The Most Important #Hashtag Rules for Event Managers
#Hashtags have been around for almost exactly 10 years. How can event managers use them to keep up to date and best spread information about their events?
Internet activist Chris Messina had an idea – let’s use the # symbol for groups!
This was back on August 23rd, 2007 at a time when Twitter was the super innovative network and many influential internet personalities were rising to fame. A long, long time ago…
One thing is certain – #hashtags brought a system to chaotic social worlds. A never-ending river of news, sometimes also fake news, important information, exciting, funny, weird and often unbelievable content gained structure. #Hashtags are something like an instruction manual, the GPS of the social web!
These obviously play a big role not only in marketing campaigns, but also for event marketing.
Difference on Diverse Social Networks
#Hashtags however don’t work in the same way on all social networks. Twitter started with them and Facebook followed suit in 2013.
As far as Twitter goes, it is still the rule that #hashtags increase the chance of being found and re-tweeted. In doing so, a maximum of 1-2 hashtags should be used so as not to disrupt the interaction.
It hard to say whether it’s because of the different clientele on Facebook, but #hashtags in Facebook posts actually lead to a fall in interaction. You can even see it here in this scientific research.
This is very different with Mark Zuckerberg’s other product, Instagram. You can’t get enough #hashtags here. Posts that receive the highest amount of interaction traffic are those with more than 11 hashtags! It seems like the sky is the limit. Bizarre hashtags such as #emptychairsproject, #fromwhereistand or #jumpstagram are very popular.
Why not capture a popular #hashtag like #fromwhereistand for your event from time to time…?
Google+ (yes, it still exists!) also works with hashtags.
Event managers are able to considerably extend the reach of their content using clever implementation of keywords and hashtags in their posts.
For real-time communication and networking of likeminded people, #hashtags are simply perfect. They are used often at events, regardless of whether a music festival or business conferences.
The general rule for event managers is establish a hashtag for the relevant event that is:
- intuitive
- unique
- not too long
- clearly communicated
Encourage participants to use the event hashtag in social posts and present these posts on a social wall (e.g. using www.walls.io). Why not show a leader board with the most active and eager social media users surrounding your event!
#Hashtags not only play a big role at events. For some, they have replaced print or online magazines as the primary source of information. Almost all of the most influential event bloggers can also be found on Twitter or other social media channels and they promote their blog posts there using suitable #hashtags.
It definitely makes sense for event managers to imprint several #hashtags and bookmark them or follow them using a service such as Hootsuite, Buffer etc. These include:
- #eventprofs
- #meetingprofs
- #meetingplanners
- #eventdesign
- #eventmanagement
- #eventplanning
- #eventmarketing
- #eventtech
Bottom Line
#Hashtags are long in the tooth, but are definitely not out! This is proved time and time again by #hashtag campaigns that successfully count on the interaction with social media users.
Keep in mind how social networks differ and how you should respectively use #hashtags. By doing so, the social web can also increase the relevance and reach of your event.
