Consumers are using hashtags more than ever and their popularity can mean great things for you and your business.

Hashtags…

• Allow for more eyes to see your tweets
• They can help you to discover related content about things that you’re interested in
• Help connect you to audiences in a way that you can’t with just a normal tweet

So what’s in a hashtag?

The hashtag originated on Twitter but has grown since it’s inception:

# hash – tag n. “The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.”

A hashtag can be used by anyone with a Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Google Plus account. The hashtag is increasing in popularity as it is being integrated into more and more social media channels.

When trying to connect to a specific audience, hashtags can be just the ticket! When people use hashtags they are pretty much telling you exactly how they feel. Hashtags can be considered mini libraries to what you want to know about your audience, friends or interests. It attaches emotion and meaning to the content in a post and is also used for discovering relatable content and trends.

Keep in mind – not all hashtags are created equal. Some are simply used to express feeling or opinion, while others are used to add to a trending topic or grab the attention of specific users or groups of people. If privacy settings allow, hashtags can give your tweet or post the potential to be seen by millions of eyes instead of just your followers or friends. Hashtags are still earning their credibility- so don’t lose yours while using them. Read these best practices to make the most of your hashtags.

Best Practices and advice from the pro’s:

• Use sparingly and respectfully
  • Using too many hashtags in one tweet can be annoying to your followers. Make sure your hashtags add value to your message. Generally one or two hashtags is enough
• When creating a hashtag capitalize the first letter in each word that is joined together in the hashtag. Example: #SocialMedia
• Create meaningful relationships with followers through engaging their attention with useful hashtags

In PR writing, using hashtags can help to optimize content. Make sure that your hashtags lead users to useful content that enhances your message and encourages users to look for more.

To see some proof of how useful and meaningful hashtags are, check out RadiumOne-Hashtag-Report that was published in March 2013.

Visit these useful websites that can help you track tweets on subjects you care about:

Hashtags.org

TweetChat

TweetGrid

Twitterfall

Fear not, blogophiles. Your infographic fix is here — this week, courtesy of Symphony Teleca, by way of Mashable.

Read on. Be enriched. And the next time your C-level exec says  they “get” needing to be present on social media, but they don’t understand the value in terms of moving the sales needle – you just reference this infographic…. and all of the hard statistics that make it so compelling.

 

HubSpot, nailing it [again].

Check out the marketing pros’ latest infographic below: “Visual Content Trumps Text in Driving Social Media Engagement” – further evidence of our already tried and true practices’ success. As if you needed more…

Suggested Tweet:

The [very] real power of rolling visual content into your social media engagement strategy http://ow.ly/d8mm0 via @AndersonAdPR

It’s been a while, blog audience — I sincerely apologize for my absence. And while I may never understand the level at which I’ve been missed, I can assure you I’ve been gone for good reason. Simply stated: PR Land is crazy these days, and it almost always boils down to client work coming first (as it should be)!

But fret not — I’m back (!) and I’m here to impart some wisdom on you.

If you’re a PR pro, and you (like so many of the rest of us) sometimes struggle with the unnerving unanswered [phone, email, telegram, cup and string apparatus, carrier pigeon] pitch, you best be tapping into your Twitter flock and learning to craft well thought out, quippy and concise, 140-character (or less) pitches. Now.

Now this is nothing (that) new, but I’m preaching the good word of Twitter pitching success here – for everything from comms with a favorite restauranteur for feedback to the editor of a client and ANDERSON-favorite publication to arrange a meeting.

I don’t need to go much further, I’m just here to encourage.

My teammates know how much I love Tweeting back and forth with people — it’s high-time I shout my love from the proverbial rooftops. I just made it professional, people.

What are your thoughts, fellow PR mates? Have you successfully jumped on the Twitter pitching bandwagon?

Just a heads up – there’s room for a few others. Just don’t creep on my turf. It’s not proprietary information that I’m talkin’ about, but when used wisely it can mean the difference between getting a client covered significantly more and getting lost in the deep, dark hole that is the overcrowded inbox of even your tightest producers.

SHAMELESS PLUG: Follow me @Laurelai23 and follow @ANDERSONAdPR, for God’s sake!

Been wondering if or why your business should take the social media plunge? The folks over at Wix.com created a pretty airtight infographic to tell you exactly why.

For just about any business, “it’s about generating a conversation with clients where they already hang out”. They said it first, but we couldn’t agree more.

Have a look below for more nuggets of social media goodness!

When we got wind of PR Newswire and CrowdFactory teaming up for an infographic we got excited.

So just how well does social media lend itself to press release engagement? See what the two powerhouses found…

As I approach the three month mark on my employment here at ANDERSON I am still amazed at how exciting each new first is.

With 2012 right around the corner we are working on building the media plans for the new year for our media clients and on the PR side of things, there is never down time. It’s exciting, ALL THE TIME!

There is always a release to be drafting, a piece to be pitching, an event to be promoting, there is constant activity. And being a part of the activity? I love it!

I have done multiple press releases and even sent a couple out on the wires which,  in case you were wondering, was maybe one of the most exciting things of my young life (maybe I need to get out more…) When you see a release you wrote popping up on dozens and dozens of sites and being redistributed and shared, it is such a high. To know your words are doing their job for your client? It is such a rush.

Between blogging, tweeting, Facebook-ing, drafting, pitching, following up, reporting, and using my Associated Press Stylebook for every step along the way, I couldn’t be more excited to see what I get to do next!