Photo Credit: Ahmad Sufian Bayram
Social media giant Facebook announced that they just introduced a new element, the hashtag, to their network. In the newsroom portion of their site, Facebook nods to the hashtags that are used ubiquitously on Twitter and Instagram. These hashtags allow users to flag the main points in their posts and then see what others are saying about the same topic.
In the news release, Facebook talks about the millions of users who post about the same topics such as prime time television and sports games. Facebook says, “To date, there has not been a simple way to see the larger view of what’s happening or what people are talking about.” This is why they are “rolling out a series of features that surface some of the interesting discussions people are having about public events, people, and topics.”
You heard it right – a SERIES of features. The hashtag is only the first in a slew of new features that will bring popular discussions together on Facebook. As for the next features, we can only guess what they will be.
So what are the implications of hashtags for your business? For starters, you are able to track conversations about your brand on Facebook, provided your customers actually use the new hashtags. You are also able to engage with customers like never before on Facebook, and you have access to comments that are relevant to you that you would have otherwise never seen. Trending topics are the hashtags that are used the most. These will likely become a big deal on Facebook just as they are on Twitter, and it is likely that you will be able to “pay to trend” somewhere down the line, especially since Facebook is very intent on making money these days.
Do you love the hashtag in other social media platforms? Are you ready to get into the hashtag action on Facebook? If you are excited by the possibilities this opportunity opens up for your brand but you are unsure how to proceed with it, let Three Girls Media help you to move forward.