What is a #hashtag?
If you think #hashtags, are for pressing at the end of a message you may need to read on as hashtags have invaded the social media world in a major way.
The new definition of hashtag is now
hash·tag: A word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#), used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitate a search for it.
Hashtags are a way for social media users to tag their posts with keywords, which in turn make them easier for social networks to organise posts and for users to search for relevant information.
Learning to effectively use hashtags can be a game changer for increasing your digital reach and brand awareness.
How do you use Hashtags?
You can use hashtags in two ways: to add emphasis or to help people find you / your topic. Using a hashtag in a social post is as simple as adding the ‘#’ sign before a single word or phrase without spaces or punctuation (numbers are okay).
‘Emphasis hashtags’, can be used to give a post a certain tone and add a little emotion—think of emphasis hashtags as the emoticons we use in emails or smiley faces we use on hand-written notes… But instead of a little icon, you precede your word with a hashtag symbol #. For example: if you’ve just had a great experience, you could post something like this: Just had the best massage ever #OMG #bestmassageever #feelingrelaxed. In this way, you are adding your own voice to your post with an emphasis hashtag.
‘Smart hashtags’ are used to help posts to be searchable in social media on certain topics. For example: if I post something about small business and I use the hashtag #smallbusiness, searches for small business-related posts will show up among the community of posts about the same topic.
So how does it work?
Whenever someone adds a hashtag to their post, it is immediately indexed by the relevant social network and becomes searchable by other users.
When someone then clicks on that hashtag, they’ll be brought to a page that aggregates all of the posts with the same ‘hashtagged’ keyword. Once a keyword picks up enough momentum it becomes known as “trending.”
Hashtags create incentives for people to categorize their posts, which in turn makes it easier for users looking for posts on the same topic to find content. It’s also an easy way to distribute popular news to groups of people who otherwise may not be actively searching for it.
How should you use #hashtags?
When you’re thinking of hashtags that you could use to engage with your audience find the keywords and hashtags that are already associated with your brand and industry.
A couple of #hashtag tips
- Don’t string too many words together with a single hashtag.
- If you tweet/post with a hashtag on a public account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your tweet/post.
- Don’t #spam #with #hashtags. Don’t over-tag a single post.
- Only use hashtags only on posts relevant to the topic.
Which Social media networks support hashtags?
Most networks use hashtags in the same basic way; to organize data and make it easier for user consumption. However, each network has a different tweak on how they use them. Do your #research on the social media you prefer to use and don’t be afraid to experiment until you get it right.