Hashtag 101 Class by Social Marketing Solutions

If you’re even a casual user of social media, you have noticed people using hashtags. Hashtags turn keywords within a post into a clickable link that displays content grouped together, making it easier for users to find more of the content that is most appealing to their specific needs. Although hashtags originated on Twitter, their use has grown. Hashtags are now a form of social media culture and a modern form of communication that are useful on multiple platforms.

Do you use hashtags in your Tweets? Consider the impact they can have:

What other social media platforms support hashtags?

Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, Tout, Flickr, Orkut, Instagram, and more.

LinkedIn does not currently support hashtags. However, they did recently add three keywords to posts that function in a similar fashion. To learn more about LinkedIn’s keywords read a recent post of mine here.

So, if LinkedIn does not support them. Why do I see people using them on LinkedIn and other mediums where they are not supported by the platform?

As I mentioned above, the hashtag has become embedded into the way we communicate within popular culture. A hashtag can represent an idea or convey a message without the user having to elaborate into a full sentence. #Brevity.

A few best practices:

1) Use hashtags that are relevant keywords to your post. In other words using hashtags as click bait is a no-no.

2) Don’t overuse them. #Too #many #hashtags #waters #down #the #experience. Most experts recommend a maximum of three per Tweet.

3) Have fun with them and be creative! Use hashtags to help your posts go #viral.

4) Use hashtags to promote your event or campaign. Recently, the Writers 4 Writers and Publishers & Bloggers groups collaborated on a global campaign to stop the widespread plagiarism on social media. We used the hashtag #StopPlagiarism to spread awareness surrounding our campaign.

How do you use hashtags in your posts? #CommentBelow.

About the Author: John White is the Chief Marketing Officer at Social Marketing Solutions, the LinkedIn group owner of Publishers and Bloggers, MBA candidate, and contributor to Dice Tech News, CareerToolbox, Linked Into Business, and more.

Need a blogger to help tell your company’s brand story or support for your firm’s social media marketing? Email me at john@socialmarketingsolutionsllc.net or call me direct at 970.692.3270.

Click here to view my other published articles on LinkedIn Pulse.

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