Eye On: Facebook Hashtag Support, Vol 2, Issue 5, June 2013 © Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Contact: Joe Kehoe (312-220-1459) or Jake Setlak (312-220-4005)"

Facebook has recently launched #hashtag support on the platform. Consumers and brands can now use hashtags within their status updates and within Facebook apps. These hashtags will appear as clickable links on desktop only, and when clicked, will open up a feed where you’ll see stories from people and brand pages who have posted with the same hashtag. Facebook privacy settings will determine which posts you will see in the feed, thus restricting users from seeing posts from people who are not their friends. Hashtags are recognized on multiple social media platforms including Instagram, Google+, Tumblr and Twitter. Hashtags are also used by multiple TV shows and live events to direct consumers to engage in conversation about what they are watching. Key Points to Understand!!

Eye On: Facebook Supports Hashtags

Gradual Rollout!Hashtags are not live yet for all users, but expected to gradually roll out over the next few weeks. "Hashtag Content Display Order!Hashtag content is shown in chronological order with your friends and brands/pages you follow showing up first, then public content from users and brands. "Mobile!Hashtags can be seen in your newsfeed or timeline on mobile devices, but will not be clickable at this time on mobile devices. "Hashtag Ownership!Brands cannot own hashtags. Hashtags are public and are not ownable. Anyone may use a hashtag, or create their own hashtag. Advertising!At the present moment, hashtag targeting is not available for Facebook advertising. Hashtags can only be promoted via a promoted post. Hashtags can only appear in newsfeeds ads on desktop as they are not clickable on mobile devices. Measurement!Hashtags are not yet supported in Facebook Insights. There is no way for brands to measure hashtag performance at this time.

Hashtag Results in Facebook Feed

Eye On: Facebook Hashtag Support, Vol 2, Issue 5, June 2013 © Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide Contact: Joe Kehoe (312-220-1459) or Jake Setlak (312-220-4005)"

Implications for Brands!Hashtags could offer brands new opportunities to engage in conversations with consumers about topics that matter to them on Facebook, other social platforms, or even TV. They could also provide insights on the types of content consumers are looking for, enabling the brand to contribute to the conversation or amplify an emerging topic with paid advertising. However, Facebook does not recommend that all brands begin using hashtags in their Facebook marketing activities yet, unless they are currently using it in an integrated campaign. Brands should not be using hashtags platform yet due to these types of issues: 1.  Hashtag Spam may affect overall content reach 2.  Age restricted content exposure 3.  Post takeover by consumers commenting with topics which result in unintended consequences 4.  Brand tagline hacking with off brand tagged content 5.  Endorsement of other brands or personalities on Facebook via hashtags 6.  PR Issues

An agency update will be sent out with cross channel guidelines on how brands should be using hashtags once the functionality has been fully rolled out and safeguards have been put in place to protect brands from issues that could affect their marketing efforts.

Eye On: Facebook Supports Hashtags

*Source: http://mashable.com/2012/09/11/instagram-100-million/"

For more information about Hashtags on Facebook and mobile adoption:!•  http://newsroom.fb.com/News/633/Public-Conversations-on-Facebook"•  http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=761090"•  https://www.globalwebindex.net/product/stream-social-global-report-q1-2013-with-embedded-data-2/"•  http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/12/facebook-starts-the-big-hashtag-rollout-trending-topics-coming-soon/"

Brand #Hashtag Takeover #Hashtag Spam