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What Are Hashtags?
Hashtags serve as labels. They help people who are in search of particular content, find them with ease. If you are sharing your opinion on a particular topic of interest, you can end it with a suitable hashtag label. Other people who share similar interests in that same topic could search for the label and they would find many related posts with the label on the same social media platform. Over the years, hashtags have proven to be invaluable for providing and following up on up-to-date news about events. A hashtag could be: #JusticeForBob or #ConnectNigeria Social media is the home of hashtags. They were first made popular on Twitter, but now people make use of hashtags on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. Users on these platforms can amplify their voices and express their sentiments over issues like natural disasters or the miscarriage of justice through the use of hashtags. Although hashtags have been used to add relevancy to big news stories, business owners and marketers can benefit from their usefulness and create awareness of their goods and services.Sign up to the Connect Nigeria daily newsletter
Below are the ways to make fitting hashtags for your social media account:
- Add the # symbol. What makes a hashtag is the # symbol followed directly by letters or numbers. The symbol is called various things depending on which part of the world you live in. In the UK and Ireland, it is known as the hash sign, so probably, that was how the hashtag came about. A hashtag is a label that consists of a word or phrase tag with a hash symbol in front of it.
- Do not use spaces in a hashtag. A hashtag consists of a single word, or a combination of words and numbers, or an abbreviation. It could even be a phrase. Hashtags do not have spaces between their elements. There are no punctuations or symbols other than the # sign. A hashtag should not entirely consist of numbers. Instead, it would be a combination of letters and numbers.
- Create your own hashtag. They are simple things to make. All you have to do is think one up and use it in your content. You could add them at the latter part of your post, or wherever in the post that makes sense.
- Your hashtag should be uncommon. Try to come up with a new hashtag that has not been in circulation on the platform. Using a hashtag that is already in use will only create confusion and make people think you are trying to hijack a discussion on a particular topic.
- Keep your hashtag short, and make it easy to remember and understand.
- If you must use a hashtag that already exists, use such hashtags at the end of your social media post. Doing so would mean that you are interested in a topic and you want to join in on the discussion. Others interested in that same topic will find your post when they search for the hashtag.
- Do not use multiple hashtags in the same post. This is called hashtag pollution. The minimum number of hashtags to use is two. More than two hashtags would make your message difficult to understand.
- Do not use an unrelated hashtag for your post. Make sure to use a hashtag that best suits your post or is relevant to your message.
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