Are you harnessing the power of the hashtag when posting on your social media accounts? If not, you could be missing out on the best way to connect with other health care professionals online.
Anyone browsing social media will encounter hashtags on an almost daily basis. Health care related hashtags are no exception. For example, #HCSM, an acronym for Health Care Social Media, can be seen almost every day.
While hashtags are dominant on Twitter, you will find them on all over Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and almost every other social media outlet you can name.
While #HCSM is primarily used by health care professionals, laymen alike will use it as well. The point of a hashtag is signal that a particular topic is being discussed so that a variety of people can easily locate subject matter they are interested in and engage on it.
An example of using a hashtag in a normal everyday situation would be something along the lines of these #HCSM postings:
#hcsm Visual Marketing – The Key to ALL Forms of Health Care Marketing
http://t.co/2afZu2zjVb
— Dr. Malpani (@drmalpani)
The Role of Social Media in Recruiting for Clinical Trials in #Pregnancy
http://t.co/JHuf5egMeU #hcsm
— Marie Ennis-O’Connor (@JBBC)
Social Networking Sites and the Continuously Learning Health System: A Survey
http://t.co/wIh8sHzFxW #hcsm
— Brian Ahier (@ahier)
There is really no single “right way” way to use hashtags, other than you do not want to cram too many into a single posting (Instagram aside). If you want to locate an audience, engage on a topic, or expand your social media reach, hashtags are not only important, they are essential!