We’re only 2 days away from Vision Expo West! Whether you’re a doctor planning for CE or a student going to the show for the first time, there are many ways to participate in the tradeshow on top of just being there physically. We’re talking about getting involved with social media, particularly using hashtags. Today, we sum up a few ways you should and shouldn’t be using hashtags as part of your social media presence at Vision Expo West.
Using the hashtag symbol (#) before a keyword or phrase, categorizes your content and makes it more searchable. It used to be unique to Twitter, but has since spread on to become a feature on Facebook, Instagram, Vine, and Pinterest. Clicking on a hashtagged word shows you all other posts marked with that keyword. Hashtagged words that become popular often become trending topics and using that hashtag is how you become part of a conversation.
Don’t: Use Irrelevant Hashtags
Using irrelevant hashtags is perhaps one of the most annoying offenses you could commit in social media. #WhyPeopleWhy?! If you want to become part of a conversation, or want to have your content discovered, every word you hashtag should count. For example,“Why people why?!” is not a trending topic; it’s just a bunch generic words that’s does not get searched and does nothing to get your content out there. Unless you are doing it for the humor of mocking the use of irrelevant hashtags, like Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake did in their latest viral video, think before hitting the # sign!
If you are tweeting about Vision Expo West, good accompanying hashtags would include #Vegas, #VEW or latest products in the market, like #Uprise. And don’t forget to tweet at celebrities if you spot one!
Do: Find trending topics
This week is obviously a great week to use #VisionExpoWest, #VisionExpo or #VEW (if your character count is limited by Twitter.) Do a quick Twitter search for #VisionExpo to search for the latest news and people attending the show. You will find influencers, clients, and speakers at the show and you should start following them on social media. You may even find promotions at the show that you wouldn’t have otherwise found out about. A lot of companies are using social media as part of their marketing strategy and some deals are exclusive to their social media platforms.
#FF (Follow Friday) is a great way to gain followers on Twitter. If you find someone exciting this week at Vision Expo and would like to share them with your followers, tag them in your #FF post. And if they aren’t already following you, they will probably appreciate your shout-out and follow you back.
Don’t: Use Long Hashtags
If using hashtags is part of your social media strategy, then it’s all about getting discovered through your hashtags (See point 1). What are the chances of someone searching for “#Top5FoodsToEatForHealthyVision”? No one can read that!
If you are writing a blog post about a list of recommended foods that can help improve or maintain good vision, try “Check out these Top 5 foods You Should be Eating for #HealthyVision.” If you do a Twitter search, you’ll see that #HealthyVision has been used a number of times in the past week. To get involved in the conversation, retweet the blog post with the same hashtag and ask the writers to check out your post in your next tweet.
We will be at Vision Expo West at Booth #MS9035, promoting Uprise, a cloud-based practice management system by VisionWeb. We hope to see you there, but in the meantime, follow us on Twitter and see why you should #StartYourUprise!
