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Topics: Social Media

Social Summer School: Hashtags

Posted By Tier One on July 07, 2016

The bell has rung, so class, please return to your seats! Tier One’s Social Summer School is back in session, this week visiting an age-old social media concept: The Hashtag.

Lesson of the Week: Hashtags

Hashtags are so incredibly common on social media, they’re second nature to many users. Whether you’re well-versed in hashtag etiquette or not, we often catch a few blunders here and there and thought it was time for everyone to enroll in Tier One’s Hashtag Refresher Course. So, hocus pocus, everybody focus as we take you through the do’s and don’ts of hashtags:

#DO:

Do use hashtags to get in on trending conversations. Regularly check what’s trending on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the likes to identify these key opportunities.
Do know your social networks. On Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, it’s great to incorporate hashtags in the share, feel comfortable tacking a few on the end of an Instagram, and Tumblr has a special spot for them at the bottom of a post; but never, ever (we repeat, NEVER EVER) use a hashtag on LinkedIn. They simply don’t work.
Do know the limits. You can use as many tags as you want on Instagram (up to 30 in a single comment), but Twitter’s 140 character limit lends itself well to a 3-hashtag-max rule.
Do get creative and come up with your brand’s own unique hashtag that makes it easy for followers to find and join in your conversation. This works especially well for events!

#DON’T:

Don’t use trending hashtags just to use them, make sure you can still tie it back to your brand.
Don’t use hashtags on LinkedIn (have we mentioned that yet?). Hashtags aren’t clickable or searchable on LinkedIn.
Don’t over-tag, #tag #every #single #word, or #usereallylonghastagsthatneverend!
Don’t forget to do your research - Make sure your tag is specific to you and your brand. This not only guarantees you don’t get lost in the crowd, but it will make measuring and tracking much simpler when it comes time to tally the results. See our extra credit below for tips and tools.