HashTags

byBobE60

165 followers

9 years ago

What's a hashtag and why use them? You've probably seen these around. Hashtags are similar in function to keywords except they are used in social media platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, to group specific topics together so readers can more easily find what they're looking for. A hashtag is simply a word with a hash, or pound sign, (#) in front of it. You are unable to hashtag phrases, or hyphenated words/sentences.

When a hashtag is first used on... let's say Twitter; Twitter creates a new page specific to that hashtag. As more people use that same hashtag, their posts are added to that hashtag page. Eventually, you may see from one to thousands of related posts on a single page that use a particular hashtag.

Picking the right hashtag is very important. You want to make sure that you're reaching the right audience. You can go back through your newsfeed and check out posts related to your topic to see if they've used a hashtag. If so, click on the hashtag and check out the resulting page. Is this the audience you're trying to reach? Another way of picking hashtags is to use a site such as http://hashtagify.me/. This site allows you to search a sample hashtag and it will give you the top 10 trending related tags, as well as a popularity rating for each.

How many hashtags is enough? Good question! I have one study that indicated that using more than 2 or 3 actually resulted in fewer likes and shares for a post. My advice is to give them a try (however many you think you need), watch the performance, as make changes as necessary.

#HaveAGreatDay!