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Learn to use hashtags like a pro: Friday 15 – Small Business Tips

Friday 15: Small Business Tips, is a series designed to help small businesses like yours make the most of their online presence. If you missed our February post about email marketing, check it out here.

Today, I’m talking hashtags. You see them everywhere: on websites, social media sites, and even on television, radio and in print. I decided to dedicate this post to the wonderful pound symbol, so you can start using it as part of your business’s social media strategy. #Enjoy.

Lesson Highlight: Hashtag basics: Connect to customers on social media

A hashtag is word or phrase prefixed with a pound, or hash, symbol (#), typically used in a social media post. For example, #Friday15 is a hashtag. Hashtags organize messages by topic. People can search for a hashtag to see all associated messages. You can use hashtags to target messages to specific groups of people interested in particular topics.

For example, let’s say you own a coffee shop. When posting a photo of your lovely caramel latte on a social media site, you include the hashtag #coffee. Now, people tracking #coffee will see your post. This provides exposure for your business and helps position you as an authority on the topic.

Watch this video to learn how to create your own hashtags.

Lesson Highlight: Get more out of social media by mastering the hashtag

Now that you understand hashtag basics, watch this follow-up lesson for tips about using them effectively. We’ll show you how to use hashtags to grow your audience, and how to learn which hashtags people are using.

Last but not least, we’ll help you avoid social media mistakes with our guide to good hashtag manners. Because #toomany #hashtags can be frustrating for your customers #ifyoudonotstayontopic, if they’re #toolong or if they’re #irrelevantforyouraudience.

Want to learn more? Watch our full video lesson to become a hashtag pro. Check out the full lessons, and view more tips at www.gybo.com/friday15.

And if you’d like even more resources from the Get Your Business Online team, I’ll be hosting our first ever Get Your Business Online Week, from March 24-27. It’ll be a week of education and celebration for businesses like yours, lived-streamed from our Headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Check out our website to learn more: www.gybo.com/gybo-week

On behalf of the entire Get Your Business Online team, I wish you great success growing your business.

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Whitney Lemon – Friday 15 Host, Google Small Business Engagement

BIO: Whitney hosts Friday 15: Small Business Tips, Google’s series to help small businesses succeed online, in 15 minutes or less.  Friday 15 is part of Google’s Get Your Business Online program, providing small businesses with a custom domain name and web hosting- free for one year.

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