How to Use #Hashtags effectively on Twitter to build a following

If you have been Tweeting , you would have seen conversations ( also known as Tweets on Twitter ) that include a # symbol before words, the # symbol is called a hashtag and its a great way to link conversations on Twitter and build a community of like minded people.

But how do you effectively use hashtags on Twitter to link your conversations. When you place a # symbol before a word, phrase or abbreviation, it creates a mini search phrase conversation that can be looked up and followed on Twitter. The more exposure your Tweets have on Twitter, the more chances of building a large Twitter following

Hashtags organize Tweets by conversation and raise the online visibility of events, activities, onferences, holidays and more.

You can use hashtags to bring increased visibility to your conversations on Twitter by following these simple tips:

1. Learn out How Twitter #Hashtags Work

Check the Tweets and notice where people are using hashtags. The best way to understand #hastags is by clicking them and following the conversation on Twitter, click on the #hashtag and it will take you to Twitter search page where you ll see a stream of conversions ralated to the #hashtag word. You can find out what the # hashtag is being used for, who is using it, and some links to where you can get more information.

2. Start Using Hashtags for your own Tweets

The best was to learn is to take action and start using #hashtags for your own Tweets. For example every Friday you ll see people on Twitter make recommendations of their favourite people on Twitter to follow by using #followfriday hashtag, now if you click on #followfriday hashtag you ll see a stream of conversation on #followfriday

3. Create a Unique HashTag for Your Next Tweet

The next time you tweet use the #hashtag, you can tell your followers to use the #hashtag whenever they retweet your tweet. For example, one of my Tweets to was about Gmail failing on me, check how I used the hashtag #gogglefail for the tweet in the above screen shot, also check out the screen shot of the top trending topics on Twitter, you’ll see #googlefail on top.

You’ll see a number of people have used the #googlefail, when you click on #googlefail you ll see all the conversation on #googlefail.

#Hashtags give a viral effect to your tweet and ensure that your tweet is seen by many users on Twitter, giving you the opportunity to build a Twitter following.

Twitter hashtags are like having a life jacket to swim the whitewater streams of Twitter. They help organize, track and increase your online visibility by associating your name with a topic or a brand.

Twitter can be a great tool to market your website or blog, if you know how to build a Twitter following and converse with them on a daily basis.