Have you ever counted how many times you’ve heard someone saying “hashtag this” and “hashtag that” in a conversation or as a silly side mention on a morning television program? Quickly worming its way into the lexicon as a legitimately coined phrase, Webster’s Dictionary is almost certainly on the road to making these phrases official. Yes, Twitter is a sounding board for everything from #zombies to #justinbieber, but it is not just about spreading your opinion in 140 characters or fewer. It’s about connecting those opinions into something much greater. Twitter has grown into a social platform with more than 500 million tweets a day connecting people from all walks of life and locations. The only question is, how many of those people can you reach – with nothing more than a hashtag?
A hashtag is a connection – a crossing of ideas and thoughts that merge into one fluid conversation from every media channel and corner of the world. It’s a podium, an opportunity to have your voice heard by millions. Evident in the recent launch of Amplify and Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings, the correlation between digital media and traditional advertising continues to evolve as our technologies become more advanced and networks collide. According to Twitter, close to 95% of the public social conversation around TV happens on its social channel. In the second quarter of 2013, users offered a staggering 263 million Tweets about live TV – a 38% increase in Tweet volume that big brands such as Fox and American Express have noticed. And all connected with hashtags.
What this means for marketers
The number of people using devices simultaneously while watching television has quadrupled from last year, according to a recent study conducted by Accenture. In the United States, Brazil and selected countries in Western Europe, 44% of those included in the survey used a tablet while watching televisions, up from 11% the year before. That means more and more people are joining in or creating a discussion, which gives marketers the opportunity to join in as well.
Understanding that each medium has a unique set of characteristics and audience demographics, marketers with adequate insight will have the core components to maximize performance. Successful marketers will tailor and extend their campaigns to ensure they are engaging with their audience at not only the right time, but in the right manner as well. More and more people are consuming content across multiple devices in real time and social media is at the center of it.
#Hashtag it with Data – The Value of a Like or a Tweet
Combined data and analytics will become key indicators of performance as fans, followers and viewers are increasingly choosing to engage with your content. Facebook’s network of 1.15 billion monthly active users and Twitter’s 200 million active tweeters are producing staggering statistics, unfortunately the measurements in place today are far from ideal as many struggle to develop best practices and define their metrics. The road ahead will be bumpy, making it more important than ever to choose an innovative partner with a platform focused on social media marketing. As an official Facebook sPMD and Twitter certified Ads API Partner, we are pleased to be able to offer smart social media solutions designed to optimize all of your social initiatives on one platform. And encourage everyone to hashtag away.