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#hashtaggingseemslikeasimpleconceptdoesntit
No, this looks ridiculous. If it takes me between 5 and 10 seconds to work out whether I can make sense of it, and I wrote it, it will probably take a reader twice as long.
In all seriousness, hashtagging seems like a simple concept, doesn’t it? Put a pound sign in front of a word or phrase to mark a discussion about a particular topic. Post something, add a hashtag, start conversations.
Seems simple. But using a hashtag well takes more than combining words with a pound sign. Hashtags are meant to connect posts about shared interests and help the right people find your content. Yet time and again, I come across hashtags that are misused. Platforms have changed since hashtags first took off, and X, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok all treat them a little differently, but these mistakes still hurt your posts on every one of them. Here is why they are wrong and how to fix them.
1) Do not stuff too many words into one hashtag
See the example above. I would be extremely surprised if anyone on social media wanted to join a conversation about hashtagging being a simple concept. Cramming as many words as possible into one hashtag makes it hard to read, hard to search and hard to use, and it defeats the point of a hashtag.
Spare your readers the headache and keep hashtags short and sweet.
2) Do not use hashtags that have nothing to do with your post
“Beautiful sunset tonight! #9pmcurfew #Momismad #Soprettyoutside”
What does a 9pm curfew have to do with a beautiful sunset? The first two hashtags look like the start of something unrelated. #Soprettyoutside is probably the best of the three, yet it is buried at the end of a pile of irrelevant tags.
Think about what you post. Make sure each hashtag is relevant to the photo, video or text it accompanies. Irrelevant hashtags can also look like spam, which hurts how your content is received.
3) Do not drown your post in hashtags
“Beach with friends!” #jerseyshore #beach #friends #fun #excited #swimming #sand #sun #waves
Slow down. Too many hashtags in one post is overwhelming and unnecessary, and it is especially distracting to people who follow your posts. Even when every tag is relevant, a long string of them is excessive for your audience.
Keep it to a few hashtags per post, three to five at most on most platforms. Choose established hashtags that people already follow, or create one or two that are worth starting a conversation around.
4) Do not put spaces in a hashtag
#No Filter
I have seen #nofilter used a lot, usually on scenic views to show the photo has not been edited. The worst offense in hashtag etiquette, especially for a hashtag as overused as #nofilter, is to break it with a space. A hashtag only links the characters up to the space, so you end up with a link on #No and nothing else.
Before you post, check that your hashtag is written as one continuous string and is ready for people to click.
5) Do not use hashtags that only mean something to you
Personal hashtags only work when they are tied to an event, campaign or occurrence that people want to join in on. A hashtag made from your business name on a post about a general topic will not attract widespread support.
If you are looking for a way to market your business, add a short paragraph about it or link to the relevant page instead. Keep personal things personal, without the hashtag.
6) Do not leave multi-word hashtags in all lowercase
#hashtaggingseemslikeasimpleconceptdoesntit is hard to read for everyone, and screen readers cannot pronounce it well. Capitalizing the first letter of each word, as in #HashtagMistakes, makes a hashtag easier to read and more accessible, and it avoids accidental readings you did not intend.
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