Hashtag first introduced to Twitter in 2007. Chris Messina proposed to use a pound sign to indicate posts for groups. So he became the first person to use a hashtag on the social media platform. Furthermore, It has been used in various forms ever since.
It’s now using as a content categorizing method to diversify the different content types. So the idea of it to support users to discover specific content. Because the simplicity and ease of use fueled the hashtags to become quite popular.
A hashtag is a word or phase led by a hash sign (#), applied inside a content to specify a keyword or topic of interest.
According to Wikipedia, A hashtag is a type of metadata tag used on social networks such as Twitter and other microblogging services, allowing users to apply dynamic, user-generated tagging which makes it possible for others to easily find messages with a specific theme or content.
In present people are using hashtags very often, but only a few of them are using it with a purpose. If executed properly, hashtags make it easier for users to find related content. They can improve the visibility of your content. Inappropriate use of It can affect your credibility and create a negative impact. Let’s talk about how to use hashtags wisely to our advantage.
Narrow down your target audience.
The use of multiple hashtags won’t necessarily give you the advantage. It’s vital to narrow down your indented audience and entirely focus on what’s really important. That will build an audience that has a genuine interest in your subjects. It will keep you in competition with your competitor’s content.
Consistent and stay relevant.
The consistency and relevancy will play a huge roll in using hashtags. It will enable your followers to engage with your content. If you’re creating different content all the time, It would be challenging to be consistent and stay relevant. Each media platform’s algorithms are different. That makes sense to cater hashtags especially to the media platform you’re using. You can do research on the proper way to use them for that particular network by peeking into the content that has the most engagement in your category.
Be Unique.
Like search engine keywords, hashtags are very competitive. Therefore it has been used and abused numerous times. So if you have a long-term goal, It’s vital to create unique hashtags. Furthermore, It can be about your brand, style, geographical location or even character. So that will make your content unique to you or your brand. Also, it will give you a tremendous advantage over your competition. So you can add this unique hashtag along with the other hashtags.
Unique hashtags are also excellent for user-generated content platforms, contests, and advertising. So employing unique hashtags will help to stay organized, the content that is tagged with it will display in one page. Above all, It will rapidly increase visibility, discoverability, sharing, and engagement.
Observation
Even if you gain followers, it’s often the wrong kind of follower—spammers or people only interested in being followed back. It generally dilutes your message and comes off as desperate. Focus instead on being specific.
Summary
- Narrow down your target audience. Create a hashtag strategy around your brand.
- Do come up with relevant and unbranded hashtags. Introduced your own hashtag and be consistent with it.
- Discover hashtags that are trending or performing well in the platform and use them.
- Don’t hashtag everything. It will bring you followers that have no genuine interest in your subject. It can always clash with your genuine followers and could create massive damage to your brand reputation.
