We speak so much of hashtags, without stopping to think a bit about them. A hashtag represents the way a social media user tags his post with a focused keyword. A hashtag is easier to be grouped by social networks, improving the awareness among their users. Where do hashtags come from? How can we use them in brand communication? Who decided what character to use for determining a hashtag? And, will hashtags be long lived?
What are hashtags?
A word or a sentence preceded by a double sharp sign (#), used inside a post to identify a keyword, making the post easier to be found.
So, when a user utilizes a hashtag in their message, this is automatically indexed by the social network and can be found by other users through the tagged keyword, in a page which holds all posts using that word.
Where did hashtags came?
It may seem surprising, but the first man to use a hashtag is Chris Messina, a Google employee, that developed Google+. He used this in a 2007 tweet, and although it took some time for this to catch one, when it trended it did it in style.
How do we use them?
Using a hashtag in a social network is as easy as putting the double sharp sign in front of a word or a sentence, without spacing it using a space or a period (numbers are permitted). Even so you should not put too many words after the sign. You also need to be aware that your post will be public, all users of the network being able to see it. Please #keep #in #mind #you #should #not #spam #hashtags; so don’t tag a post excessively. Always use hashtags that are connected to your message.
Create your hashtag
It’s valid, especially in brand communication, that creating your hashtag is, safe to say, a very important brand element. If you do it correctly, shortly, you will start picking the fruits, as it’s easy to be remembered by those whom follow the brand activity, and, afterwards be easily identified with your brand. If users are also using your hashtag, you are on the right path.
How to use your hashtag while promoting your brand?
In case you haven’t created your own hashtag yet, but you want to use this method for promoting your brand, the easiest solution is to use in your communication hashtags that are trending. Still, you need to remember what we said above, and the hashtag your are using must be connected to the message you are trying to convey. In case you don’t follow this simple rule, you won’t do anything else but attract critiques in your direction.
In the end, we come back to one of our initial questions: Are hashtags long lived? Considering how it became a part of all social networks, we will go with “yes”. If we think about it for a moment, it has a vital role in communication, by grouping similar posts under one fixed word. Considering how easy is to find these messages with a single click, even by chance, we can’t deny it positively sway brand communication.
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Sources: www.sproutsocial.com; www.awaionline.com