SPOTLIGHT ON… Twitter for Authors: Hashtags

Hashtags:

We’ve all seen messages where every second word is hashtagged, something like this:

#Buy my #book about #love and #fun. You’ll #love it and you’ve #found this #Tweet because of my #excessive #hashtag use! #buymybook

 

Annoying and hard to read, don’t you think? (I do!)

 

So, why hashtags I hear you say.

Good question. The answer in short is that hashtags increase your chances of being ‘seen’ on Twitter. The use of a popular or trending hashtag opens you, and your tweet, up to a bigger network than your own thus increasing your visibility on Twitter. Ideally, your use of popular and/or trending hashtags will get your tweet retweeted (remember each retweet gets your message out to an entire network of potential new followers) and if your message is received well you’re likely to pick up new followers.

No doubt you’ll have seen television programs promoting a particular hashtag for a program or a controversial or gossip-worthy aspect of a program and these too are fabulous ways to join a larger ‘conversation’ and get your message out there. Reality programs are particularly good at this, and you’ll often see examples such as:

#XFactor – if you just want to join in the conversation about this program, use this hashtag—for example, “Watching #XFactor, can you believe that these guys are through to the top ten!”

 

#arethejudgeswrong – might be another hashtag for the same show where there has been a controversial decision made. Are you outraged? Are you surprised? Tweet your thoughts and add the hashtag to be part of the larger online networking conversation.

 

Remember when tweeting that if your message is articulated strongly, or controversial in it’s own right, the television network might just display your tweet on screen during the program thus opening your network even further.

 

So, which hashtags work particularly well for authors:

#amreading
#Amazon
#Kindle
#iTunes
#FREE
#IndieAuthors
#WriteChat
#WriteTip
#WriteClub
#SelfPublishing
#IndiePub
#BookMarketing
#BookGiveaway
#MustRead
#LitChat
#AuthorRT
#YA
#WLC
#FBINBR (Facebook I Need Book Reviews)
#ChickLitChat
#WriterWednesday
#FridayReads
#BYNR (Book Your Next Read – an online tweeting group)
#ASMSG (Author Social Media Support Group – yes, we all help each other)
#BookClub
#kkst (kickstart – a Christian book tweeting hashtag)

 

As an author, promoting yourself, your brand, and/or your books (or even better, all three of these things), how can hashtags help you?

 

Instead of tweeting:

 My book, Follow Me On Twitter, is free to download on Amazon until Monday. Get your copy at www.amazonlink.com

 

Try:

For tips on #BookMarketing, grab your #FREE copy of Follow Me On Twitter on #Amazon until Monday. Get your copy at www.amazonlink.com #MustRead #authorRT #asmsg

 

The difference is, unless someone is specifically searching either your or your book the first message is likely to only be seen by your network of followers. Comparitively, the tweet with the hashtags will be seen by everyone following any of the five hashtag conversations you’ve included—great news for getting your message out, building your profile and network and possibly getting some books sold or downloaded.

 

What are your favorite hashtags for getting responses and retweets on Twitter—share the love and let us know below.

 

 

Join me on Twitter, just click here then hit the ‘FOLLOW’ button!