If you’ve spent much time on Twitter you have noticed that the flow of information (or tweets) is more like a fire hose than a newsfeed.

The next level of control and usefulness on Twitter comes from the use of hashtags. So a hash “#” tag is really just a KEYWORD you are highlighting as part of your tweet. I like to refer to them as FOCUS points.

Here’s how it works.

TWEET: Social Factor http://www.socialfactor.com/ is looking to award several new clients with a free SWOT analysis this week. #socialmedia #marketing

The entire message and intent behind the tweet is #socialmedia and #marketing. I could’ve used #socialmediamarketing or #smm, but I have chosen to focus most of my tweets on the #socialmedia tag. And since this tweet is an offer for #marketing support I have also included that hashtag.

SEARCH: Now anyone interested in “social media” or “marketing” can follow the #hashtags and see what everyone is saying about those topics, regardless of if they are following them or not. SEE: http://search.twitter.com

Manage your Twitter fire hose with #hashtags both in Tweeting and Searching.

John McElhenney is the Sr. Social Media Strategist for Social Factor and writes a nationally recognized social media marketing blog.