One small mistake may ruin all the reputation you built up over the years. Beyond common perception ‘nobody is watching while I talk on social media’ the painting on the wall is permanent. When you say something on Social Media, it goes viral within minutes. Hashtags (Pound Sign / #) when put together with words make Social Media Labels. Hashtags make it easy to find posts around certain topics / issues. Play carefully with Hashtags before it become too late and people bookmark your post for the wrong reason or start pouring unwanted messages on you. Here are important Do’s and Don’ts of Hashtags.
Attach a SHORT string of characters with a Hashtag (#):
Ideally a word attached with a Hash Sign (#) on your social media post shall not be more than 10/12 characters long. The Longer the string the less visibility you will receive, people will bypass it or are less likely to bookmark. Make you Hashtags easy for those scanning eyes.
Do not put too many #Hashtags in a single post:
Making every single word in a post a Hashtag directly implies, you don’t about you, your profession and interests. A Hashtag labels your social profile. Why do you want to be attached with so many labels? Have you ever seen a product with multiple labels? Same applies with you here. Hashtags signify your brand, expertise, identity. Be identifiable.
Silence is Golden, still true:
Spammers and Marketers of second grade product picks trending Hashtags and creates senseless threads. That’s disgusting. If you do not understand an issue, you can join the crowd another way, e.g. sharing on your time line etc. If you do not understand something trending yet you still want to speak about it, better to ask a question and listen others.
Before you shoot a Hashtag:
Check for Typo Errors and word meaning. Instead of writing directly in the social box, write in a document like MS Word or Page. Do spell check. Make doubly sure, it’s correct. Small mistakes may cause a social media blunder.
Be Simple:
Rocket Science will always be thrilling. Do not speak about a Cockpit if you are not a Pilot. Design Hashtags for your needs or pick some around you / your profession / business from popular social media handles. Want to talk about Business Tips? #BizTip is awesome. Make best use of Social Media Search Box and find quality Hashtags.
Make best use of Caps Lock:
Is your Hashtag a mix of two / three words? You can not a use a separator like -/& instead you have to write conjoined words. Write first letter of each word capital and rest small. For example Fun Friday, write is as #FunFriday and not as #Fun-Friday / #fun-friday. Use of capital letters makes it visible and inviting too. DO NOT WRITE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS.
