The Do's and Don’ts of Hashtags

What used to be a pound or telephone button is now a way to communicate across the World Wide Web. We now connect with others searching similar topics through social media via one character, a hashtag.

How can a hashtag help my business?

There are many ways to apply the hashtag and it is very important in today’s business world because it permits subjects to be indexed. The hashtag allows for better optimized search, making it easier than ever before for people to find what they're looking for. Better optimization permits businesses and their subjects to receive more recognition.

Making your business easier to find for your customers allows for greater success and visibility. The hashtag may help an anonymous searcher become a lead by simply coming across the hashtag without actively searching for it. You may be pondering how to use the brilliant, little hashtag. As with most things on the Internet, there are many do's and don’ts to abide by:

Do:

• Hashtag group activities, topics, and subjects in order to categorize them so that potential and current customers are able to find what they are looking for easier and faster.
• Hashtag online conventions, concerts, and places. These days, almost every major event has a hashtag, so you're missing out if you don't join in the conversation by including it in your social messages.
• Hashtag asides: this is what we call a little extra “something” that people add to their tweets (ex: Starting a business and are unsure where to start? Check out our tips! #BizTips)
• Use whatever case you’d like (ex: #business can be #bUsInEsS, if you so please)
• Use capitals instead of spaces: spaces don’t work for hashtags (ex: #NortheastOhio, rather than #Northeast Ohio)
• Get creative! These days, people hashtag anything and everything. If you're ever bored and looking for some entertainment, check out some of these hashtags that Jimmy Fallon helped to make famous.

Don’t:

• Use special characters or punctuation (ex: *, &, %, $, @)
• Use spaces. Instead, use capital letters to help show that you have more than one word in your hashtag.

In summary, make sure you follow these do's and don’ts to allow for the best optimization of your social messages. The hashtag allows users who are not actively looking for your product to come across it in their search. Finally, the hashtag will allow for your topics to be categorized and makes the message of your business more optimized. These do's and don’ts allow for a simple pound sign to broaden the horizon and add free expansion for your business, as long as you do it correctly.

Do you have anything to add to this list? Did your business have a good experience with hashtags? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Now that you know all about hashtags, check out this hilarious video from Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake.

If you are interested in learning more about why you should use a hashtag in your business' social media messages, check out this article in Forbes magazine.

Megan Ramey was an inbound marketing Intern at SyncShow in December 2014 and January 2015. She is a double major in Strategic Communications and Political Science at Miami University. She is a lover of corny jokes, online shopping, and spending time with her family. In her spare time she enjoys wondering what politicians are doing and supporting anything Cleveland-esque. Read more about her Intern experience here.

Image courtesy of Dan Moyle via Flickr