#TechThursday

Happy #TechThursday to everyone! I'm focusing on Twitter today because in several conversations I've had recently, people have questioned its application. In Twitter, I use the # sign frequently. It shows up in other media where I've linked Twitter, which has led to some curiosity about what it is. It's a Twitter code called a hashtag and it allows your posts to be searched through Twitter and its applications.

This is a really neat feature because Twitter users to can market their accounts and connect with each other. Best of all, it's easy for businesses and groups to use.

Hashtags in 3 and a half steps

1- Define your keyword
This isn't so hard as most people make it. Think about what you're wanting people to notice. It needs to be one word or a short word phrase. Once you have a key word in mind, research it. Your Twitter page has a search bar on the right side. Type in your word or word phrase with the hashtag preceding it, and see how many people, if any, are using it.

My preference is to find a term that is definitely used but not so heavily that you'll get lost in the flood. Remember, if a tag is trendy, people are not only Twittering it, they're also searching it.

As an example, I'm searching for twitters about prayer for a spiritual group. If I type in #pleasepray I only find a few posts each day. The term #pray is much more popular, and quite possibly too much for what I have in mind. But the term #prayer is used only a few times each hour and is more likely to allow my own Tweets to get some notice.

2- Using the hashtag
In my example spiritual group, I'll be using #prayer tags when I send out positive quotes and messages. This is good for my group and will appear on our website and in our Facebook and MySpace status updates. It has an additional benefit though, because I put the hashtag on it, my Tweets will also be picked up by anyone searching for #prayer on Twitter. A percentage of those searchers will “follow” my account on Twitter. From there, conversions to membership on our website can take place.

3- Interaction
Another way to encourage conversion is to reply and reTweet other people using your hashtag. Sometimes this gets a reply and can lead to a follow from the person you're conversing with, as well as others who follow them.
3.5- Thou shall not spam
Nothing is quite so annoying as spammers who attempt to hijack trendy hashtags for their own purposes. Twitter has an easy way for users to block other users and a link to label spammers. Posting a trendy hashtag and a link to your unrelated website is a quick way to be reported.

Hashtags can also be used to turn Twitter into a chat client of sorts. Take part in a community conversation simply by following a group using a particular hashtag and using it in your own responses. There's a list of groups that use Twitter for this purpose here.

Please comment and let me know how you use hashtags.

And as always,thanks for reading!