Hashtags. REQUIRED.d11consulting.com /hashtagsrequired/

Debra Trappen

Mamas have been teaching their children this f or year: “If you don’t have anything nice to say – don’t sayanything at all.” It is still tried and true advice.

However, I am thinking today’s “social mama” advice might need to be:“If you have something nice to say – you need to use a #hashtag to be heard!”

Why do I think this? Well… let me ask you, have you heardthis statement bef ore?

“I never (or rarely) look at my ‘Home Stream’ anymore. Iuse Lists. Hashtags. Searches. That is how I f ind theconversations I want to participate in now.”

This is said in nearly every single conversation I have aboutTwitter and more and more about Instagram.

These social communities are so heavily based on hashtags. Now, Facebook is eluding to adopting this as well.

So, how do we f ind the conversations that we want to bepart of and the people with we want connect with now? Well,we embrace # HASHTAGS.

I have been testing out a new appcalled http://www.tagstagram.com f or Instagram. It helps f ind the most popularhashtags that will connect us with the other IG’ers who are interested in what we areposting. The results have been OFF THE CHARTS. I have seen an increase inengagement and not just LIKES. People actually interacting and commenting onphotos has increased 3x’s already! Finding new people all over the world hasincreased.

I also shared the app with f riends who have seen some amazing results… Isn’thelping one another connect what it is all about?

So, what’s next?

My new adventure is to find an app to make finding relevant Twitter connections/conversations easier. Do youhave one you use? I would love your suggestions… Together, let’s uncover new worlds, people,conversations that we want to be part of … and really embrace the power of these platf orms.

Here is to #hashtagging together – with purpose!