I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: hashtags are taking over the world. Not just the social media world, either, but the entire globe. We went through the long phase in which the symbol (#) was used throughout the phone realm and called the “pound,” but that is over.
And do you know why I say that? Because when I was calling into a GoToMeeting the other day I noticed that they said, “Enter your number followed by the pound or hash sign.” Sign a transition has taken place when it comes to the use of a character? When companies have to define both the old and new slang term of something when instructing, its use just so people do not get confused.
I know you were probably wondering: the official name of the # symbol is “octothorp.”
Anyway, as the use of the hashtag continues to grow, as does the power of that tiny symbol. Pretty much any television show that you watch these days has a “#[show title]” in one of the corners, prompting you to get on social media and talk about the show. Oh, and in case the program you’re watching doesn’t include that, I can guarantee the commercials you watch have hashtagged phrases in them. We literally cannot get away from it.
How Hashtags Are Used
Now while some have argued that hashtags are ruining the English language, that’s not what we’re here to talk about. What we are here to discuss is the power of the hashtag, but first we must go over how hashtags are used.
In the overall grand scheme of things, hashtags are used for searching.
Yes, searching. However, although you can use them on search engines such as Google--which everyone is freaking out right now with the looming algorithm update coming—hashtags are most effective when it comes to searches on social platforms such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest. Using the hashtag to find certain keywords you are looking for is the most efficient way of getting the results you want on those channels.
A properly optimized social media post (one that utilizes hashtags) will be quickly and easily found by the target audience that has common interests. Also, when breaking news occurs, the use of a hashtag allows that story to get to more eyes even faster because, on platforms like Twitter, phrases that are the most frequently used at that time show up on the “trending topics.” There have been numerous times that I knew of a world event happening simply by looking at that list.
Harnessing the Power of the Hashtag
Okay, so we understand how and why the hashtag is used, and I mentioned just how powerful of a tool this can be in online social media campaigns…but how do you use the hashtag to its fullest potential? Luckily for you we’ve put together some tips to ensure you’re harnessing the power of the hashtag, and doing so correctly:
- Remember the basics. The most common misuses of hashtags that I see on a regular basis are people (or companies) not understanding the basic rules of it. First, punctuation does not mix with hashtags—it’s like water and oil. Although “you’re” is correct, using the apostrophe will break the link so just the “you” works with the tag. Additionally, numbers are not allowed to be in the hashtagged phrase either.
- Be careful how you use it. This is a universal rule for anything that you put online, and it doesn’t exclude hashtags. Keep in mind that when you hashtag a word or phrase within your social media post, anyone can see it. Literally anyone. Things on the internet go viral for various reasons, and it happens every day.
- Use it sparingly. A tweet or Google+ post that hashtags every single word is going to look like spam and might even be reported as so. It is recommended that you only use one to three hashtags per post, and it should only be used on key words or phrases. So, if you’re posting a tweet linking to an article about growing your email marketing campaign, the hashtagged phrase “Grow your #EmailMarketing today” is acceptable. “#Grow #your #email #marketing #today” is not.
- Connect with others. I know, this seems obvious. As mentioned before, the main function of a hashtag is to make searching for relevant terms easier. So, when you’re at an event or conference, check and see if there’s a custom hashtag that is being used. Not only will this allow you the opportunity to join in on any ongoing conversation with other people at the event, but it will also allow you to connect with those individuals once the conference is over. Double win!
Properly using a hashtag opens the door for you or your business to exponentially expand the reach that your social media posts achieve, and by getting your content in front of the eyes of more people, there are that many more sales opportunities for you to close. #JustMakeSureYoureDoingItRight
