Social Media Tips – Using Twitter to encourage conversation

Twitter is a great tool for engaging in conversations and commentary about events of all sorts, whether they are taking place online or offline. Setting a hashtag (#) allows people to follow a campaign, event or speech remotely and is a great way to spread the word, even when in a business-to-business application.

Here are some simple tips and rules to follow:

• #Don’t #overuse #hashtags – or your message starts to look like spam
• Avoid using your brand or company name as the hashtag
• Make sure your chosen hashtag isn’t already being used or, if it has been used before, doesn’t have some other meaning that might conflict with your campaign
  
• If it isn’t obvious, let people know what your hashtag means
  
• Make sure the hashtag adds value – remember it should add recognition and make it easier to organise your event or campaign
  
• Remember to add it to all marketing communication related to that event or campaign