By Maria Peagler

Hashtags

MADE SIMPLE

Maria Peagler

FOUNDER

Published by Socialmediaonlineclasses.com

Copyright 2015 Maria Peagler

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HECK’Sa hashtag?

What the

You can download a PDF version of the infographic here.

8 Hashtag

LESSONS

1Hashtag

DEFINITION

#A hashtag is the pound symbol (#) preceding a word used online, in television, and in

print media. The hashtag #BreakingBad identifies the television show and would display

on-screen during episodes.

I use hashtags every day, on multiple social networks.

You can use them on your favorite social network, no matter which one it is.

Here on the Socialmediaonlineclasses.com blog, and in the SMOC Member area, we

talk about hashtags and use them often.

(Want to learn more about SMOC Membership? You can do that here.)

Hashtags provide an easy to way to brand your content, whether using your own hashtag or one identifying it with a popular trend. Look at how the NFL used the #SB49 hashtag (for Super Bowl 49) on Twitter to brand their content:

2Where to Use

HASHTAGS

?You can use hashtags on every social network, but some networks make it easier &

give you better results when you use them.

Hashtags originated on Twitter by users trying to make tweets easily searchable.

Google+ automatically assigns your post a hashtag, whether you add one or not.

Facebook also lets you search using a hashtag (they even make them clickable).

Instagram users LOVE hashtags and can use up to 30 on their posts.

Yes, even Oprah uses a hashtag when she posts on Instagram. Notice she uses just one hashtag to promote her upcoming cruise, but the commenter practically “spams” her post with multiple hashtags.

3How to Use

HASHTAGS

#If your hashtag is more than one word or a phrase, omit the spaces between the words:

use #socialmedia, not #social media.

You can also use the abbreviation #sm instead.

While a hashtag helps to identify your content, it isn’t critical to conveying your

message, so use it at the end of your message. You don’t want to force people to

wade through multiple hashtags to get to the heart of your tweet or post.

Take a look at Audi’s #WantAnR8 hashtag below. Audi, its dealers, owners, and wannabe owners all use the hashtag, building a buzz around product demand. Notice the hashtag appears at the END of the message:

4Hashtag

EXAMPLES

● One of the most common hashtags is #RT on Twitter, which is a retweet of

someone’s tweet you liked.

● Use a local hashtag to identify yourself or your brand as being located in a city and

proud of it! #NYC, #ATL, #austin all identify cities in a tweet

● Beauty and fashion bloggers use the #ootd hashtag to share their outfit of the day.

It’s a great way for readers to find fashion inspiration, and the bloggers gain new

followers.

● Hashtags identifying your industry are a great way to give context to a post.

#socialmedia and #entrepreneur are just two of the hundreds of hashtags that

identify yourself and your content as relevant to your field.

● Television shows commonly display their hashtag on screen during an episode,

encouraging viewers to live tweet about the show. Networks encourage viewer

engagement using #breakingbad, #idol, #xfactor

● Recommend colleagues with Follow Friday #FF on Twitter

● Causes like #curechildhoodcancer have run highly successful fundraising

campaigns using a branded hashtag. One of the most successful non-profit

campaigns was the #icebucketchallenge for ALS in 2014.

● Probably the most ironic, and well-known hashtag is #winning, used by Charlie

Sheen during his personal meltdown. What #hashtag do you want your brand to be

known for?

Wondering Where You’ll Get All This Hashtagged Content?

Let me help! Get your Content Made Simple system, including:

● 30-minute webinar● mp3 audio file● slide deck● checklist● editorial calendar Excel spreadsheet

Click here to access this system

FLASH SALE: normally $297.00, now just $7 (limited time)

5Branding

HASHTAGS

#Use a hashtag to “brand” your business or your products.

While Dove is famous for using real women in their television and print ads, Lancome

brilliantly encouraged women to take a selfie without makeup and tag it #BareSelfie, as

part of a marketing campaign for a new serum.

It generated 500 photos with the hashtag, and website sales were converting at four

percent.

Notice Lancome is nowhere in that #BareSelfie hashtag, but it didn’t matter. Women

loved the idea and spread it for them.

Southwest Airlines is famous for not charging travelers for checking a bag, so they display the #bagsflyfree hashtag in big bold letters ON their planes. Where better to advertise than at the airport to travelers who DID pay to check their luggage?

6Hashtag

ETIQUETTE

#Stick to hashtags that are topical to your content. Don’t resort to “hashtag spam” by

using hashtags that are popular but have nothing to do with your message.

Since a tweet is a brief 140 characters, limit your hashtags to only those most relevant

to your content: from one to three hashtags (Instagram allows more, but spare users

your hashtag tirade).

Event marketing routinely takes advantage of a hashtag to promote the event, the

people speaking & attending, as well as the great images and takeaways attendees

love to share. Make sure that your guests know the appropriate hashtag to use at the

event by announcing it at the beginning of each session.

YesToCarrots ran a promotion called #YesToColor, announcing it via email.

They asked customers who had purchased from their online store to enter the contest and use the hashtag #YesToColor.

Notice they did not specify which social network or online platform to use.

It didn’t matter.

The brand could search for the hashtag using Google, HootSuite, SproutSocial, or other social media marketing management tools to find all the entrants and the buzz they generated.

7Hashtag

SEARCH

#Do a Google search for a hashtag . . .

It gives you the results not just on Twitter, but across the web from sources like

HuffingtonPost, YouTube, Tumblr and more. Doing a hashtag search from a search

engine doesn’t limit you to one particular social network, so it’s great for finding

hashtags across platforms.

Looking for a hashtagged post within a social network?

Most let you search within the platform for hashtags. The results will vary by network

and their privacy policies. For example, Facebook will return hashtagged content from

people you’re friends with and public pages. You won’t see hashtagged content from

people you aren’t friends with.

Hashtags are clickable in almost every major social network.

For example, on Pinterest, if you find a beautiful post using the #weddingbouquets hashtag, just click

on it, and you’ll see all the posts that use the same hashtag. In fact, you can click on a hashtag from

almost any social network and it will display posts using it:

8Hashtag

MARKETING

#Smart business owners use hashtags even in their visual content, including images and

video (notice #hashtagprimer on my infographic?).

While that hashtag is not clickable or SEO-worthy, it does provide a cohesive marketing

message, and educates your audience on the proper hashtag to use when mentioning

your brand on social media.

● Tell just enough to get people motivated to tell their own stories. People had

diverse reasons for #WantAnR8, but the sentiment was the same. Why they

wanted one was the power of that marketing campaign.

● Be clear on what your brand reputation is. If you have too many negative stories

for customers to tell, don’t encourage them. McDonalds asked people to share

their #McDStories on Twitter, and the result was horror stories of disgusting food

and terrible service.

● If your business gives away great SWAG, brand the items with a hashtag,

motivating the lucky recipients to thank you publicly on social media. You’ll likely

see lots of photos and happy people with your giveaways.

Wondering Where You’ll Get All This Hashtagged Content?

Let me help! Get your Content Made Simple system, including:

● 30-minute webinar● mp3 audio file● slide deck● checklist● editorial calendar Excel spreadsheet

Click here to access this system

FLASH SALE: normally $297.00, now just $7 (limited time)

MARIA PEAGLERWWW.SOCIALMEDIAONLINECLASSES.COM

@SM_ONLINECLASS