Punch Communications Predicts Next Real-Time Social Media Trend

LONDON, October 20, 2010 - Real-time engagement activity in Twitter will intensify over the coming
year, according to PR, search and social media agency (
www.punchcomms.com/social-media-agency.html), Punch Communications, as
the promotion of hashtags, particularly through television, is set to
increase.

Many big brands now have social media strategies, which include methods
for acquiring new followers, engaging posts comprising of questions and
announcements as well as ways to respond to both positive and negative
communication comments from the public. However, the use of hashtags in
Twitter is currently under-employed by most and a focus on real-time
engagement is not a priority, not least because full-time staffing of the
account during particular periods is required. Nevertheless, as soon as the
first well known brand capitalises on the potential, the promotion of
hashtags could be the next big trend in the world of social media.

This method of online PR (
www.punchcomms.com/Digital-Public-Relations.html) is just starting to
be implemented in the promotion of television shows. The BBC has recently
started to display an appropriate hashtag at the beginning of some programmes
as a way of encouraging real-time dialogue, whilst the show is live. A
similar success has been seen for the last series of Big Brother UK and the
follow-on, Ultimate Big Brother. Although the show didn't advertise its
specific tags, it led by example and ensured all its Tweets included #BB11
and then #UBB, which in turn encouraged many of its 110,000 followers to do
the same. The opportunities for awareness and engagement through hashtags
don't just lie within television. Any type of real-time activity, for example
a conference, a product launch, radio exposure, a short term competition or
campaign could especially benefit from the promotion of a hashtag.

When either a phrase or word, hashtagged or not, is one of the most
Tweeted about topics at the present time, it appears on the right of the
screen in a 'trending' list, which can be set for a specific country's or
worldwide trends. This often encourages users who are browsing to view the
feed because they are curious to know why so many people find the topic to be
so interesting, attention-grabbing or newsworthy - if a brand's hashtag
trends, the benefits of that visibility, acquisition of followers and
subsequent engagement are huge. Tweeters frequently find new people to follow
this way and also search for hashtagged topics specifically to find others
with similar interests.

Keredy Stott, Senior Account Manager at Punch Communications, said: "The
potential of hashtags is just beginning to be seen through television because
they work especially well with real-time activities, such as programmes, but
their use and promotion by brands is yet to get started. Brands using a bit
of creativity can capitalise on the hashtag feature to help them acquire new
followers and also gain widespread awareness. When thousands of Tweeters use
a particular hashtag in posts, it is not only visible to every one of their
followers but it can so easily become a trending topic, which can result in a
colossal wave of new fans. Hashtags could be the next big social media trend
before too long."

To find more information about Punch and its current PR, search and
social media jobs (www.punchcomms.com/social-media-jobs.html) visit
punchcomms.com.

    Philip Keightley
    Punch Communications
    +44(0)1858-411-600

Philip Keightley, Punch Communications, +44(0)1858-411-600