As the popularity of social networking continues to grow, chances are you’re logging on to a social media platform several times a day, whether for personal or business needs. According to a recent survey, as many as 72% of adults who are internet users are on at least one social media site, making it an incredibly desirable audience, to say the least. But if you’re not using the right language to participate in the conversation, your message won’t be heard. Think you know all the social media basics? Read through my list of hashtag how-to’s and find out if you’re doing it right.
Social Media 101: The Importance of Using Hashtags
First things first: In case you’re not entirely sure what a hashtag is, even if you’ve seen them a thousand times: Designated by a pound sign (or number sign – #) paired with a word or group of words, a hashtag is a technical method used to make certain topics searchable on social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. It’s used to categorize and file conversation topics for easy searches, as well as often used in marketing campaigns or to theme events. Finally, it’s also used for socializing. You can click on a hashtag to see what others are posting about a certain topic or theme.
Here are some examples of each and how they’re used:
Marketing – Using a hashtag in marketing campaigns is essential to tracking news and commentary about the brand as well as for gaining brand awareness. Often, hashtags are used in brand giveaways to track entries. Loren’s World recently hosted a giveaway and used hashtags such as #LorensWorld, #LorensWorldGiveaway, and #LorenRidinger.
Events – If you’re at an event and want to see what kind of experience everyone at that event is having, chances are you can search for images, tweets, or status updates by searching the event hashtag, usually designated on signs at the event. For example, the hashtag for the Market America International Convention in August is #MAIC2014.
Socializing – You’ve probably seen these around pretty often, where people will use certain hashtags on certain days of the week. If you want to join the conversation and socialize with others, try posting a picture and using #TBT (Throwback Thursday), #FBF (Flashback Friday), #PhotoOfTheDay or #PicOfTheDay. To see what others have posted, click on the corresponding hashtag.
So if you want to be searchable, relevant, and connected, using hashtags is one of the best ways to go about it on social networking platforms.
Think you got it? How do you use hashtags? Tell me in the comments!
