Yesterday, Facebook (finally) introduced clickable hashtags, after months of industry speculation. We’ll now be able to search for, and contribute to, topic and event feeds directly from our profiles. The idea isn’t exactly revolutionary, which Facebook acknowledged in its blog post about the announcement. Pinterest, G+ and Tumblr have already adopted the popular feature from Twitter. And now, bowing down to the behavior of its users, so has the ‘book.
So, what does this mean for brands?
Hashtags seem to be part of Facebook’s plan to up its ad game to appease investors frustrated with stock performance. With hashtags, marketers can now count on Facebook not only to target users effectively, but also to follow real-time public conversations, and test strategies that will drive those conversations.
In an email sent to AdWeek, Facebook encouraged brands to include hashtags in their Facebook ads: “Any hashtags [used] on other platforms that are connected your Facebook page will be automatically clickable and searchable on Facebook.” And they hinted there’s more to come, including “trending hashtags and new insights so that [brands] can better understand how hashtags fit into overall Facebook advertising strategies and drive business objectives.” If Twitter is shaking in its boots, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Hashtags not working for you yet? Don’t worry. The feature is only available to a small group of users and businesses now, and will be rolled out more widely in the coming weeks.
Do you think Facebook hashtags will really be a game-changer for advertisers? Why? Why not?