How and Why You Should Tag Your Tweets

March 3, 2010

How and  Why You Should Tag Your Tweets

What is a # Tag (Hash Tag)?

A # Tag is just a way to group together related tweets. By using a # Tag, you and your followers can easily see everything that has been said about an event or subject.  A # Tag is made up of a string of letters that can be random but should in some way identify what you are Tweeting about.  For example a seminar about Internet Marketing could have the # Tag of #INTMARSEM.  It’s also a good idea to use a different # Tag every time you change the subject, that way you know for sure what people are commenting on.  You can check that the # Tag you want to use hasn’t already been used by someone else by visiting wthashtag.com.

Why Should I Tag my Tweets?

Whether you are running a seminar, webinar, training session or just discussing a trend or product, it is always a good idea to ask your followers to quote a # tag.  This way you can easily monitor what people are saying.

Once you have decided on your # Tag and promoted it either via Twitter or your seminar information.  You should attach it every time you tweet on that subject.  As others also tweet using the same # Tag you will be able to track all the comments related to it.  Search.twitter.com is a good site for doing this.

How # Tags (Hash Tags) Work

Here’s an example of how all this works.  I recently attended a full day virtual seminar hosted by the American Media Association.  Throughout the seminar, running along the bottom of the screen was the # Tag AMAVESM.  At the time of writing this, five days post seminar, people are still tweeting about it and using the # Tag.  See here.  The AMA can easily follow what people are saying and respond if necessary.

For more general information about Social Media Marketing visit our website.