There’s no question that there’s a high level of excitement among PR pros when it comes to using Twitter to get out a message—whether it be for a brand, a movement or a cause. The thought of writing a compelling post in 140 characters coupled with the possibility of reaching engagement numbers never dreamed of is surely enticing. However, often overlooked in forming Twitter strategies is the hashtag—those short words/phrases preceded by the “#” sign that can mean the difference between some decent engagement and a huge viral success.

Recently, hashtags have been used to rally support for or against hot-button issues, like the use of “pink slime” by the meat industry; rallying the public around the Trayvon Martin tragedy; and voicing opinions on the R-rating for the documentary film Bully (see the table for analysis of these hashtags and more).
 

Making Hot-Button Issues Sizzle: 4 Hashtags That Worked
Hashtag	Mentions: tweets + retweets (tracking period, 2012)	PR Objective	Effective Use of Hashtag
#pinkslime	15,608 (Feb. 1 - March 29)	Rally public support against the cheap hamburger meat filler.	Just the popularity of the term “Pink Slime” caused some stores to stop selling products that contained the additive; and it sparked a major campaign by the beef industry in support of pink slime.
#justicefortrayvon	149,968 (Feb. 26 - March 29)	Serve as a sounding board for an outraged public protesting the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.	As the public learns more details of the shooting, tweets continue unabated. Martin’s family is seeking to copyright “Justice for Trayvon.”
#komen	61,573 (Jan. 31 - March 29)	Set up to chronicle the good deeds of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the hashtag became the central hub for public discussion over Komen’s initial decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood.	#komen became a lightning rod for thousands of people protesting against Komen’s decision. The noise began to die down two weeks after the story broke on Jan. 31. However, the foundation’s troubles continue as several executives have left.
#bullymovie	131.159 (March 1 - March 29)	The Weinstein Co. took to Twitter to rally Hollywood stars and movie-goers in protest of the MPAA’s decision to give Bully an R-rating.	Harvey Weinstein released Bully unrated, risking cutting out kids from seeing the film. However, #bullymovie has drawn over 22,000 followers on Twitter, with social support growing.

One thing is clear—creating the right hashtag isn’t about closing your eyes and hoping for the best. There’s a science to it, says Nada Arnot, SVP, chief digital officer, emerging digital media, at RF Binder. Arnot recommends going to Hashtag.org and Trendsmap.com to see which hashtags already have traction within the topic you’re addressing. Then you can send out your message using those existing hashtags. But beware: “You want to make sure that those tags are appropriate for your message,” says Arnot. That means monitoring the tag for a few days, noting the days and times when conversation peaks, as well as the tone of the conversations. Also, identify major influencers using the hashtags. “Retweet them and ‘at reply’ them to get them engaged in a conversation,” says Arnot.

Using existing hashtags is a solid strategy that Arnot says clients sometime balk at, preferring instead to create a new hashtag around their brand or campaign. But be careful, says Michael Lamp, social and digital media strategist at Hunter PR. “People put too much stock in making sure the brand is the focal point of the hashtag,” says Lamp, who adds that the most successful hashtags often are part of a clever campaign name.

Even better, make your hashtag a question. That will get you more engagement, says Lamp. Whatever you do, don’t make a hashtag too general, like Domino’s #newpizza. That became the destination for haters of the company’s new pizza recipe.

Lamp says that hashtags may not have been taken as seriously just a few years ago, but brands today have taken notice of them. To get the most play from your hashtags, Lamp offers these tips:

1. Keep them short. “No more than 20 characters, give or take,” says Lamp.

2. Mind the retweets. Be sure to save 20 characters at the end of your tweets to allow for the hashtag and a short note by the person who is doing the retweeting.

3. Exclamation point. Don’t use punctuation in your hashtags—they will end up broken.

Lamp adds that Hunter PR had great results from a hashtag created off of a video it made called “Stuff PR People Say.” A play on “Sh*t People Say” videos that can be found on YouTube, Hunter was looking to draw some attention to itself, and it did, reaching 1,500 people who tweeted #StuffPRPeopleSay. It was an unexpected success. Says Lamp: “My Tweetdeck was going crazy.”

SOLVING #SNAFUS

Not all hashtag choices end in success, however. If you wind up in a hashtag pickle, like Domino’s, be prepared to take some swift action. Even McDonald’s —with its robust social media machine—can experience “bashtagging.” Recently the burger chain’s idea to allow users to share their favorite memories of the burger chain backfired when hijackers took over the #McDStories hashtag to tell horror stories of bad food and service.

Arnot says the snafu was a result of not thinking a hashtag through. It’s important, then, to think about the worst-case scenario, and then be ready to address any problems, whether it be by engaging consumers to steer the conversation back to the original idea, or perhaps taking it on the chin and acknowledging when consumers are right.

That’s what Domino’s did in reaction to #newpizza. In McDonald’s’ case, it pulled the #McDStories hashtag and the bashing cooled down, but not before this gem was tweeted: “McDStories: McDialysis? I’m loving it!”

Lamp says that hashtags are an intersection of brands, pop culture and current events. That’s a pretty busy and important intersection, so handle your hashtags with care.

CONTACT:

Nada Arnot, [email protected]; Michael Lamp, [email protected].