Do Facebook hashtags fit into a B2B strategy? Yes, your business can use hashtags on your Facebook business page -Actually – as Adweek has reported- Facebook will assign a unique URL to each hashtag so audiences can easily find them and engage with the topic in hand.  – but should it? Do Hashtags really make a difference on Facebook? Can they actually add value?

Well the answer is somewhat ambiguous as they can add only if specific rules are followed ! What are those rules? Have a look below:

Hashtags Add Value on Facebook When:

Only 1 is Used: It is common practice – we see it all the time and are sure you also do – for Brands, Companies and even Influencers to use as many hashtags as possible, all in one Post. Adding many hashtags is not bad but due to the behaviour people tend to exhibit on Facebook’s platform. you might be wasting your time. What is more, people don’t tend to use or tolerate hashtags on Facebook in the same way they do on Twitter, so overusing them will not exactly ad value. The most important reason is that, on Facebook, people don’t have a lot of tolerance for hashtags, so they don’t add much value when overused. In fact, some studies have shown that posts without hashtags do better (that is attract more engagement) that ones with hashtags so make sure to use them carefully. You Not every post has to include a Hashtag and if it does..make sure it is on point.

They are placed correctly: It is crucial that ALL hashtags are placed at the end of your post. Having to re-use a word you have already used in your text, or adding an extra line at the end for your hashtags (s) is much better than adding them in the middle of your post. You confuse your readers, sometimes drive them to click on it without completing your post and can be very distracting.

Add a new line and make sure all your hashtags are placed at the end of your Post/Blog or News Item posted.

They link to ongoing news/trends/conversations: Facebook hashtags do particularly well when they tap into ongoing news or conversations. Of course, this works really well in pop culture, but it’s a bit more challenging for B2B companies trying to expand their reach. Our suggestion: On Facebook, use hashtags that are directly related to popular keywords in your industry. Industry news, products and topics are broad enough to improve post interaction while being specific enough to avoid getting totally lost in the social sphere. Facebook Insights can help with this if you use it! In this way, they can potentially also be even more useful if they are used by others in the conversation on multiple platforms. So a mixture of “omni-channel” consistency in a multi-channel approach is needed here. In this way, users can follow your conversation around the internet and comprehend what you are talking about and when.

So conclusively, if used correctly, Hashtags can make a difference and add value to your business.  Why not try them out in your next Facebook Post? Or perhaps search for #CreativeFearlessMarketing and see the hashtags we have created.

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P.S.: The above applies to Facebook ONLY – Hashtags are ..bizarre little things – they congregate in different ways from platform to platform, so don’t apply these tips to all other social media outlets as may well not work.