The hashtag is something that I barely use unless I want a post that I made to be seen by more people, but even then, I just started to use hashtags a couple of months ago. Basically, a hashtag is a way to connect your many social media posts to different topics. For example, say that you are into shoe culture. In order for your post about the new Air Force drop that you received to spread around Instagram, you would use hashtags like #shoeculture or other related terms that the community uses. Some of the popular hashtags that people use throughout social media include #love, #fashion, #memes, and #art. Even though the whole use of a hashtag sounds tame and kind of mundane, it is also used for serious topics, like world events or certain movements. For the Russian/Ukraine War, people on Twitter would use the hashtag #ukrainewar or #stopwar to protest their feelings towards the matter. For movements, a well-known one is the hashtag #FakeNews, which is used on posts that either are fake news, or used on posts that protest the abundance of fake news all around the internet. Now that you have understood what hashtags are and the power that they hold, here are some tips to help effectively use them. Something to take note is that the less wordy a hashtag is, the more people will use it. Why use a long hashtag when you can use a short and sweet hashtag? Another tip is that you should make the hashtag memorable to the users. Remember #Maythe4th? While it was used when Star Wars: The Force Awakens was announced, the hashtag is now used to commemorate a dedicated Star Wars day (it also sounds like May the Force so it's pretty catchy, even though it's a pun). The final tip for this post is to not add hashtags into EVERY single post you make. It makes you sound pushy. Use them when you feel like it would benefit or create value for you. Hashtags is such an interesting little symbol. Who knew that a tic-tac-toe board would be used for world issues someday?
I like how you explained what a hashtag is and what it can be used for. Whether that be for fun stuff like fashion or more serious topics like war and misinformation. I agree that hashtags hold some sort of power and anyone who’s been on the internet for a while most likely has seen it firsthand. I also like how you give some tips on how to use them more effectively such as using/making shorter hashtags. Short and sweet tends to get the point across better or at least make it easier to catch fire than longer hashtags. Hashtags that are memorable and puns are another good way to make it more effective, like #Maythe4th. While I am not too into the Star Wars scene, I remember the hashtag when it blew up and I did so because it was quite catchy/appealing. And I can’t help but agree with “Who knew that a tic-tac-toe board would be used for world issues someday?” very funny and clever! Overall great post, and a very fun read! 😊
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron, great point about how hashtags can be used to grow a larger following on social media. Since hashtags can be used to connect posts to larger audiences, I would argue they are becoming essential when trying to grow a following on social media. However, this does raise another question. Can posts, that become grouped into hashtags, be ultimately overshadowed by posts with more engagement. I also agree that shorter and catchier hashtags are definitely more effective. This may also correlate to people having shorter attention spans and simply wanting to read less.
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