What is a hashtag?
The hashtag is a keyword attached to the # symbol that users use in their publications on social networks. This allows other users to access the content that contains the said keyword without necessarily being a “friend” or “follower” of the person who uses it.
How to use #
Let’s suppose you want to buy an iPhone10. If you type #iPhone10 in the Twitter search bar, you will discover in real-time all the Tweets of the network’s twitterers that mention the smartphone model.
Generally, Internet users do not search for hashtags. They simply click on them when one calls out to them in their news feed.
First for everything
For the record, you should know that this symbol was first used in a tweet by Chris Messina in 2007.
Twitter didn’t catch on to the trend right away. Users only realized the usefulness of the hashtag in 2007 during one of the biggest fires in California history. The hashtag #sandiegofire was used to inform people about the fire’s progress and the evacuation measures.
Why use hashtags?
- To increase engagement with your followers
- To build your brand
- To support a cause
- To add context to a photo
Hashtag best practices
The use of hashtags varies from platform to platform, as the algorithm is different on each.
On Facebook, it is recommended to use one or two hashtags to be added to the post or comments. Publications using one or two hashtags perform better than others. In fact, this number of hashtags generates an average of 593 interactions, compared to 307 interactions with 6 to 10 hashtags.
On Instagram, it is recommended to use between 5 and 10 hashtags per post. Whether in a story or a post on the news feed, it’s best to put a few more hashtags to get noticed. It is possible to “hide” hashtags in the comments section to lighten the description under the publication. Adding hashtags to your bio can encourage discussion, as it is one of the first things your new subscriber will see when viewing your profile.
On LinkedIn, three to five hashtags are used that respect the following:
- keep it professional
- avoid too many jokes
- proofread
The objective of using hashtags on LinkedIn is to get noticed in the business world. In fact, the most popular hashtags are #productivity and #leadership.
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