2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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How to Perform aHashtag SearchAcross MultipleChannels Ian Cleary Created 6 Months Ago Updated 1

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conference, eventor Twitter chat, howdo you monitor thetraffic that isgenerated acrossmultiple channels?

Do you know howto trackconversationsacross Twitter,

Facebook and Instagram?

The initial question came up after a discussion with mygood friend Shonali Burke, so I thought it was worthexploring!

Hashtags are no longer unique to Twitter, so you needto include these other channels, too.

1. What’s the Point ofHashtags?A lot of hashtags are used in a way that they were notintended for. For example, imagine this tweet:

Going to a party going to have fun #cantwaitforit

This is an example of the kind of nonsense hashtagsthat are shared a lot. These types of hashtags may adda bit of color to your tweet, but they don’t offer anyvalue.

The real point of a hashtag is to help people filterrelevant conversations. For example, if you have anevent you can assign a hashtag for the event and then

people can view all the tweets related to that event,even if they don’t follow anyone attending it. This typeof hashtagging is very useful.

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So, when you are creating hashtags, think about howthey can be useful for people who want to filter relevantconversations. No one is going to filter based ongeneric hashtags such as #social, so don’t think for asecond that using something so broad ranging is goingto get you additional attention or traffic. You’re morelikely to get spammers following you, as they may betracking some of these general hashtags.

2. What is Good Practicefor Creating Hashtags?a) Check to see if the hashtag you want has alreadybeen created. For example, if you’re thinking of creatinga hashtag for an event, search for the hashtag you havein mind to see it’s already in use.

There could also be a hashtag in existence for acompletely different subject, and you don’t want to havea duplicate hashtag if you can avoid it.

b) Make it easy to spell/remember – If it’s easilyforgettable or difficult to spell then people will mistypeit – you’ll lose the value and find it impossible to track.

c) Long hashtags with multiple words may add color toyour conversation but will not be searched by anyone(e.g. #havingagoodtime).

3 What Platforms areHashtags Relevant on?Hashtags used to really only be used on Twitter but

they have now spread to many platforms. For example, hashtags are extremely important on Instagram,where they are very useful for filtering categories ofpictures. They are also used on Facebook and Google+and can be used on other platforms like LinkedIn.

2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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4. How Do You Perform aHashtag Search AcrossMultiple Channels?If you want to track hashtags on Twitter, there areseveral really good tools to choose from (see here), butthere are fewer tools available if you want to trackactivity across several platforms. However, here aresome options:

a) Tagboard

Tagboard allows you to search based on a hashtag andview conversations across multiple channels e.g.Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

The information is displayed in a nice, visual way as itretrieves any images that are associated with thehashtag. You can also filter based on the channel youare most interested in.

To view content related to a hashtag, you just enter thehashtag you are interested in.

2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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A filtered view based on the hashtag

If you want to make this filtered view available to youraudience, you can embed it on your own website. Forexample, if you are running an event, you may want toshare details of content shared related to the event. The paid version of Tagboard gives you more controlover the content shared on your site.

b) Brand24 monitoring tool

One of the best ways of monitoring a hashtag is to usea keyword monitoring tool, because a hashtag is just aa word with a hash symbol in front of it.

In Brand24, you create a new project and add a hashtagto the project. You want to view any content that hasthis keyword/hashtag in it.

When you set this up, you can then start to monitor thehashtag across multiple channels. For example, thefollowing shows that the combined hashtags,#worldcup #france, were mainly discussed on Twitter,but were also quite popular on Facebook and otherchannels (other channels are mainly other websites andGoogle+).

2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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This shows where the hashtags appeared

You can also track mentions over a particular timeperiod and filter them based on channel. You can clickon any point in the graph to view mentions on thatparticular day.

Filter mentions based on channels

When you filter the mentions, you are then able to seethe individual messages that appear for each mentionacross each channel.

c) Real-time tracking using Keyhole

Keyhole provides real-time analytics for hashtagsacross Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

When you go to the site, you’ll be asked for the hashtagand the channels you want to monitor. In our case, weselected all three channels and entered the hashtag‘World Cup’.

You are then shown an overview based on the hashtag.

2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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You are then shown an overview based on the hashtag.

Enter the hashtag and channels

Here’s a summary of the results displayed. You can getan idea of how popular the hashtag was with the reachand impressions. This could be very important to you ifyou are running a campaign and you have set up thehashtag. You may want to report on how widespreada hashtag becomes.

This is part of the overview displayed

As well as the above report, you can also view

2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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As well as the above report, you can also viewa breakdown of the:

Most influential users sharing the contentCountries where the content was sharedMain discussion areas around this hashtag,displayed in a cloud. If you click on anything withinthe cloud, you can view a filtered list of the contentbased around that topic.

Filter based on the specific topics discussed arounda hashtag

Top sites sharing this content

Demographic breakdown (male/female).

SummaryHashtags are getting more and more popular, and it willbecome increasingly important for companies tomonitor relevant hashtags across multiple channels, soa good search tool is essential.

We would love to hear about your opinion on hashtagsand any tools that you may use!

Thanks,

Ian

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Jonathan Pollinger • 6 months ago

Thanks for this Ian ­ I wasn't aware you could measure

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• Reply •

Thanks for this Ian ­ I wasn't aware you could measurein this way and have learn about some new tools. Just topoint out that you could use hashtags on LinkedIn butthey wouldn't work. LinkedIn stopped supporting them inAugust last year. If you want to bring them back pleasejoin my campaign ­ tweet #BringBackLinkedInHashtags!

1

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Jonathan Pollinger

ha! thanks Jonathan, I wasn't aware of that.That's what I love about blog posts. I alwayslearn something new from the comments!!

• Reply •

Shonali Burke • 6 months ago

Thanks for the shoutout, Ian! Upon yourrecommendation, we went with Brand24, and it wasreally, really good. I highly recommend it as well.

1

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Shonali Burke

Great Shonali, glad you like it. That's for theshoutout in your post also! Ian

• Reply •

Phil Targun • a month ago

hashedtags.com is a good site if you are a developer.

• Reply •

Krithika Rangarajan • 5 months ago

This is WONDERFUL! Thank you so much, Ian #HUGS

Kitto

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 5 months ago

Mod > Krithika Rangarajan

Thank you so much Kitto!! #HUGSBACK !!

• Reply •

Michal Sadowski • 5 months ago

Awesome feeling to get featured on RazorSocial. Thanksfor endorsing Brand24!

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 5 months ago

Mod > Michal Sadowski

You are very welcome Michal!

Danielle • 6 months ago

I love hashatit.com as well!

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2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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• Reply •

I love hashatit.com as well!

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months agoMod > Danielle

Thanks Danielle, I never heard of that one.People often ask me how I hear about thesetools!!! Ian

• Reply •

Mecheal • 6 months ago

Thanks Ian, going to definitely use one of these tools!Didn't now about it and I'm new to Twitter! ;­) From@pa2goSA

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months agoMod > Mecheal

Thank you!

• Reply •

Mathew Wood • 6 months ago

Great article Ian, thanks a lot!

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Mathew Wood

Thanks you Mathew 1

• Reply •

Milan Budimkic • 6 months ago

Good post Ian....Shared on @MBSEOService

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Milan Budimkic

Thanks Milan

• Reply •

Walter Hayes • 6 months ago

I didn't know this could be done, thank you for the tips!

• Reply •

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Walter Hayes

Thanks Walter.

• Reply •

Pdg • 5 months ago> Ian Cleary

Aren't there limits to tracking hashtags onFacebook due to privacyssettings?

Jackie Probiega • 6 months ago

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2015/1/14 How to Perform a Hashtag Search Across Multiple Channels

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• Reply •

You can also track hashtags on Pinterest for pins fromyour domain at Tailwind (http://tailwindapp.com). Irecommend it!

Ian Cleary • 6 months ago

Mod > Jackie Probiega

Hey Jackie, thank you for sharing. I completelyforgot about Tailwind and I really like that tool.

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