From its birth to recent years, hashtags has transformed the power of a message on social media. You don’t have to guess what your audience is talking about or is interested in. You can simply search the hashtags they are using. Connecting with influencers in your field has never been easier with talking about current topics. The hashtag has connected us all in a way we haven’t had available before.

History:

A hashtag has always been around, since the beginning of phones. It was originally known as the “pound” sign during automated phone calls. However, we now use hashtags to powerfully combine topics together and help people connect with those ideas. This first began on Twitter then moved to other platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Combining Ideas:

The great idea behind hashtags is that you can connect with others on similar ideas. For example, if you want to see tweets about what’s trending in Colorado Springs, you can search the hashtag #coloradosprings or #COSprings. Topics start trending (on Twitter, on news sites, etc.) when many users send tweets about the same topic using the same hashtag. This is very useful when it comes to breaking news happening around the world. Simply by clicking on the hashtag, you can read all the information relating to the topic.

Power:

Adding hashtags to your marketing messages is not only useful, but becoming more and more necessary in order to reach your targeted audiences. You can insert your brand or business into the conversation with a hashtags being used by your fans. This multiplies your reach and you may even get more followers from this. However, there are some “don’ts” we want to warn you about. There is such a thing as too many hashtags. When too many are used in one single post, it’s considered a “spammy” post. Make sure the hashtags you are using are relevant to your posts. We suggest you use two to three for tweets and no more than seven for Instagram posts.

Hashtags are a great way to upgrade your marketing strategy on social media to reach your targeted audiences quicker. There are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to using them, so watch you’re posting habits. When done right, your following can only keep growing. Do you have other ideas to share about how you’ve used hashtags? Have you had successes with them? We’d love to hear some of your experiences. At UZU Media, we offer social media consultations to give you a better idea of the hashtags your business should be using.  After all, we want everyone to have fun on social media.