Photo: Reuben NV/Rediff.com
Online users rely on social media sites, particularly Twitter, to get their message across to the most number of people quickly and effectively.
Thus, if you're looking for a medium by which to promote your new business or simply want something to go viral online, your best tool is a well thought-out hashtag, which, with the right planning and marketing, will stir the Twitterverse to transform it into a trend.
Indian writer Chetan Bhagat (
@chetan_bhagat) had this in mind when he was promoting his latest book 'What Young India Wants.'
MindShift Interactive (
@Mind_Shifters), a digital group, was hired to launch a campaign on Twitter on August 8, 2012 using the hashtag
#18ThingsIWant. This was launched on Homeshope18.com initially and then quickly spread to other venues on the Internet.
The idea involves having other Twitter users share 18 things they wish to have in life. Ten of the Twitter users who incorporated the hashtag with their tweets will be randomly chosen to win autographed copies of the new release.
At the onset, the idea sounds simple and, because of its straightforwardness, makes for a highly effective way to promote 'What Young India Wants.' The author was in for a big surprise. Because
#18ThingsIWant is a hashtag that naturally draws people, whether or not they were interested in winning the book, it drew droves of Twitter users to create a nationwide trending topic, with a cumulative reach of more than 1.6 million and 300,000 retweets.
Here's what some tweeted about.
The hashtag #18ThingsIWant was well made to effectively market the book and establish connections with other brands. Among the most unique features of the hashtag is its close connection with target readers in India and all over the globe; that is, people can easily relate with the topic and can share their own thoughts and views.
In fact, related hashtags about other things people want are riding on the popularity of the campaign. The moral of the story? If you want your hashtag promotion to truly get attention, appeal to the emotion. Don't be a hard sell.
'What Young India Wants' is a non-fiction compilation of all the speeches and essays of Chetan Bhagat. Bhagat wrote it after having published five novels. The book covers issues about youth, politics and the community.
The #18ThingsIWant campaign did not involve any @mentions; the conversations and sharing were done all around websites, mobile devices and other platforms. Related brands were also using the hashtag to bring in more potential clients.
