Have you ever done an #ootd?

When was the last time you created an #epic hashtag that everyone wanted to use?

Did you know that there’s a hashtag(#) in Hashmeta’s story?

Hashtags may sometimes seem unnecessary especially when marketers are overusing it for every single word in a simple sentence. However, they extremely useful in allowing trackback to certain content based on a few simple keywords. Apart from that, it also allows businesses to reach out to potential customers using hashtags. If you are wondering, here is a simple question that may provide some insights:

Would you use a hashtag you do not identify with? For example, #inboundmarketing

Getting a hashtag to trend is not always easy unless you are a trendsetter or a strong influencer within the social network you operate in. Nonetheless, there are still ways to get your hashtag to trend among your target audience.

Everybody loves a good laugh every once in a while. Injecting a little humour into your content to send your target audience into giggling fits and accompanying it with your hashtag may just be the trick you need in getting your hashtag to trend.

Source: pannukakku

When it comes to injecting a little humour into the content, Estonian startup Go Work A Bit certainly topped the game in a strategic way at a Finnish startup fair last November. Go Work A Bit is like Twitter for jobs which allow users to find short-term or part-time jobs and they have certainly gotten quite a fair bit of attention in Twitter-sphere when they managed to get visitors at their booth to Tweet the above content.

Some marketers put a lot of focus on creating a potentially trendy hashtag. However, it is essential to remember that a good marketing campaign is all about the content. As much as you would like to have your hashtag going around and making a mark on the internet, don’t forget that your hashtag should be accompanying your campaign and not the other way around. Therefore, it is better to create powerful content to have your audience jump on your bandwagon and the trendiness of your hashtag will take care of itself.

#KISS – Keep It Short and Simple

When it comes to having a hashtag to go viral and using it to pull an event together, nothing spells effectiveness like keeping it short and simple. A great example would be the hashtag for ‘Outfit of the Day’ – #ootd.

This simple hashtag that started as a reference for a small community of people to share outfit ideas eventually ended up taking over the fashion industry with just five simple characters. Online apparel shops such as Zappos are also on this bandwagon to reach out to existing and potential customers globally.

Source: Zappos

While it might be tempting to come up with longer hashtags that can cover the grounds of your content, applying the K.I.S.S concept may be the better option instead. Besides, don’t forget that some platforms such as Twitter have a limit of only 140 characters!

Be consistent

As the saying goes, “Repetition is the key to retention”.

Source: MW Partners

One of the most effective ways to embed new information in our minds is to repeat it as many times as needed. Same applies to keeping a hashtag alive. Apart from consistently using it on your social media platforms, try to also incorporate it into other marketing materials such as blog posts, newsletters, infographics, etc and have customers use them as part of their own content; especially during events.

Hashtags are great for building a community around a product/service/event. Having a trendy hashtag is certainly going to boost the engagement with your brand. Therefore, even though it is tempting to hashtag almost everything in your content just to reach a wider group of audiences, use your hashtags strategically and wisely to ensure you don’t overdose your existing ones with hashtags.

What do you think? Have you tried any of these trending hashtags? How have they worked for you? I would love to hear from you. Please leave your questions and comments in the box below.