#594 The Are of the Hashtag

The marketing minute is a shorter version of the popular More than a Few Words podcast. Instead of a conversation with a marketing professional, host Lorraine Ball shares a quick tip to start you on your week  Hashtags. That little symbol that you see in front of a single word or group of words is an integral part of how Twitter and Instagram work. They allow you to group your message with other messages on the same topic, but there is an art to crafting a good hashtag. And if you're thinking about using one for your business, here are a few rules to keep in mind. The first is to be concise, long hashtags are extremely difficult to read, especially on the small screen of a smartphone. Also, with no spaces available it is easy for your hashtag to look like a hot mess. One or two word hashtags are more memorable and it's easier for others to jump on the bandwagon and join your conversation. If you're absolutely determined to use a longer hashtag, at least add capital letters to identify the beginning of each word. And if you are using a hashtag for a reoccurring event, go ahead and add a descriptor like a date or a location that allows people to separate the conversation from the most recent event from other conversations from earlier events.