Hashtags are predefined markers that you add to your tweets.  They let people easily follow a certain subject by searching for that hashtag.  Using a hashtag is like participating in a public chat room.

The most common ways to use hashtags are for events or topics.  For instance, a Twitter conference will create a hashtag for itself, say #140tc, and everyone tweeting about that conference will use that tag in their tweets.  That way people can interact as to what’s going on.

When used for a topic, hashtags are less of a conversation and more of a way to categorize information.  For instance, if you are part of a travel company, you could use the hashtag #travel in a lot of your tweets.  You could also participate in memes like #traveltuesday.  That way, someone looking for travel information can simply search that hashtag.

Putting Hashtags to Work for You

So how should you use hashtags?  It depends.

• Events: Do you attend a lot of industry events?  If so, you should live-tweet those events to give people who can’t attend a window to what’s happening, and to position yourself as an industry leader in-the-know.
• Topics: There is a hashtag for almost anything.  Think about keywords for your industry (CRM, food, nonprofit, leadership) and use this site to see if a hashtag already exists.  If it does, start adding it to your tweets and save a search for it so that you can see what other people are saying.  Retweet some of the folks that are talking about your topic and get a conversation going.
• Mix it up!  Don’t always use the same hashtag in your tweets.  Find a few different ones that make sense and intersperse them.  Also, don’t make your posts long and hard to RT by adding too many hashtags.  Also, every post doesn’t have to be tagged.

Twitter Definitions (I found some of these definitions here, and have tweaked them slightly):

• Following:  The term for “friending” on Twitter.  When you follow someone, their tweets will show up in the feed on your Twitter homepage.  When someone follows you, your tweets will show up in the feed on their Twitter homepage.  Following does not have to be reciprocal, someone can follow you without you following them back, and vice versa.  Your Twitter homepage will give you a count of the number of people you are following and the number that are following you.
• Regular tweets: This is when you speak to all your followers by typing news, links or other information into your status update bar.  These tweets can also be seen by people who aren’t your followers and even by people who don’t have a Twitter account.
• Retweets (RTs): This is when you repost something someone else has said so that your followers see it.  Do this by typing RT, then space, then @username, then copying their tweet in its entirety. This is considered a huge compliment in Twitter World. You can also add your own take if there is space.  In TweetFunnel, you can just hit the RT button.
• Direct Messages (DMs) : This is for when you want to speak to only one person, and only he/she can read this tweet.  You can DM on twitter.com by using the “Direct Message” button. It will give you a drop-down menu for names, then you can just type your tweet in the status.  You can only DM people if you are following them AND they are following you.  In TweetFunnel, You can also DM by typing “D” then space, then the person’s username followed by your message—this works both in Twitter and in TweetFunnel.
• “At Replies” (@reply): This is the friendliest form of tweeting. You are responding directly to one person, but every one of your followers (and anyone else) can read it and can jump into the conversation. Do this by typing @username, then space, then your tweet. You can also do @replies on twitter.com by scrolling over the right side of a tweet message and hitting the “flip-around-looking arrow” that appears.  In TweetFunnel, just hit Reply next to the tweet.
• #/hashtag: Hashtags are a bit more complicated.  A hashtag is the # symbol followed by a word (ex: #travel). These are used when you want to participate in or follow a discussion on a specific subject or event.  It’s a bit like making a separate “room” for a discussion.  You can access this “room” by searching for the hashtag using Twitter Search.  Remember that this isn’t a private chat “room.”  For more on hashtags, click here.

1. Involve multiple people within your organization: Your corporation or organization has many facets, so let people from all parts of it be heard.  Ask staff from sales, marketing, R&D, HR and other departments to participate.

2. Use your blog for Twitter content: Pull quotes, tips or other juicy tidbits from your blog posts and turn them into tweets.  You work hard on those blog posts, so let them get some extra attention.

3. Get the most from your links: Sites like TwittyLinks make it easy for you to promote your website or blog unobtrusively.  One of the first rules of Twitter is to not talk about yourself all the time.  TwittyLinks let you talk about other topics while displaying a small header bar that can lead readers back to your website.

4. Follow your customers, prospects and suppliers: You want to hear what they’re saying.  Plus if you follow them, it increases the chances that they will follow you.

5. Reply to mentions and DMs as quickly as possible: Twitter is all about real-time results.  You’ll delight the people who are talking to you by giving them a quick reply.

6. Use hashtags: For hashtag basics, click here. Hashtags are a great way to expose your organization to a new group of people (the people following that hashtag).  For instance, if I’m a travel agent, I’d make sure to include #travel in many of my tweets and I’d always participate in #traveltuesday.  Many industries have predefined hashtags and “events” like #traveltuesday, so just do some searching to find yours.  An easy way to get acquainted with hashtags, is to participate in #followfriday.

7. Add TweetMeme to your blog: This makes it easy for people to tweet your posts, which can make your content viral.  Learn more about TweetMeme and how to install it here.

8. Be human: Be friendly, funny or otherwise engaging in your twittering.  You’ll build more relationships and see more positive impact.