All right printers, it’s time to get serious about hashtags for your social media marketing. Anybody who follows me on my personal account knows that I basically live on Twitter. Between my job here at PrintFirm and my extracurricular activities, I’m rarely offline. I’ve noticed an increase in print related activity lately, and I’m stoked to see the print community embracing social networking. There’s also been an outpouring of support from the design and creative/artists communities, so this post applies to CMYK enthusiasts as well as service providers.
I see plenty o’ tweets filled with seemingly random hashtags, though. Hopefully we all know it’s not advisable to insert more than 1 or 2 tags in a single update. Otherwise, you’ll come across as kinda spammy. Or just plain annoying. Anyway, I figured I’d go ahead and create a handy guide to the top print related tags for your sharing pleasure.
How Do Hashtags Really Work?
You’re tagging your updates because you understand that Twitter serves as a social search engine, much more so than Facebook. Not that Twitter’s the only place to include these clickable phrases; Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr all support tagging for internal search. While Facebook finally adopted tags, users generally ignore them, so there’s really no reason to bother on that platform.
That said, hashtags also serve the following 3 purposes:
- Community- Anybody doing social the right way will be sharing relevant articles, images, etc. with their followers. Tags allow these folks to meet and network (i.e. promote each other). That’s why I want to make sure you’re incorporating tags that other users recognize, so you’ll become part of the greater printing community. After all, tags that no one uses don’t bring many benefits, unless they’re strictly for humor or effect.
- Discovery- This is obviously related to search, but I’m including it because you may not have thought about all the bloggers out there searching for articles or looking for authoritative sights to link to. I often turn to Twitter, especially for news, because I prefer to get unfiltered results *coughs* GOOGLE *coughs*. Tags help me find your content even if Google buries your blog, which means you might be in for a surprise link.
- Events- Attending an event? You can bet there’s an associated hashtag or two you should include in your updates to interact with attendees, tweet interesting quotes from speakers or panels, and post pics. As a bonus, you’ll likely gain some cool new followers in the process.
7 Tweetable Tags to Start Using Today
That covers hashtags 101, at least for our purposes. For a fun infographic about these most excellent online tools, check out the History of the Hashtag infographic from Offerpop.
I promised a list of popular tags for printers to latch onto, so here they are in no particular order:
#PrintLove- As much as I’d like to take credit for this one, the #PrintLove tag apparently started way back in 2010! That’s 14 internet years ago! I will assume responsibility for its revival, unless someone wants to step in and set me straight. I feel this tag represents not just a passion for print media, but the powerful bond among the social printers.
Example: Hey guys, thanks for the follow! #PrintLove.
#PrintWins- I’ve posted about this tag before during Print 13, and the stream’s still going strong. The tag was originally part of the Xerox Digital Printing booth’s promotional plan. Most of the content in this stream shows creative ways to integrate print or positive research about various forms of print marketing, especially direct mail.
Example: Consumers trust printed ads more than any other medium #PrintWins
#PrintChat- I know, I push #printchat every other breath. For those who don’t know, this tag comes from the weekly Twitter chat hosted by PMC. Every Wednesday at 1pm on the best coast (4pm east) all the inkheads gather together for an hour of fun and exploration. If that’s old news to you, I bet you didn’t know that #printchat now has its own website, did you smarty pants?
Example: See ya at #PrintChat!
#PrintBig- Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe our friends at Washington Graphics came up with this as part of their company’s “#BeBig” campaign. So far the steam appears to be a mixture of marketers indulging in self-promotion along with people discussing cool projects and motivational materials. Aside from the tag’s creators, I don’t think the steam should be hijacked for sales pitches. I’d much rather see stuff that lifts everyone up or campaigns that impress me with their ambition.
Example: Happy Monday, who’s ready to #PrintBig?
#Printspotters- Somehow this one escaped me until today. I asked for clarification, but I haven’t received a response yet. From what I can tell, this tag relates more to the artistic side of things. So marketers, please steer clear unless you’re genuinely sharing printed fine art pieces or posters.
Example: Woah, I’m glad I went to the gallery, check out this killer poster design! #PrintSpotters
#PrintNerd/#PrintGeek- Contrary to popular belief, geek and nerd are NOT synonymous. Geeks are people who obsess over esoteric stuff whereas nerds are usually isolated techie types. I prefer the term #PrintGeek because nerds aren’t known for being social, even on the internet. Use whichever tag seems appropriate to what you’re posting.
Example: Awesome typography #PrintGeek; I’m reading about the chemical components of different kinds of coating. #PrintNerd
#IntPrintday- Expect this tag to start blowing up as the International Print Day movement gains momentum. We’ve got a long ways to go till Sept, so get involved early to stay in the loop.
Example: I just volunteered to host a local event for #IntPrintDay!
Community Soundoff
Did I miss your favorite phrase? Let me know in the comments below!