Why Hubspot’s Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless

Posted April 27, 2009
26 Comments

I always get a little uneasy when a thought leader concludes that a new social media tool is “useless”.

Let me first state that I am a huge fan of the Hubspot blog which is, for many, a free ’social media university’. A few weeks ago Brian Halligan, Hubspot’s CEO, talked about social media success for non-profits – and he was spot on!

So, yes – I’m a fan – and you should be too.

But even thought leaders can be “thoughtless”

Last week, when I read a post on the Hubspot Blog titled “Why Twitter Hashtags and Trending Topics Are Useless to Marketers”, I found myself blinking at this line:

“We’ve established that for marketing, hashtags are pointless…”

space Why Hubspots Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless

The conclusiveness of this statement stopped me dead.

I’ve used Hashtags to connect with new people, deepen relationships and raise money for great causes. And the last time I checked, making friends and nurturing relationships is what social media marketing is all about.

Stephen Smith followed up on the Hubspot post with “Are Twitter Hashtags Useless?”, arguing that hashtags are a “fantastic resource for marketers doing research on a topic or product.” He includes examples of Etsy and Quisnos successfully using using #hashtags for marketing.

Stephen’s post, the comments that followed, and my own experiences got me thinking:

What limits marketing is never technology, but always a lack of creativity.

space Why Hubspots Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless

And then, as if the Twitter gods were applauding this hatching thought, I discover a book written using Twitter as platform and distribution channel – with a hashtag being the primary component!

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  • Used correctly, hashtags are brilliant ways to stimulate conversations and enable those who engage with large number of folks to pinpoint a specific relevant conversation. I can't imagine that being "useless" to good marketers.

    I love following the "hashtag nights" like #blogchat #journchat #gno that happen weekly.

    Tools like http://www.tweetchat.com enable people to "see" a topic without losing the twitter stream. I think of it at Picture-in-picture for Twitter. :)

    <abbr>Lucretia Pruitt’s last blog post..Earth Day Twitter Give Away</abbr>
  • John - Thanks for the high praise for the way I've used hash tags. #smgps is the first business book to use Twitter as a platform and distribution channel so of course it made perfect sense (at least to me!) to hash tag all posts so people could read the entire book in search twitter if they missed parts in their own stream. Also putting all chapters up on a blog. http://twurl.nl/pbrbu4
  • @Toby and @Lucretia - Before I saw the #smgps thread, this post was just a few thoughts rattling around in my skull. I had planned on working on another project tonight, but you guys totally inspired me. A very enjoyable detour!
  • "Why Hubspot's Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless" http://tinyurl.com/dlbdd4 #marketing
  • tibbon
    It's really weird that Hubspot claims them useless. I'm taking time to read their stuff later again, but that's really odd... considering the fact that their marketing department and @repcor have spent so much time trying to get things trending (#bizinboston). Why do they spend so much time on it if its useless? Where is there data? Is it useless, or just useless for them?

    Like I said, i need to take the time to read their stuff to make a conclusion, but I do know that their marketing department does everything in its power to try to get attention (even if sometimes it seems that they are #tryingTooHard).

    <abbr>David Fisher’s last blog post..Links for 2009-04-27 [del.icio.us]</abbr>
  • Life on Twitter without hashtags is unthinkable. How on earth would you track a conversation in which you were previously not participating, the easiast way being search for a related hashtag. How would you try to locate like minded people? With a hastag of course! So does these make it an integral part of life on Twitterverse?

    <abbr>Rajtilak’s last blog post..Backup Firefox Passwords (Manually)</abbr>
  • @Raj - That was my thinking before I read the Hubspot post. Hence, the sound of my jaw dropping.
  • @David - Hubspot is one of the few blogs I read that has a high "value concentration". I've been able to immediately apply many of the tips to my own blog. Sometimes their posts are a bit "gimmicky" (MC Hammer on Twitter), but they are a marketing company after all... Take your time checking them out - even if they are wrong about #hashtags....
  • Hi John -- Thanks for all the praise of the blog.hubspot.com. It's fantastic to hear that you find it has high "value concentration."

    The points you make here are excellent ones. I don't think anyone at HubSpot would dispute the value of hashtags as a listening tool. The point I think Dan was trying to make in his article is that hashtags are not useful for expanding your reach on Twitter. If your brand name trends, you won't get any measurable benefit.

    To David's question -- why do we use them if we don't think they're useful -- well, this is something that we're just discovering. We've always used #hubspot during our webinars, but we'll probably use @hubspot in upcoming webinars, as that should drive more traffic back to our Twitter account.
  • @Rick - Thanks for the clarification. Using @hubspot will drive traffic to your account - using #hubspot will create conversations about Hubspot. Dan's post is great, by the way. My only criticism was when Dan wrote the blanket statement: “We’ve established that for marketing, hashtags are pointless…”
  • I couldn't agree with you more. Hashtags can be a great way to engage, connect, and for outreach. Of course, no social media tool is useful 100% of the time - it all depends on your goals. Good stuff :-)

    <abbr>Maria Reyes-McDavis’s last blog post..Tynt Tracer: Track What’s Being Copied from Your Blog</abbr>
  • Hi John, thanks for your riff on my thoughts. I admit that I, too, was astounded that a usually level-headed and insightful resource like HubSpot could be so dismissive of a tool like the hashtag.

    <abbr>@Stephen’s last blog post..Social Media Penetration into the Mainstream Population</abbr>
  • @Maria - Thanks. Steve Smith illustrated two creative uses. And then @Toby came along with her book!
  • @Stephen - I was shocked as well. Again, I'm a big fan! Rick Burnes added some clarification though - thanks, Rick!
  • Excellent post as always, John. I think hashtags, as much as I like to pick on some of them, are VERY useful for making great connections and I love seeing it used to raise awareness for big issues or fund raising.

    Where can I get one of those "HELLO I'm Hash" tags? lol.....as long as it's not corned beef, I like it!

    <abbr>The Daily Blonde’s last blog post..Facebook: It’s Like Great Sex With A Bad Guy</abbr>
  • @Cheryl - Thanks!
  • I think it's "useless" to use the word "useless" in social media blogs, posts and comments. As you can see in the comments here, one person's useless tool is another person's gold mine. More to the point, shouldn't we be contributing positive information rather than making blanket condemnations? Why not say something like, "I really haven't found a good use for hashtags yet. Anybody have ideas?" None of us are so Twitter-savvy that we can judge what works and what doesn't work for everybody. Experiences and questions, yes. Condemnations stop me cold.

    <abbr>John McTigue’s last blog post..Want more followers? Try being a leader.</abbr>
  • Perhaps HubSpot is trying to get us all to use hashtags less giving them more control over trending topics? Though, the less people using hashtags, the less traffic delivered to those conversations and the less effective they become for marketing so that doesn't quite make sense either.

    Also, agree with John's comment above me, using the word useless is useless! All it takes is one case of something provide a huge benefit to prove that it's not useless. Perhaps hubspot hasn't figured out a way to tap into hashtags for brand awareness or maybe they're already big enough but I'd love it if my brand started trending on twitter and think a majority of the people on twitter would agree.

    <abbr>Adam Pieniazek’s last blog post..When to NoFollow Links</abbr>
  • Boomer Babae
    Wish I knew what a hashtag exactly did. Non the wiser after pain of reading all this.
  • I'm a Twitter newbie and LOVE hashtag. It has helped me tap into groups easily and has already generated followers for me. The appeal of my product is so wide that I have to reach far and wide, so hashtag is my savior.

    It's how I've got from busy moms, gardeners to diabetics for my blog, Be a Wok Star.

    <abbr>Eleanor Hoh’s last blog post..May Events - Wok Star appearances</abbr>
  • Why Hubspot’s Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless - // http://tinyurl.com/dlbdd4 {agreed, @hubspot missed this 1} http://ff.im/-2zFew
  • Liked "Why Hubspot’s Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless - // http://tinyurl.com/dlbdd4 {agreed, @hubspot missed..." http://ff.im/-2zFew
  • Why Hubspot?s Conclusion About Twitter Is Useless http://tinyurl.com/dlbdd4
  • Web 2.0 has revolutionized marketing, we have seen many companies jump on the bandwagon of web 2.0, but too many are creating the same platform, one platform looks identical to other, if the trend continues we may soon see social media losing its character for which it was created.
  • Good point.
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