If you browse the internet or happen to be a regular on social networking websites such as Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen one or more hyperlinked words
preceded by the symbol #, or hash, also referred to as the pound sign? This is a hashtag, a keyword phrase or word – that is preceded by the hash symbol. This is used inside a social media post to make it easier to be found, when someone is looking for information related to the same. These encourage users on social media websites to find and explore the type of content that they want to know more about.
How Do Hashtags Work?
Anybody who clicks on a hashtag can find out more about the topic related to the same. Thus, when anybody sees the hashtag “gardening” and wants to see all posts related to gardening, he / she can click on that tag and have similar posts on the topic displayed on the social site. When you make a post on a topic on gardening, and add the hashtag #gardening, your post will be shown when someone clicks on the same tag in some other post.
On social media sites, hashtags are labels which make it more convenient for someone to find info with a specific theme or content. Companies or organizations can use these tags to reach the audience that they wish to target, and help users filter information easily. It is commonly used on social networking websites to connect, promote, organize and draw attention. These originated on Twitter, and quickly became an easy way for people to find the content of their choice, follow the posts related to the same and contribute to the conversation.
How Can Hashtags Be Used?
It is easy to use social media hashtags. When you begin with the use of hashtags for own requirements, you always need to follow a few important rules.
- Type the keywords of your choice, and always use the symbol # before the same.
- Never use any space, special character or punctuation in the hashtags.
- Never use only numbers. Use numbers and letters.
- Do not place any character right before the #.
- Keep it short.
There are some other rules as well, although these are the basic ones. These are a quick and low-cost way of advertising, and can help you to draw attention to your content in an easy way.