The picture below is the reason one of our three publications, Solar Power World, was the first to break the news that General Motors would be joining Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). (Tweet this)

We were attending PV America in Philadelphia in which I attended to learn more about the solar industry and of course tie in some social media along the way. Brad Marley, a professional storyteller for General Motors, representing Mullen Unbound was searching PV America’s hashtag, #PVAE, for someone who had a press pass. He came across my tweet on the first day of the tradeshow and tweeted me asking if our company would like to chat with General Motors’ Director of Renewable Energy, Rob Threlkeld. Via Twitter, Brad and I set up a meeting between Rob and Solar Power World’s Editorial Director, Frank Andorka.

We were the only publication they discussed this news with, allowing us to break the news three hours ahead of our competition. That my friends, is the power of a hashtag. See the full story here and see the traction it had on our Facebook page. This story also turned into an opportunity for our editors to produce a podcast with Rob.

Without an event hashtag, this opportunity may not have been possible. Sometimes, all it takes is one hashtag.

Do you have any similar stories to this? I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below or tweet me at @WTWH_SocialXprt.