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How To Use Twitter Hashtags: A Guide For Internet Marketers

By David Hurley

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 27Apr2009
Word count: 467
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The use of hashtags in Twitter messages is growing in popularity. Hashtags (i.e. the "#" sign) can be attached to a keyword and added to a tweet message so that it and all other messages with the same #keyword attached can be looked up and read together.

A sure sign that this method of logging tweets is having an impact on the Twitter membership is that there is now a website that is dedicated to it, Hashtags.org. The website lists all the assorted #tags that are currently in use on Twitter.

Twitter members can easily start to utilize hashtags in their own tweets. They are best used if you want to post a regular flow of notifications and have a way to look them all up in a single search. Simply remember include a hashtag in the body of the message.

What exactly do you use these tags for? One important function they serve is to keep a group informed about plans for events and so forth. Hashtags can also be used by Internet business owners who want to inform customers about products and services. Let your client base know about your tags, and you'll provide them with a handy method of following your tweets.

So the next question this raises is, where is the best place to look them up? Twitter recently bought a search tool called Summize and has incorporated it into their site at: search.twitter.com/. That is now the best place to run your searches for keywords with or without hashes.

Here are some ways to get the best use out of your Twitter hashtags.

Tip 1. Follow Twitter.com/hashtags and they'll automatically follow you back and start tracking your hashtags for you.

Tip 2. As you will want to use hash tags to promote your website posts, make sure the word or phrase you use is unique to you. Go to http://hashtags.org/ to see if you're preferred hashtag is already being used for other posts.

Tip 3. 140 characters is not a lot to play around with so keep your hashtags as short as you can.

Tip 4. Google lists Twitter tweets, so it makes sense to use relevant keywords as your hashtags, particularly if your message features a link back to your internet site or web log.

In Conclusion, a note of caution. Use #hashtags with discretion when you tweet. Don't alienate your readership by peppering every tweet with multiple hashes. Not everybody likes them and some individuals have developed a strong antipathy to them, while others who claim to hate them use them in their "I hate #hashtags" tweets!

In short, try to avoid using more than one hashtag per post. As long as you use them with circumspection, you will find hashtags a useful tool when networking with Twitter.

David Hurley is an Internet marketer who lives in Hiroshima, Japan. Keep up with his tweets on http://twitter.com/hirohurl. Click the following link to for more articles on the best Internet marketing strategies.

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