Google+ has long recognised the value of hashtags – as had Facebook. Both platforms have followed Twitter’s lead and are including hahstags in posts. Now Google+ has gone one step further and is now including automatically generated suggested hashtags in its posts. Google suggest appropriate hashtags and displays them on each of your posts
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Multiple hashtags appear as a list as in this post from NASA
Clicking on the hashtags brings up a list of related posts and other hashtags
Automatic hashtags will help you find better, more relevant content according to Google. But hashtags can be hijacked.
When a hashtag starts to trend on Twitter spammers take over the hashtag to promote unrelated links,malware and other hashtags. Hashtags are also used for marketers to display promoted stories in your feed.
Using the hashtag terms that you are interested in, and read regularly makes you more amenable to read the advertisers promoted post and information.
if you hate the inclusion of automatic hashtags then you can turn them off in Settings if you prefer.
But if you really want to get discovered, then use popular hashtags in your Public facing posts. Hashtags that can be easily categorised by Google+ will ensure that you will be much more likely to appear in other’s timelines – and spread the message about your brand…
Eileen is a social media strategist and consultant at Amastra, a columnist at ZDNet and author of Working The Crowd: Social Media Marketing for Business. Contact Eileen to find out how she can elevate your brand and help your business become more social.
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