Those #Superbowl hashtags were so cute

Since last year’s Super Bowl, hashtags have made the leap from Twitter to all the major social networks. So it’s not surprising that 57 percent of nationally-run Super Bowl commercials incorporated them, up from 50 percent in 2013 (Marketing Land). But how effective were all those hashtags? How much brand engagement did they generate? With the exception of Esurance’s $1.5 million twitter giveaway, #EsuranceSave30, Super Bowl XLVIII hashtags haven’t generated a lot of buzz.

Several problems plagued Super Bowl hashtags. Some were forgettable; many weren’t actionable. (Esurance made their hashtag easy to remember and actionable: Tweet it for a chance to win $1.5 million.) On the ExactTarget Blog, Jeffrey Rohrs points out another issue: Most hashtags appeared onscreen for about one second. Memorable or not, your hashtag’s one-second appearance during an engaging event (admittedly, this year’s Super Bowl wasn’t all that engaging) probably isn’t going to generate a lot of action on Twitter or other social networks. But whether you promote your hashtags through television or other media, you can breathe a second life into your hashtags with social email marketing.

The solution: Curate social content displaying your brand’s relevant hashtags into highly-engaging social email digests. When they’re reminded of your brand’s relevant hashtags, your email subscribers can engage—or reengage—with them. And greater engagement means further reach for your brand!

Have you used email marketing to extend the life of your brand’s relevant hashtags? Share your experience in a comment!

Download the Twitter in Email Playbook to learn when to use Twitter in your email marketing.