Ten years? No way!

Yes, way! Ten years ago, the hashtag was born. First used in a tweet on August 23, 2007, the symbol formerly known to most of us as the pound sign took on a whole new meaning. Chris Messina, web marketing specialist proposed the hashtag as a way of grouping or classifying the content in messages; a way to organize online conversations. Today, it’s estimated that 125 million hashtags are tweeted every single day. That’s a lot of hashtags! Let’s hear it for social media.

Here’s the beauty of this social media thing – it gives people another way to connect to others with similar interests, thoughts or persuasions. And not just on a personal level, but on a business level. Social media for businesses is not an option.

The benefits of social media for your business are many, including raising brand awareness, showcasing your company to a huge audience, gaining valuable customer insight, converting leads, increasing web traffic, distributing your message faster and farther. These are all great but to me the number one benefit is the ability to directly engage with customers; build relationships; communicate. I’m not talking about sales “pitching” either. It’s not about continually blasting out the hard sell. It’s about a two-way communication channel, engaging with customers, building relationships and trust and developing advocates. It’s a process, not an event. Aim for quality in your program, not just how many likes or followers or connections you generate. The rewards won’t come overnight, but in the long run, they’ll be much more valuable.

In the words of John Powell, “Communication works for those who work at it.”

Posted by MJ Thomas