Hashtags on Facebook Arrive

Hashtags are arriving on Facebook!

Facebook announced recently that Hashtags are launching.  The roll-out has started and users on desktop and notebooks will see hashtags having a link when used in a post.

The Basics:

Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in posts on your personal timeline or your Page, and help people find posts about topics they’re interested in.

How To Make a Hashtag:

To make a hashtag, write # (the number sign) along with a topic or phrase written as one word and add it to your post (ex: Can LeBron turn things around in Game 4? #NBAFinals).

When people click a hashtag, they’ll see a feed of posts that have been shared with them that are also using this hashtag.  The same Privacy Settings of any post apply to the hashtag.  So if your post is limited to “Friends”, only those friends have access to your use of that hashtag and public users cannot access or see your post.

#Hashtags Tips for Facebook via Mari Smith:

• #HashtagTips – whether you have the new #hashtag feature or not, start using strategic hashtags in your public Facebook posts (profile and page).  
• Everyone who has the feature will see your hashtags as clickable links.
• Include hashtags even when posting on mobile; though they don’t work on mobile (yet!), they do work on desktop when posted on mobile.
• Think about your industry and target market, and the types of hashtags you use on other social networks.
• Every hashtag on Facebook has its own unique URL with a status update box at the top. You can drive traffic to that URL from other sites to spark more conversation.
• Search for hashtags by typing into the main search box.
• Find new potential friends and pages by searching for specific hashtags.

See Mari’s Post on Facebook

Additional Uses:

Chats – Like on Twitter, expect to see public #hashtag chats where users intereact by appending a specific hashtag to their posts.  Examples #GetRealChat is a chat I participate in on Twitter and another popular one is #CMchat (country music chat) by @JessicaNorthey.

Dual Screen Communication – Chatting with friends via Facebook whlie watching a TV show!   Whether it’s talking about a favorite television show, cheering on a hometown sports team or engaging with friends during a breaking news event—people on Facebook connect with their friends about what’s taking place all over the world.  Now you can use a hashtag to focus on a topic.

I’ll be testing it out during Game 4 of the #NBAFinals!

 

More on Hashtag Privacy Detail:

• Hashtags work on personal profiles, fan pages and comments.
• As with all personal profile features on Facebook, privacy settings are included and users are in control.
• If you publish a post on your profile to friends only, and the post contains a hashtag – the hashtag will be clickable and open up to display all other posts on Facebook containing that hashtag.  However, any post you share that is limited to friends will be seen only by friends and not in the public hashtag searches.
• Even when friends include hashtags in comments on your friends-only thread, your post is still private and visible just to your friends.
• Individual comments on a post thread (replies/comments) do not surface in hashtag searches; just posts show in searches.