Today, Facebook has added official support for hashtags – the popular tagging tool from Twitter – in shared images, posts and links. This will help users discover more content based on subject or keywords.

From ABC News:

Over the next few weeks all Facebook users will be able to include a hashtagged phrase, like #royalbaby or #puppies, in their posts and then watch it become clickable. When a hashtag is included in a post, clicking on it will pop out a feed that aggregates others posts that have been tagged with the same phrase.

But the functionality of Facebook’s hashtags will be very different from Twitter’s. What comes up during a search will be limited to only public posts and those made visible by a user’s friends. This is what Facebook had to say about the new feature:

Hashtags on Facebook are just a first step. We’ll be rolling out more features in the coming weeks and months that make it even easier to discover and participate in conversations about shared interests on Facebook. We look forward to working with media partners, broadcasters, and journalists on how best to leverage these new tools. As always, as we launch products and experiences, we want your feedback on where we can improve and what we should build next.

Facebook’s inclusion of hashtags is one more way to tap into that real-time chatter and hopefully drive in more eyeballs for ads.