A hashtag or # – is a symbol used to index the keywords or topics and is now widely used on various social media platforms to categorize the posts. Basically, the word hashtag consists of two separate words: “hash” – to indicate a hash mark (#) and “tag” – the word that indicates something that belongs to a certain category.
The first hashtag takes its origin from Twitter, where in August 2007 a social technology expert Chris Messina posted #barcamp on his profile.
At present, hashtag usage has become an integral part of any social network, not solely Twitter. The main purpose why users enjoy it is the ability to categorize the posts, tweets, or photos in social networks, browse these posted by other users and create your own unique hashtags which can become a personal hallmark.
Additionally, the hashtag can become really helpful for social media marketing to enhance the brand’s visibility and achieve a larger audience. However, if your goal is to get the most of hashtag usage, there are some nice tips to follow:
- Don’t get carried away using a hashtag every couple of words.
- Follow the KISS rule, rather than quantity to find your audience and generate better traffic.
- Don’t use the unusual phrases if this is not your goal – if no one searches for this tag, your hashtag can even not exist at all.
- Use detailed words for hashtags to generate better search results and won’t get your content lost among tons of other publications.