Hash tags, known as the pound sign (#) on Twitter are one of the easiest ways to build brand and establish relationships with different audiences that are very specific.  Hash tags are common during events like conferences and tweetups which are twitter networking meetings.  There are other events that happen online sometimes daily or month where groups of people meet on Twitter to discuss a topic on a scheduled or regular basis.  These are referred to as Twitter Chats.  According to a Google Doc which serves as the “unofficial Twitter Chat listing,” there are currently 427 Twitter Chats listed.  These chats span various industries, topics, and information.  I serve as a co-moderator of #jobhuntchat, a Twitter chat for HR & Recruiting professionals to help educate and connect with job seekers.  Our chat is scheduled for Monday nights at 9 PM CST.  Over the course of an hour we push out 5 job search related questions and our attendees respond providing insights and helpful tips and suggestions.

Just in the HR/Recruiting/Job Search space there are in upwards of 10-15 Twitter chats that happen on a regular basis.  That’s a lot of time spent chatting, engaging, and tweeting in front of your computer.

Hash tags are not just for Twitter chats.  As I mentioned, they are very popular for conferences and other online events like Blog Talk Radio shows which are also very popular.  Two of my favorite HR radio shows live streamed on the internet are Drive Thru HR with the hash tag #dthr and HR Happy Hour with the hash tag #hrhappyhour.  There is a back channel of conversation that happens during the event where Twitter users share 140 character nuggets of information to their audiences and also provide real-time feedback to the event as well as the speaker.  Many speakers or event organizations aren’t even aware of the unsolicited advice.

Because Twitter chats and hash tag conversations move so very fast, it’s easy to get lost.  That’s why one of my favorite hash tag tools is TweetChat.com.  It allows you to sign into your Twitter account and segregate the tweets you are able to see just to the specific hash tag.  Plus it also allows adds the hash to your tweets automatically.

Here are some other hash tags, Twitter chats, and events that are common in the HR and Recruiting spaces:

• #tnl
• #radchat
• #tchat
• #careerchat
• #hfchat
• #genychat
• #shrm
• #hr
• #recruiting
• #hirefriday
• #blogchat (not an HR chat but a great resource for blogs led by Mack Collier)

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