In need of a guide to hashtags? If you’re a social media maven, like dental soiree, then you know hashtags are those few words preceded by the pound sign (#). But if you’re not that familiar, it may seem confusing and you may not want to do it. But they are a great way to communicate online and it’s important to know how to use them as they are a HUGE advantage to you and your social presence. Here at dental soiree, we LOVE to us our hashtags!

Hashtag 101

Choosing specific tags will help you connect with other like-minded people on different platforms.  For example, Instagram hashtags connected to your photo will be added to their highly targeted tag page, where other people with the identical hashtag will be able to find the photo more easily. On Twitter, the pound sign turns any word or group of words that directly follow it into a searchable link. This allows you to organize content and track discussion topics based on those keywords. For example, if you wanted to see posts about Shawn Mendes and wanted to post about him, you would include #ShawnMendes in your tweet to join the conversation with everyone else. Click on a hashtag to see all the posts that mention the subject in real time.

We love using our hashtag #dentalsoiree & #creativeminds

So what are the no no’s of hashtagging? For starters, it needs to be one word. Absolutely no spacing! Once you insert a space, it breaks up that hashtag. If your hashtag contains multiple words, you still want to group them all together. If you want to make sure you can read between words, use capitals instead #SugarFixDentalLoft. Uppercase letters will not hurt your search results, so searching for #LaurenConrad will yield the same results as #laurenconrad.

Numbers are supported as well. Such as the NextCon conference. They wanted attendees to us the hashtag #Nextcon16. For every hashtag, they donated $5 to a non-profit. How great is that!? Also, as a helpful hint, punctuation marks are not allowed. So commas, periods, exclamation points, question marks and apostrophes cannot be included. Really any type of character other than a letter or number is not valid.

#NextCon16 helped raise money for non-profits!

Make It Fun!

Hashtagging also helps with setting a tone and expressing yourself. Stuck on the “L” platform because trains are delayed and running behind? What better hashtag to use then #impatient or #annoyed. The dictionary is at your fingertips. Just place a pound sign in front of it!

As always, remember what you place on the internet, anyone and everyone can see. So always be cautious of what your fingertips are up to!

Enough said.