When this author met “hashtags”

“Hashtag.” If someone had come to me two years ago and asked me what to do with a hashtag or how it would have added value to my marketing as a creative, I would have suggested they stop taking the tablets and get with the programme!

Once more, with the help and support of professionals, I believe I am grasping hashtags and their significance for me as an author.

Let me take you back to when I first learned how they could support my marketing efforts on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and other social networks.

What is a hashtag and how best for us creatives to use them?

A hashtag is simply a hyperlinked (clickable) identifier. It’s a label you choose helping you to bring the content you post on social media, to the attention of the particular people who are interested in it.

Preceded by a hash (#), it can be any combination of words, letters, and numbers with a meaning you get to decide/create. It can be the top keywords you would purchase in Google PPC, (pay per click ) or it can be completely made up, an empty vessel waiting to be filled by you through the content that you post.

Thanks to @KenHerron (see his posts at: https://www.mobilegroove.com/dearken-help-me-understand-how-when-where-to-use-hashtags/ and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/social-media-best-practices-authors-ken-herron),
I have learned that you can greatly increase the reach of your tweets by using 2-4 (max) hashtags in your Twitter posts (more than that, you could end up looking like you’re playing a game of hashtag roulette). Of course, Instagram is the exception as the photo you post speaks volumes to your followers along with 11 plus relevant hashtags.

You want your audience to use the unique hashtags you create, therefore shorter hashtags are easier for them to remember. They work better than longer ones. As a creative I have been known to break my own rules, occasionally using a longer hashtag or two:- #ScorpionsatMidnight #searchforsanctuary #wordoftheday and #SaveTheDate

Examples of shorter hashtags I regularly use include: #creative, #amwriting, #PicTime, #Blog, #books, #author, #inspiring, #mindful, #Blogger #Speaker #citylife #writingcave #reviews

Remember hashtags don’t just identify your own content, they also enable you to fully participate in different online discussions, including tweet chats, each with its own unique hashtag.

What else do you need to know?

Before using a new hashtag for the first time, take a minute to enter it into https://search.twitter.com to see what pops up. Doing so will help you to avoid surprises like a friend of mine who is a “newbie” to social media, who used an innocent hashtag word that brought me and my audience to a seedy group who tortured insects with a gothic theme!

Hope this post helps those who are in the creative field or simply my readers who are taking those first steps onto the social media platforms where hashtags are welcome. This week I heard on the #SoSoShow that LinkedIn has started to embrace hashtags via their mobile app.

Whatever your relevant hashtag/s it remains paramount for my/your followers to remain totally engaged, interested and excited to come on the journey with you.

Coming soon…Part 4 –

How I accepted the challenge of LinkedIn – another marketing tool I use as an author.