Katie MarcarioHashtags (#) are an important tool many social media users use to expand his or her reach. You will find these handy dandy symbols almost everywhere, whether it be on the social media sites themselves, commercials, products you purchase, events, flyers, and whatever else you may or may not stumble upon in everyday life happenings. Recently, there have been conversations about how hashtags are no longer relevant, but I believe that is incredibly incorrect. They are still relevant, y’all.
For those of you who may not know what the purpose of a hashtag is, it is used to create groups with words or phrases into one stream, whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram (excluding LinkedIn). When you use a hashtag, your choice word(s) or phrase(s) are hyperlinked and sent into the feed of the word(s) or phrase(s). All others who click on your hashtag of choice will then see all posts other users have done, therefore expanding your reach. You never know who might come across your post, you know? Also, if someone happens to do a Google search with your hashtag, your post might show up, therefore allowing potential clicks on your post. What is so great about hashtags is that they are a free tool! Who would not want easy access to a free tool? No one.
Folks who use hashtags in their social strategy usually get around two times more engagement than those without hashtags. It also helps if your hashtags are ones that relate to your business or industry. You can find and search for hashtags at hashtagify.me.
Now, one thing that I find horribly tacky is when users over-hashtag (aka have waaay too many in their post) or making a sentence into a hashtag. That is useless, because I am sure that not many people are using the exact same sentence you are as a hashtag. Using too many hashtags is an easy way to annoy others and make them want to unfollow you, therefore hurting your engagement possibilities. Personally, I recommend using 1-2 on Facebook, no more than 3 on Twitter, up to 7 on Instagram, 2-3 on Google+, and 2-3 on Pinterest.
When you start using hashtags, make sure you do not put a space between the # and your word, otherwise it will not work. So give it a try if you haven’t taken advantage of these yet. If you have, keep on, keepin’ on. Happy #hashtagging!
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