No one owns a hashtag, or has the right to them. They are probably the most commonly misunderstood elements in social media today, but the most basic.

1. HURDLE
BUSTERS
HOW TO:
Understand & Use
Hashtags
#StartupPhoenix

2. Create Context
Name
Where are you from
What do you do / working on
How did you hear about Eureka/My talk

3. What is a TRIBE
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another,
connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For
millions of years, human beings have been part of one
tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a
tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.”
― Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us
People Helping People

4. Social Media Rules
#StartupPhoenix
● Every social site has a culture -
understand, engage, innovate
● Everything has balance.
● USE the Content Rules:
○ 20% rule: Only 1 of 5 posts should be self-promotion
● Make sure profile / contest matches business.
○ if you wouldn’t do it offline, don’t do it online
● Strategize, PLAN & AUTOMATE

5. What are #Hashtags
● The # sign followed by a word(s) - NO spaces
○ #InsertHere
● Used to categorize something / create context
● Makes it searchable
● Associates content with a topic
Why Use Them
● To do research
● Add / create context
● Increase visibility
● Join / encourage conversation
● Measure (roi, engagement,
conversation, etc)
● Add humor
● Build brand value over time

6. History of Hashtags
...the where
Started in 2007 in a tweet
-Part of Twitter’s successful IPO
-popularized by use in news
Then used by Instagram,
Adopted by Facebook, Pinterest & G+

7. The HOW 10 Reasons / Ways:
1. Promotion - events, products, services, brands, news
2. Searching - live feed for monitoring people, companies, ideas, news
3. Engagement - gives people / groups way and reason to communicate
4. Gain Followers - Insta & Twitter more likely to retweet / follow with 1-2 #s
5. Create Relationships - people love common ground
6. Exposure - giving people way to find YOU, can create your own keyword
7. Cross promotion - can create convo across multiple platforms, can build
brand value for others (partners, sponsors, etc)
8. Easy to follow - searchable & categorizes what you talk about
9. Customer Input - can get you access to your tribe’s thoughts.
10. Measure ROI - creates a ruler for measurement. (hootsuite & hashtracking)
---Competitions, Live Q & A, Webinars...
The source: http://thedigitalelevator.com/social-media/10-reasons-use-hashtags/

8. THE RULES:
● Don’t Overuse
○ Jimmy & Justin #Hashtag skit
● Use ON each platform needs to match CULTURE of each platform
○ Don’t hijack (See hashtag fails slide)
● Don’t use them blindly. Research.
● RESPOND
● Promote your hashtag OFFLINE.
○ Marketing is most effective across both
online & offline platforms.

9. Define Goals & Decide Where
● Goal = WHY are you using it
● Make sure a hashtag has a purpose
○ Sometimes good to leave a post without.
○ It’s a balance.

10. Where...cont.
Every Platform is different
● Twitter
○ Open, public, business / research driven, highly adaptable # # #
● Facebook
○ Very personal, more private, direct, *Brand, humor & personal
engagement
● Instagram
○ Medium personalization, younger demo, HIGHLY used for convo,
contests, etc
● Pinterest
○ Most use for categorization / branding
● Google +
○ All the above. It’s a google product.

11. The #hashtag Fails:
● #McDStories
● #Susanalbumparty -
● #WithHeartLocal (gloria jeans - “no homophob”)
● #Frankenstorm (Urban Outfitters)
● #Aurora (clothing line)
●●
#NowThatchersDead = NowThatCher’sDead…
● #LGBTFacts - maybe not?

12. Tools, Tips, To Dos:
Research, Research, Research
Promote - use it, cross promote it, pay it
Engage - with others, events, news, trending,
Monitor - search it, board it, cross-check it
Use:
Hashtagify.me
Tagboard for Sanford Children
Automation:
Hootsuite, Google calendar

13. TO DO cont...
A) Join: Meetup.com/Eureka-Scottsdale
B) Sept / Oct Talks: Email me with any topics you may be
interested in...
1) Local Business Social Media & SEO tips
2) Twitter: Understanding it, using it, Do’s and Dont’s
3) Pinterest: Understanding it, using it, Do’s and Dont’s
4) Youtube channel & SEO tips?
What do you want to hear about? Write down or email me:
Hashtags, Facebook Contest, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogging, Wordpress,
Instagram, Graphics help, iPhone tips, creating a website, email
campaigns, OTHER CONTENT

14. Chelsea Dygert +
Dygert #ConsultMent
Cell: 252-717-9919
cjdygert@gmail.com
Find me:
twitter / instagram
@cimforgiven
at Local coffee shop
#StartupPhoenix