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Twitter Hashtags – What you Need to Know
by Stephanie Bishop on 9.25.2012 in Company News, Interactive Marketing 0
Outside of and around the office, I often get asked about Twitter hashtags. Who knew the ‘#’ symbol could cause so much confusion.
To clear up any misunderstanding, I’ve answered some of the most common questions asked about hashtags.
What exactly is a hashtag?
A hashtag is a ‘#’ symbol followed by a keyword or phrase. Hashtags are used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. Ex. #stlcards
Why should anyone use a hashtag?
Hashtags are used to help categorize Tweets and allow people to search through conversations to focus on the ones they find most interesting.
How do I know which hashtag to use?
What’s great about hashtags is that you can use whatever you see fit. While there are some conversation topics that have their “official” hashtags – i.e. At the Mizzou SEC kickoff game, the university painted #MIZSEC, letting Twitter users know if they discuss the game on Twitter to use the selected hashtag.
Can I get a hashtag to trend?
Sure. Any hashtag has the possibility to trend; however, there are no guarantees that a hashtag will become a trending keyword or topic. If you’re advertising, you can pay for a Promoted Trend.
How can I search for a hashtag?
To search for a hashtag in order to find a particular conversation, or to see what others are using, use the Twitter search bar on the desktop, or the discovery option via mobile.
Within the search bar/discovery option, you can enter either a word or phrase with or without a hashtag and results will appear.
Are hashtags shareable?
If by shareable you mean something similar to the Facebook share button, then the answer is no. Ways you can share a hashtag would include print, online, TV, or even at a sporting event spray-painted on the field.
How do you tell what hashtags are trending?
To see what hashtags and topics are trending, if you’re on your desktop on the home page of your Twitter account, the trends are located on the mid-lower left side. If you’re on your phone, trends can be seen through the discovery option. Trends can be viewed based on country and even as far down as city.
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