6 Tips for Creating A Good Hashtag
By Lauren Kemp
You have a big launch, giveaway, or campaign coming and you want to promote it with a clever, amazing hashtag that everyone will love and use. Easy, right? Well… maybe not as easy as you think. Here are 6 tips for creating a good hashtag (and avoiding a PR nightmare):
1. Check how it looks
Write it out. #canutellwutthisis? No. Because it’s awful and hard to read. #CaptializationCanHelp make it a little easier to tell what words are in the hashtag.
2. Make sure it’s easy to spell
Make it easy for your followers to engage with the hashtag. Avoid words that are easy to misspell, or you could miss out on a bunch of posts. Also, be consistent with plurals. If your hashtag is #yeahjeets don’t forget that “s.” Everything under just #yeahjeet will be separate.
3. Watch your character length
You have a limited amount of characters to work with on Twitter. Don’t make your followers waste precious characters on an absurdly long hashtag — especially if they need/want to include a photo with it!
4. Keep it relevant
Does the hashtag have anything to do with what you’re promoting? Does it have anything to do with your company or messaging? Make sure it’s on brand.
5. Research it
Once you’ve come up with a hashtag you want to run with, research it! See if there’s already a conversation happening around it. This is also good practice if you want to chime in on a trending hashtag (DiGiorno learned this the hard way).
6. Consider if it will cause backlash
This can be a little harder to determine. Just feel it out. Think about how people could make it negative. Even with the best of intentions, things can still go horribly, horribly wrong — just ask the NYPD.
Want more social media tips? Read 50 Best Social Media Practices!
