About Those Hashtags
It can seem like hashtags have been around since the birth of the Internet. In fact, they’re only about a decade old. It also took a while before that little pound symbol caught on. Today, millions of people use it across all kinds of social media sites. You can hardly sign on to Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Gawker or Google Plus without seeing hashtags everywhere. So how did hashtags come about, and how do different sites use them today?
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History of Hashtags
In August 2007, a Twitter user named Chris Messina wanted a simple way to group conversations on Twitter. His idea was to put the pound sign in front of the topic. At first, Twitter was reluctant. It felt the hashtag was a bit “nerdy,” while the site saw itself as trendy.
Then, in October 2007, Nate Ritter used the hashtag in posts about the California wildfire. That’s when #Sandiegofire caught on. Other people began using it to write about the fire and to find news and conversations about it.
By 2009, Twitter saw how useful the hashtag was and accepted it. It also realized it could automatically turn anything after the pound sign into a link. From there, the hashtag took off as a way to group conversations, events and more.
Soon other social media sites began using hashtags as well. Instagram added support in June 2011. In October of that same year, Google began linking hashtags on posts. Vine quickly followed in January 2013, then Flickr in March. Finally, Facebook joined in June 2013.
By September, hashtags had become so popular that Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake did a spoof about how often people overused them.
The Hashtag Makes Even More History
But the story of the hashtag doesn’t end there. In February 2011, Audi aired the first Super Bowl commercial with a hashtag, #ProgressIs. That spring, Twitter also played a role in the unrest of the Arab Spring. Since then, #love has become the most used hashtag of all time.
In June 2012, Twitter aired its first TV commercial featuring the hashtag. Then, in November 2013, Twitter held its IPO, which proved the power of the hashtag once and for all.
Since then, the hashtag has found a permanent home in social media. People use it for conversations, pictures, ads and even spam. Some sites have strict rules for hashtags. Twitter, however, has kept things open, so users have fun posting their own content and finding what others post.
Today, the hashtag is the most popular way to sort content on social media. However, each site may use hashtags a little differently.
In fact, companies have created some of the most memorable hashtags to promote their products or services.
Keep in mind that you don’t own a hashtag once you use it. Anyone else is free to use it, and even exploit it.
Hashtags Don’t Always Work Out According to Plans
Also remember that hashtags don’t always go to plan. McDonald’s found this out the hard way. It posted a tweet with #McDstories, hoping people would share happy memories of Happy Meals. Many people did just that. But others posted negative tweets and horror stories about McDonald’s, and those tweets earned the name “bashtags.”
The Use of Hashtags on Various Social Media
We can’t cover every detail of how each site uses hashtags to sort content. Still, a quick look at some of the most popular sites should help.
Twitter, of course, is where the hashtag began. In some ways, it’s also the site where the # symbol is easiest to understand. On Twitter, you put the # before a keyword or phrase in your tweet. That sorts your tweet by topic and helps it show up in Twitter search.
Hashtags here are organic, since they come from Twitter users themselves. If you click a hashtagged word, you’ll see other tweets that use the same tag.
People use hashtags to find others who share a passion, such as #Siamese cats. They also use them to announce an event or to start or join a conversation. Anyone interested in the topic can then tap the hashtag and see all the other public tweets about it.
Twitter also lists the most popular hashtags under trending topics, so they’re even easier to find.
On Instagram, you can add a hashtag to the caption or comments of a public post. Your post then appears on that hashtag’s page, where you can browse other photos and videos with the same tag.
For example, say you had a great camping trip in Colorado and want to share your photos or videos. You can post them with #campingcolorado. Then other people who like camping in Colorado can find your post, and they can share theirs too. A clearer photo helps that tag page do its job, which is the practical point of 10 Best Instagram Filters to Boost Likes.
On Instagram, more hashtags usually bring more engagement. After about 10, though, engagement tends to drop. Creators who want that attention to add up often study Instagram Engagement Rate Explained (And How Likes Help) so the extra tags are judged by real interaction, not just a longer caption.
Google +
Google Plus uses hashtags to explore a topic rather than to curate it. The network picks related hashtags and trending topics for you, even from people outside your circles. Users have no control over what it chooses. Even so, hashtags on Google Plus are a great way to find people outside your circles who share your interests.
Tumblr
Tumblr uses tags that work much like hashtags. You add them in a separate section of the post. On Tumblr, posts with tags tend to do better than posts without them.
On Pinterest, you can only click hashtags in the pin description. Hashtags in account descriptions, board titles, board descriptions or profile names don’t work as links. You can also filter hashtag search results to show just boards, although some boards without hashtags may appear too. Finally, too many hashtags in a Pinterest post could hurt your ranking.
Youtube
YouTube came late to hashtags. However, it has made good use of the pound sign. There are 2 ways to find a hashtag on YouTube. You can either search for the hashtag itself or click one in a video’s description.
To use a hashtag, put it in the video’s description. But if you over-tag, the tags may become useless. Also, don’t leave a space between the pound sign and the word.
Whatever social media site you choose, using hashtags well helps you find relevant information and connect with people who share your interests. On Instagram, those same tags are a core step in How to Become Instafamous.
So before you use hashtags on any site, take time to learn how they work there. A little research will help you use them more effectively.
