#HowToHashtag

Having recently interviewed for a summer internship, I tried my best to prepare. I had a list of questions I thought I may be asked, especially ones related to the work I do at PRowl Public Relations. Naturally, I was asked an abundance of basic questions about the firm and I went on to happily answer all them with ease. When discussing social media tactics I have used for my account in this past semester, however, there was one question I could not seem to conjure up an answer for. The question was more or less asking how my PRowl Public Relations account decided upon certain hashtag campaigns for the various events we had hosted throughout the year.

This question got me thinking. How exactly does a PR professional, account team, or business leader, for that matter, come up with an effective Twitter hashtag campaign? Is there a science behind it?

Twitter hashtags are a little gesture that can go a long way. Most of the time they produce positive results, but there are instances in which hashtags can go very wrong (think McDonald’s #McDStories, more like #McFail, campaign last January). By including a relevant hashtag in your tweet, it becomes visible to people searching for that specific topic, adding your voice to the general discussion. The probability of your tweets being retweeted is also higher when you use the right hashtag to share your comments or insights about a subject or in PRowl’s case, in marketing an event.

 So I went to my trusty search-engine, Google, seeking the answer. What I found were many articles that all had similar tips for creating a simple yet powerful hashtag campaign on Twitter. Here is a list of pointers to keep in mind when creating your campaign:

 1. Determine the kind of value you aim to derive for yourself and your followers from using the hashtag. Do you intend to crowd source information, create buzz or provoke conversation? Make sure your intention and purpose for employing the hashtag is clear and focused. Formulate a hashtag that is relevant to your purpose and the subject you intend to tweet about.

 2. Check to see if the hashtag you have in mind already exists and is in use. It is also very important to check if your desired hashtag has not taken on some other meaning. Twitter Search, Hashtags.org and Tagalus are some tools you can use to do a quick hashtag check.

 3. Start tweeting your hashtag. It helps to set the context of your hashtag by briefly explaining what it means.

 4. Tweet with moderation. The last thing you want is to be seen as a spammer. For PRowl, we introduced the hashtag once daily up until the actual day of the event.

 5. Set up an automatic alert tool that sends you an email alert when someone tweets your hashtag. Twilert is one such tool.

Do you think Twitter hashtags help to raise visibility for businesses? Let us know your favorite!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlyn Sutton.

Spotting Persuasion Tricks This Election Season

As election season looms, there are ads and debates everywhere telling us which person is better suited to run our country. Many Americans watch these ads and tune in to the debates, but they don’t really see what is right in front of them. Politicians have been stereotyped as tricksters, and it might not necessarily be untrue. Every politician uses persuasion tricks in one way or another, and it’s important to be able to pick out these instances in order to form a well-rounded opinion. Here are some typical persuasion tricks that politicians use regularly that everyone should keep an eye out for.

Intensifying and downplaying
It makes sense that politicians want to intensify their own good qualities, but they always want to intensify their opponent’s poor qualities. On the flip side, politicians want to downplay their own poor qualities, while at the same time downplaying the good qualities of other politicians.

Emotional appeals
A great example of an emotional appeal is the ASPCA commercial with Sarah Mclachlan. The sad animals in that commercial trigger an emotional response from viewers that ideally causes them to donate to the ASPCA. Politicians prey on people’s emotions in the same way. They might not use cute animals but they use things like guilt, patriotism, and fear to generate certain emotions from voters to make them agree with their political opinion.

Nonverbal persuasion
Every politician uses nonverbal persuasion in a different way. Some politicians change the way they dress depending on their audience. If they want to seem like “one of the people” they might neglect to wear a tie or roll up their sleeves so they seem like any ol’ regular person.

Argumentation
Every politician is an expert at forming an excellent argument. This can be seen especially during a debate. One politician might ask another question after question until their opponent is backed into a corner, unsure of what to say next. This is a perfect example of how politicians twist argumentation to their advantage.

These things might seem insignificant in every day life, but when it comes to politics, it is it is important to be knowledgeable. Every politician uses persuasion tricks, to some degree, but many politicians take it over the top. In order to make a smart choice this election season, watch out for these tricks next time an ad or debate comes on TV.

Have you noticed any of these tricks in politicians lately? What’s your opinion? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member London Faust.