The only time you might use a “pound” sign these days is to pay your bills over the phone. The pound symbol, aka, the hashtag (#) found its fame through Twitter and now populates Instagram. They are used on many social platforms for networking and traffic and continues to strive. If you’re not so sure how this little guy works, let’s explore. Here are some helpful do’s and don’ts in the rules of hashtagging.
Why You Should Hashtag
The hashtag has become one of the most popular means to making your content discoverable and categorizing your business on social media. The more specific your hashtag is, the more successful and targeted it will be for your audience. You should have a hashtag for your own business to help engage your followers and increase traffic. If you are creating your own branded hashtag then keep it short, as longer hashtags are not as successful. They can be harder for people to read and most users avoid typing in that many characters, especially when using a smartphone. You’re better off with something short and to the point. So keep it simple.
Why They Aren’t Relevant on Facebook or LinkedIn
The platforms themselves do not practice the use of hashtags. Are they useful? No. I know… you may be shocked. Think about it this way; when you go through your newsfeed the information and interests you have liked show up regardless. The things you are interested in “come to you” in your feed. The probability of you surfing through various pages at a time is slim. When using Twitter, your feed will include hashtags of your favorite things. When clicking and scrolling you are jumping through pages and making connections with groups that also like that subject. During this process you tend to surf and make some new connections!
Where to Search for Helpful Hashtags
Marketers have found success by using hashtags that are “trending” to increase reach. The best place to find daily hashtags is Twitter itself. The only negative to Twitter’s trending hashtag list for the day, is that it is limited to the top ten trending. Find existing hashtags to include that are relevant to your brand, your story and photos. Using local hashtags and tagging products will show support and engage you in conversation with people of interest. Search your company’s competitors and neighbors for useful tips and the best practices to help you achieve connections. Some helpful sites and tools to check are RiteTag, Hashtagify.me, Tagboard, Bundlepost, Hashtracking, Tweetchat, Tagdef, and Tweetbinder.
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