It’s 2015 so we’re going to go out on a limb, and say that everyone knows what a hashtag is. What we’re not so sure of, is if everyone knows the power of hashtags and their functionality. The hashtag has transformed social media, and continues to drive the idea of trending news. Hashtag blunders do occur, but with the latest updates social media sites allow for quicker editing and changes to occur.
Our rule of thumb for hashtags is less is more. This tried and true tip demonstrates an equally important aspect of using hashtags, which is to avoid a cluster of hashtags. We all have the one (hopefully not more than one) friend who post on their Instagram account and uses #sun #sunnyday #yellow #outside #nature #trees #green #leaf etc. This overkill of hashtags makes us want to barf, but to easily fix this flood of words you can choose one, maybe two broad tags that encompass an accurate description for your post.
Another tip we can offer is to use hashtags that make correlate with the days of the week. These weekly occurring hashtags normally accrue a high audience, which can boost the number of likes you receive. Weekly hashtags are great, but only if you use them on the corresponding days of the week. This may be silly to say, but throwing back a photo on Tuesday is not as effective as using the #ThrowbackThursday, which is the popularly used hashtag.
Spelling is also a major aspect of hashtags, because spelling a hashtag wrong can adversely affect the post. For instance, if you post a quote on Monday and use the hashtag #MotivationalMonday, but maybe you write #MotivationMondy (note the “a” missing in Monday) then the hashtag is rendered useless because your post will not show up when searching the hashtag #MotivationalMonday. Thankfully, Instagram has an editing feature, which allows for you to make changes to post and correct any errors.
Bringing your post to a larger audience is the overall goal behind hashtags. Using hashtags can allow users to find your post, which can in turn allow them to find your company or personal page etc. The snowball effect of hashtags is remarkable, and connects the gap between users. Keep in mind our easy tips for hashtags, and you’ll be thanking us for it later #blessed.
