polish your article. If it sounds too much like a write-up, go back and rewrite.

Should your writing sound too formal and stiff, you would bore your readers. Try to give your articles new spins every single time you write and never stick to a single formula. Sure, it may be trusted and it may work, but bear in mind that this is the easiest way for you readers to grow tedious of your work and for you to find your craft monotonous.

A few tips would be to avoid adverbs where possible as more often than not, we utilize this just to boost our word count. Additionally, keep things short and concise by not going into great detail when describing things unless you are rather excellent at it and lastly, leave out anything that you think your readers may tend to skip. To elaborate, if anything in your content sounds awkward, formal or stuffy upon verbal reading, omit it.

Use your words to show not to tell 

Consumers are tricky persons, they would not want you to boast about how great your product is, they want concrete examples of just how amazing and awesome it is. Telling them just won't cut it, you need specifics and stories. This is where anecdotes will come in handy.

 Detailing how great your product is may seem more appropriate in non-fiction content marketing, however, mix it up with a few images here and there. Prove your point by writing about actions instead of just telling it straight out.

Utilize suspense 

Like fiction, content marketing is about creating suspense. Tell a story and have a great build up, have unresolved mysteries that you would wrap up by the end of your article. In essence, this is what keeps a reader in your blog and which would make them read it from start to finish.

Avoid answering all questions before you reach at the end of your blog. Maintain a good balance between achieving just the right amount of suspense and filling the gaps between unresolved questions and their respective answers. Make sure that at the end of your article, you have successfully delivered the resolution to the mystery you have crafted.

Write what you love not about what you think you're supposed to write

This may seem impractical seeing that as content marketers, we don't have much room to let our creative juices flowing with the topics we are most passionate about but consider that for every niche there is, there is room for something that would potentially interest you.

 Always keep in mind that if you do not want to read it, there's a chance that nobody else would want to either.

Learn from other writers just like yourself 

There is always room for learning and writing is a never-ending process of learning. Take it from other writers who have more experience than you and observe how they craft their articles. Read a lot of blog posts, especially ones that you really enjoy and absorb their skills.



All in all, as bloggers and content marketers we need to make sure our craft is something that our readers will enjoy so that we can be assured that they would come back for more. A key element in doing this is to continuously mix it up which is why, as writers we can take a leaf or two from those seasoned writers who always keep readers flipping from one page to another, the fiction writers. Once we master this, we would not only succeed in garnering more readers, we would polish our skills as well.