Hashtags have become a central tool in Digital Marketing and the ‘filing system’ of the chaos we call social media. They help us navigate through trending topics, relevant requests and most importantly, the new-story of the day. But although, it may seem like a fad adopted by millennials, it has become pivotal to the world of communications. Bearing this in mind, there are certain pointers and guidelines to make the most of the ‘hashtag’.

Platform your #Hashtag

It is important to use a different hashtag for each different social media platform. For example, due to the 140 character limit, Twitter only requires two hashtags at most. Whereas, Instagram allows for up to 30 hashtags; but this, by no means one should use 30! Although many people have a field day with Hashtags, the recommended to use between 6-10 on Instagram, that are powerful, and as following increases, the less hashtags one needs.

Target those Hashtags

Not only is there an art to the number of hashtags to use, but there is also is an art in how to use them. Each hashtag needs to be in keeping with a trending hashtag used by your target audience.

Join a conversation

As with all PR strategy, Hashtags allow you to join a trending conversation, widening exposure and audience. When you join a conversation through your hashtag, make sure you understand the hashtag’s origin and use it wisely. The use of slang in hashtags, audiences can easily misunderstand what is being said and therefore it becomes detrimental.

Research

Spend 15 minutes a day researching the trending hashtags on twitter and Instagram and find out its origins. Once you understand its origins, you can put it to relevant and effective use.
Don’t underestimate the importance of research, 15-20 minutes of research today could save you a huge PR misnomer tomorrow.

How to make the Hashtag

• Keep it short: between 6-15 characters
• Aesthetic Appeal: Make it easy on the eye, normally the mixture of lower and upper case letters makes it easier to read than two words that are both lowercase next to each other.
• Easy to type: Make sure that the line is easy to type, the harder it is to type, the less likely people will repeat it in their own social media sphere, the less likely the campaign will take off.

Measuring Success

Hashtags are successful when they are used throughout many platforms and accounts. This will be measured in the number of retweets, sharing and copying across platforms.

The Power of a Hashtag

Hashtags have the power to extend campaigns, drive-home messages and punctuate momentum.  They encapsulate a message and imprint it on the mind of the consumer, viewer or receiver. So, when starting a campaign, remember to always utilise content strategically with the right #hashtag.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]