Hashtags (#) comes up a lot when we talk about Digital Marketing, but what is it? What does it mean, and why is it important?
Let’s first define Hashtag (#). The technical definition of Hashtag (#) is best summed up by saying:
Used on social media tool (platform)s as an identification of a certain theme or topic whereby the subject matter is preceded by the hash symbol. – The Internet
Ok, that is a good place to start but if you really need to understand this term and use it to your advantage when you encounter it in the “wild” we are going to need to do a deeper dive. Digital Marketing has a lot of jargon to navigate, and it can mean different things depending on where it is being used and what your goals are. For example, Hashtag (#) may mean different things to an SEO (Search engine Optimizer) than it does to an SMM (Social Media Manager) and something else entirely to a website developer, app developer, or a traditional marketer. For our purposes in this article page, we are going to take the 10,000-foot view and focus on the general digital media perspective. If this leaves you with any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! We love to respond with more specific follow-up content that may be helpful to you.
Ok, so back to “Hashtag (#)” What is it? Why is it important, and how can I use it to best serve my digital marketing or website management needs?
Why do we talk about Hashtags (#) and use them in Digital Marketing?
People use the hashtag symbol (#) before a relevant keyword or phrase in their post or Tweet to categorize them and help them show more easily in search. Think of hashtags to connect social media content to a specific topic, event, theme, or conversation.
How do you use a hashtag?
- Always use the # before your chosen phrase.
- Do not use punctuation in hashtags. Hashtags stop as soon as you include a punctuation mark.
- Do not use spaces in hashtags. Hashtags stop as soon as you include a space.
- Never put characters immediately before the #. Hashtags must have a space before the #.
- Use letters and numbers. You can include numbers in your hashtag
- Never use numbers alone. Hashtags that are only numbers won’t work.
- Keep it short and sweet
- Learn what platforms have different rules. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all have different rules for using hashtags.
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