How to Capture Trending Hashtags for Business Social Media Accounts
By Cynthia Wright
Leveraging the power of social media is a key component for a business trying to strengthen brand messaging.
With 313 million active users, for example, Twitter is one of the most popular and powerful social media networks worldwide. It’s a proven influencer of brand connection and purchasing decisions and can even boost offline sales.
The successful Twitter marketing strategy should focus on listening to and joining in discussions to hear what matters to your audience, rather than trying to force-feed the conversation.
One of Twitter’s recent offerings, the Twitter Poll, is a great way to connect with audiences, gain insights into your follower base and provide short, clear and engaging context around marketing campaigns and efforts. One of the best ways to take advantage of polls is by using timely events such as holidays, sports events, news stories and viral hashtags to encourage conversations and retweets.
Most people have heard of hashtags at this point but may not know this content sorting system was created by Twitter. It should not be overlooked as one of the most powerful ways to network, inform and influence.
As a general rule, a tweet with a hashtag will receive higher engagement in the form of shares and retweets, which means more people will see it. Businesses can strike gold by using a trending hashtag, which represents topics currently receiving the most traffic on Twitter.
If thousands of Twitter users are using a trending hashtag while tweeting about a popular topic and that topic might relate to your company’s brand, product or mission, it would make sense for you to join that conversation with thoughtful, related content.
While trending hashtags change continually, some of them tend to trend consistently for each day of the week, which is especially helpful for business owners. Below is a quick list for the Monday through Friday trends:
Monday: #MusicMonday, #MilitaryMonday, #ManCrushMonday or #MCM, #MondayBlues, #MondayMemories and #MarketingMonday.
Tuesday: #TravelTuesday, #TrendyTuesday, #TipTuesday, #TopicTuesday, #TransformationTuesday and #TuesdayTreat.
Wednesday: #WayBackWednesday or #WBW, #WisdomWednesday and #WellnessWednesday.
Thursday: #ThrowBackThursday or #TBT, #ThursdayThoughts and #ThankfulThursday.
Friday: #FridayFunday, #FearlessFriday, #FitnessFriday, #FollowFriday or #FF, #FlashBackFriday or #FBF, #FunnyFriday, #FeelGoodFriday and #FoodieFriday.
While hashtags can be advantageous to develop content on trending topics, tread carefully. The key to using trending hashtags effectively is taking the time to select one that aligns with the goals and purpose of the organization.
Here’s an example of how to properly use a trending hashtag. If you are raising funds for a puppy shelter, you may want to capitalize on event-related trends such as #NationalDogDay and #NationalPetDay, even if the top hashtag is #Kale. Animal enthusiasts are most likely to sympathize with your goals, so this is the audience you want to reach, even if the trend is limited to specific days of the year.
On the other hand, #Kale will reach nutritionists and foodies who might scroll past your tweet with little more than a passing wonder as to why a puppy shelter has appeared on their feed.
When used purposefully, Twitter Polls and trending hashtags can be pivotal to the visibility and success of a social media campaign. Be watchful for helpful trends as they are surfacing, and your tweets will stay at the top of your audiences’ newsfeeds. Choose the right trend and your tweets can lead conversations that involve hundreds of Twitter users every day.
Cynthia Wright is the Junior Partner of Carriage Trade Public Relations™, Inc. and Cecilia Russo Marketing, creating word-of-mouth in the community and online through reputation management strategies. For more information, contact Wright at cynthia.wright@carriagetradepr.com