Hashtag Knowledge: #thisishowyoushouldusethissocialmediatool

Many use hashtags regularly in this social media driven world. It started with Twitter when hashtagging catchphrases,  trending topics,  talking about sports, television shows, and your favorite teams became popular.  Now you see these tags on all three of the major social networks: Facebook,  Twitter, and Instagram. Also, they're getting too long and out of hand. People are using entire sentences now and excessive tags in a post. It's become messy and clique'.

Here are some discrete ways to use hashtags in your social media posts and otherwise. 

1. Short but sweet.

You need not use one long as a summer day, as the example in the title. Use a buzzword or two that gets right to the point. Try quick phrases instead of whole, run-on sentences that have your former English teachers feeling embarrassed. Now I find it interesting that people use shorthand and slang regularly, but can suddenly construct a complete sentence within a hashtag. That seems odd and backwards to me.

2. Less is more.

In my post about Instagram last year, I touched on this point. Use five or less tags. Better yet, try to keep it to about three. More than five makes the post seem messy and distracting. It's almost like a cry for attention when you have about 50 long tags #really #attentionwhore #unnecessary #seewhatIdid #hotmess

3. Make them meaningful and catchy.

The original intent behind these was to further the social networking process. This is why when you watch a TV program,  you see a tag on the bottom of the screen. That gives you a starting point right there.  Now be creative and come up with some quick ones that grab attention and apply to many folks and your post. Examples are #workflow,  #turnup (which I despise) #God, #awesomeness #happy, and #epicfail. Use your emotions and your words.

4. Don't use them in a serious post or a remorseful one

Even hashtags have their place. If the post is one of a serious tone, perhaps you shouldn't be drawing attention away from it.  One colorful may not do harm, but it could be best to refrain from them all together. 

5. Don't get so obsessed with them that you are having entire conversations with them.

I have a longtime friend who I do this with for kicks. Nevertheless, try not to do this on a social media platform. Regular words do not go out of style,  and remember what the actual purpose of a hashtag is. It is intended to draw attention towards a certain topic, nog away from the discussion at hand.

Happy hashtagging! 

Do you use hashtags in your social networking?  How often and how long are your tags typically?