What is a hashtag and how to make one. Hashtags - why they are needed and how to use them. Why use them

31.10.2023

Anyone who at least sometimes deals with social networks has seen strange, often indigestible inscriptions with a “hash” icon in front. What is this anyway? Ask any schoolchild, and he will answer you that these are hashtags; in simple terms, these are special tags for making it easier to find publications.

What are these weird hashtags for? Who came up with the idea of putting # before words and, most importantly, why? Is this a ridiculous fashion or a useful feature? Let's figure it out.

How did the grand procession of the # sign on the Internet begin?

The hash sign (#) became famous in Russia with the advent of push-button telephones; by pressing this button, it was possible to activate certain functions. In some countries, this is how the number sign was designated (in our country it is traditionally “No”), and in the absence of a special pound sign on the keyboard in the UK, “#” replaced “£”.

The grille was called differently - octotop, hash, sharp, etc. - but none of them caught on.

The revolutionary coup happened in 2007. The man who turned the world upside down was a simple developer from the Mozilla Firefox team, Chris Messina.

The idea for hashtags came to him quite by accident when his friends went to a festival in Austin, and he stayed at home in San Francisco. By that time, they were constantly using the newly appeared Twitter, messages were flowing, it was impossible to determine the context, each participant wrote as if everyone else was on the subject.

There is a need to filter content, separate what is important and what is not important for each user, and make the context of messages clear.

Cell phones back then were mostly push-button, the # sign was present on all devices, and Chris Messina came up with the idea of writing the keyword with a “hash” and placing it in the message itself to indicate the topic.

Chris pitched his idea to the Twitter team, but they didn't like it at first. But users liked the proposal, and after some time, third-party developers made a search using hashtags for Twitter. From that moment on, resistance became useless; a simple grid with a word became the key to finding the necessary information, without which modern social networks are no longer conceivable.

What are hashtags for?

Imagine that before the emergence of the now well-known Google company in 1998, there were no search engines on the Internet, except perhaps attempts to create a directory of sites. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, as part of their scientific work, solved the problem of organizing information on the network. Today, working on the Internet is unthinkable without search engines.

But in 2006, fundamentally new formats for communication entered the arena - Twitter and Facebook, which changed ideas about the possibilities of the Internet. The era of social networks has arrived. And the problem arose of finding the necessary information within these platforms.

Hashtags were created as tags to indicate the topic, context of a message on Twitter, but now they have become a universal tool for all social networks.

If you need information, for example, about snow removal in St. Petersburg, then you will go to your favorite search engine and type “snow removal St. Petersburg” in the search bar.

This is where a hashtag comes to the rescue. Essentially, this is a hyperlink, by clicking on which the user will see all publications with the same tag within the network. For example, on Instagram we find 200 publications under the hashtag #cleaningsnegaspb.

Search for information- not the only use of hashtags. They have long become a powerful tool account promotion bloggers. A well-chosen hashtag will raise your post to high levels of ranking and will be seen by more users.

Hashtags are often used to create new trend, fashion trends in completely different areas. For example, if on Instagram instead of #cleaningsnegaspb we introduce the trending hashtag #shovelbeglova, then the picture will change, the number of publications found will increase several times.

How to create a hashtag correctly

With that what is a hashtag, we figured it out, this is, in general, an ordinary hyperlink on social networks, and now let’s see how to write it correctly. The formal requirements for writing hashtags are extremely simple:

the word is preceded by # without a space (#delete);
There should be no spaces, punctuation marks, etc. between words. (#remote), any space or sign breaks the hashtag (for example, if you write #about remote, the search will only work using the #pro tag);
if you still need to visually separate words, then you are allowed to use an underscore (#about_delete);
you cannot make hashtags from one letter (#я) or from only numbers without letters (#666);
you can use the letters of the Latin and Russian alphabet, either separately or mixed, but if your message is addressed to a Russian-speaking audience, then it is more effective to use the Cyrillic alphabet; if your interests extend to foreign users, the Cyrillic alphabet will be useless (#proudalenku);
capital and lowercase letters are acceptable, they will be perceived by the search program as the same, and you can visually separate the words in a long hashtag (#AboutRemoteInteresting = #ProDalenkuInteresting);
Be careful about errors and typos - even one wrong letter will lead you to publications via another hyperlink.

I know from myself that #texts interspersed with #a thousand different #hashtags are incredibly annoying. #It is simply #impossible to read such #visual garbage. In order not to alienate the #public, the #rules of politeness must be observed - put hashtags in place or remove them at the end of the post, and in some cases even in a separate comment.

Rules for using hashtags

Knowing what a hashtag is is not a sufficient condition for success; you also need to understand how to use it correctly. By placing a word with a # tag in your message, you place it in a specific information channel.

If your tag is unique, then the channel will be unique, if not, then you join the channel with information from other users who wrote something on the same topic. Based on this, you can establish effective hashtags for your

Let's say you want to sort your posts into groups within your account. This is for your personal convenience, so you can find your posts or photos on the topic.

In this case, hashtags must be unique so that your posts are not mixed with others.

#VasyaPupkin_skis and #VasyaPupkin_bicycle are examples of single marks. By clicking on this hashtag, you will see all your personal photos from ski trips or cycling trips.

Unique hashtags are also used for creating a trend. In this case, they need to be combined with popular tags that reach a wide audience.

For example, for the query #VasyaPupkin_bicycle there is not a single post on Instagram, but the query #bicycle produces more than a million posts - this is a very common topic.

If you come up with a bright, catchy hashtag for your account and start promoting it, placing it in popular information streams, then with a happy coincidence of circumstances your original tag will be noticed and it can become fashionable, which means it will gather a large audience.

There are 4 nuances that need to be taken into account:

If you overload your post with hashtags, then no one will notice your unique tag in a bunch of them. The maximum allowable quantity is 10-15 pieces, but this is also too much.
When choosing very popular tags, keep in mind that your post will quickly disappear under the pile of subsequent publications with the same tag.
Instagram has introduced a function for subscribing to hashtags. If your publications are high-quality and interesting, then there is a greater chance that the user will subscribe to your unique hashtag and begin to receive all posts with this tag.
No one will remember long, hard-to-read hashtags, so it’s better to come up with bright, short, memorable keywords.

If your account offers goods or services and was created to attract customers, then the first priority is to find the target audience. Or rather, so that the target audience finds and remembers you.

Services for selecting hashtags will help solve the problem. They are mostly in English, tailored either for Twitter or Instagram, but many support the Russian language and data from there can be used for other social networks.

As an example, I will give a couple of the most famous ones.

Websta.me - shows the most popular hashtags and accounts on Instagram, provides analytics, supports the Russian language. One of the best services.

For example, you are looking for popular hashtags for pictures that you want to upload to Instagram. Just enter the key into the search bar, and the service will give you all the most popular tags. You can click on them to view content offered by users by topic.

Hashtags.org– the oldest service with a huge database of hashtags for Twitter. Shows very detailed analytics, supports Russian language.

Hashtags are an important tool for attracting attention, but we still must not forget that they are not an end in themselves. The main thing for which you can be appreciated is the content and quality of the information that you post online.

Hashtags on social networks: instructions for use

Following Twitter and Instagram, other social networks are catching up. On VKontakte, Facedook, YouTube and even Odnoklassniki - everyone started using hashtags. But each social network has its own audience and its own public and unspoken rules.

Twitter

Without a hashtag on Twitter, no one will notice you. Everyone here uses them to track current news and look for information of interest. The most popular topics are displayed on the left side of the screen, and the feed can be customized.

The maximum length of a tweet is 140 characters, so hashtags here are often embedded in the text itself, trying to make it relevant. Tags can also be placed at the beginning and end of the message. The number of tags in a publication is not limited, but no one likes a sheet of links.

All tagged tweets are included in the feed with popular hashtags, so such publications quickly go down.

Instagram

On Instagram, hashtags are needed like air; they are used for various purposes, one of which is to distribute your publications into thematic categories. This makes it much easier for a blogger to navigate within their account.

You also can’t do without thematic tags outside your cozy account.

Hashtags help you find the right information on Instagram and are used to “harvest” likes on photos and to attract new subscribers. Here you can follow not only someone’s account, but also certain hashtags.

Very popular on Instagram hashtag battles, in which participants post thematic photographs with a specific tag. These links are used by many users who want to get acquainted with the works of different participants.

The maximum number of tags for one publication is 30, but this is clearly too much.

Hashtags should be, i.e. corresponding to the topic of the post, non-topical tags are perceived with irritation by users.

Here, the most popular publications with the most likes, comments and saves rise to the top, so the use of popular hashtags is encouraged.

Facebook

Facebook supports hashtags; if you click on a tag or enter it into the search bar, posts with the same tag will appear in your feed. Here, as on Instagram, the most popular publications go to the top.

There is one trick with searching hashtags on Facebook - insert the URL www.facebook.com/hashtag/, add the desired tag without a hashtag, and the posts you are interested in will appear in the feed.

Showed amazing results 2016 study– greater reach for untagged posts on Facebook. However, it is a powerful way to get your post seen by an audience that would otherwise never know about your existence.

The number of hashtags is not limited, but the local public will not appreciate it if you start littering the airwaves with them. If you inserted a tag into a post, this will not affect the privacy settings of your account. With appropriate settings, only friends will see the publication.

In contact with

Users began to use VK hashtags quite actively. There is a search by tags, publications are displayed in chronological order, with the most recent ones at the top, just like on Twitter.

It is possible to filter the search within one group by simply adding @ and the letter address of the desired profile after the hashtag.

Use allowed in one post 10 marks, but the same principle works here as for the others - the more hashtags, the more visual garbage and irritation of users.

In VKontakte there is a way to put a hidden hashtag. Place the tag not in the text of the post itself, but in the description of the photo or video attached to it.

The VK administration monitors the relevance of the keys; if you use tags for other purposes, they may be excluded from the search as spam, and in some cases the community will be blocked.

YouTube

Hashtags on YouTube are used to quickly search for videos on a desired topic. To search, you need to either click on the tag or enter it into the search bar.

You can add a tag to the video title or description. Limit of 15 hashtags, if you put more, they will all be deleted, and you may be banned for spam. For irrelevant tags the same punishment.

In the end I would like to say this. Hashtags are a powerful tool for organizing and promoting information. It is no longer possible to imagine Twitter and Instagram without these beacons in the crazy chaos of content.

Slowly but surely, “big” social networks are mastering the use of hashtags for the same purposes. But everything is good in moderation. Fashion sometimes goes beyond all boundaries of tact, respect for users and overshadows the minds of particularly zealous marketers, and even ordinary people.

You need to learn to find a middle ground when hashtags on your posts bring real benefits, but don’t look like a terrible trash can where everything you can cram is stuffed into it.

In theory, this article should have started like this: “The hashtag came to us from the world of microblogging Twitter, where it was first used in 2007...”. Then it would be logical to tell how it appeared in other social networks, forums and took over the Internet, then talk about the features of hashtags in each network, and so on.

But this doesn't make any sense.

For example, #this is an example of a hashtag, #And_I_also_hashtag, #hashtag_in_english - these are all hashtags. Spaces cannot be used, because then it is not clear where the hashtag actually ends. If you put a space, then the hashtag will be everything that goes from the hash to the space:

#this is a hashtag without spaces - one big hashtag

#this is a hashtag with spaces - but here the hashtag will only be the word #this, everything that comes after the space does not count.

If you don't like to write without spaces, use an underscore instead: _

#for example_like_here or #you can_write_entire_sentences_in_hashtags

They can be written in any language, not necessarily in the same language as the main text. It’s quite normal to put hashtags in English if everything before was in Russian, and vice versa.

Why are hashtags needed?

When they first appeared, they were used to find all similar posts on the topic. Now this scenario also remains, and two more have been added to it. Here they are:

Search and cataloging of materials

Branding

Hype and popularity

That’s it, hashtags are not used for anything else in real life, no matter what social media experts tell you. Ultimately it all comes down to these three points. Let's look at each of them.

Article search and rubricator

This is the original and most obvious way to use hashtags. If you need an easy way to group your materials by topic, here it is. You simply put the same hashtag (or several) on similar materials and that’s it, the catalog is ready.

If someone is interested in what you posted, they will click on the hashtag and get everything there is about that topic. For example, the hashtag #work can denote all work materials, #happiness - personal, and #Moscow - everything you write about this city.

Make your hashtags to organize what you post, don't target anyone. If the way everyone puts tags doesn’t suit you, use your own approach. If it’s easier for you to tag topics about marketing as #tricopecks, and topics about consulting as #nadivan, then do so. By the way, this is closer to branding, but about it separately. In general, do not become a hostage to trends if you yourself are uncomfortable using such a system.

#ideas is a good hashtag option for the name of a topic or category

Branding

The easiest way to stand out is to come up with your own hashtags and use them in each of your materials. You can use the name of a company, product or process - the main thing is that it is associated with you.

#webcenterisresting, #polyanin_at_work, #VC_marketing - these are all examples of clearly branded hashtags.

What makes them special is that they work for you in the long run. The more often a hashtag is used, the more posts with it are published, the more popular it is. And some social networks themselves offer users popular hashtags, thereby working for your brand.

Hype and popularity

To quickly promote material to the top, those hashtags that are now super popular are pointed to it. As a result, a person is looking for one thing, but gets something completely different. This is used by those who want to show their material to readers on the wave of hype.

Those who do this are looked at askance and disliked, but the technique still works. Therefore, if you urgently need to get large coverage and views at any cost, you can do this. But if the material has nothing to do with hashtags at all, the brand’s reputation will begin to fall like a stone.

When searching for the first character of a hashtag, Facebook displays a list of popular hashtags, in its opinion. The sample is wild and not always adequate; you should not always rely on it

conclusions

Hashtags are powerful if you know how and why to use them. If you need quick navigation through materials or want to promote your brand, use hashtags everywhere you can reach.

To avoid looking stupid, don’t try to ride the wave of someone else’s fame and ride on their hashtags. The hype passes, but the ridiculous appearance remains on the Internet forever.

The world first heard about hashtags back in 2007. Nowadays, a rare significant post on social networks can do without them. Let's figure out what hashtags are, how to put them, what they are for, and how to use them effectively.

What are hashtags

The word “hashtag” comes from the English hash (lattice) and tag (tag). Literally, a hashtag is a word, phrase or phrase marked with a hash symbol. For example, #earn online, #content, #October and so on.

This is what hashtags look like

This promotion tool is used mainly in social networks. Let's look at why they are needed.

How to put a hashtag

It’s very simple: switch to the English layout, put the # sign, and write a word or phrase after it. Once published, the hashtag will become clickable. Remember important rules:

words in hashtags are not separated by spaces. If you include a space, the hashtag will not be clickable. The space can be replaced with an underscore: for example, #internet_marketing;
but the hashtags themselves, if there are several of them in a row, are better separated using spaces;
do not use the symbols +,$,&,% - the hashtag will also be unclickable;
do not write too long hashtags - or at least separate words with underscores;
You can write both Russian and English hashtags, depending on what target audience you are writing for.

There are a few more secrets of good hashtags - we’ll tell the most patient readers about them at the end of the article.

What are hashtags for?

Once upon a time, hashtags were used only to find relevant information. Now it is a powerful tool for promoting content on social networks. Here are the main functions of hashtags.

1. Quickly find the information you need. Searching for information using hashtags is very simple: just click on a hashtag and see a lot of posts united by one meaning. The second way: type the desired hashtag in the search bar of any social network. Let's say you wanted to relax and watch memes. We type the hashtag #memes and voila - you have thousands of publications on the topic.

2. Sorting posts. Suitable for those who have a lot of posts and relevant categories. For example, the Texterra agency created special hashtags to highlight different topics of posts. The hashtag of one of these sections is #beyondTexTerra. By walking through it, you can learn a lot about the internal life of the agency.

3. Promoting a personal page or community - increasing views and traffic. If you add popular hashtags to a post, theoretically even those who don’t follow you will see it. But there is one subtlety: overly popular hashtags do not always work.

The secret is simple: too many people use them. Hundreds of posts with similar hashtags appear every minute. The chance that your post will be remembered among them (and even more so that they will visit your page) is not so great.

There is another nuance. People are not stupid and will quickly notice that the popular hashtags of your post have nothing to do with the essence of it. It’s clear, yes: you can cram a dozen topical hashtags into a post, but if you write about how the cat stole your lunch, and use the hashtags #love, #children, #happiness, #autumn2019 and other popular hashtags, get ready for criticism or indifference.

The last time I saw something like this was with the hashtag #third_ofSeptember. It seems like every second Instagram user put these hashtags, and in posts that were completely unrelated to Shufutinsky’s work and music in general.

4. Branding. This is a special type of hashtags - personal, or personal. Any brand or user can come up with them. Maybe several - as you wish.

Here, for example, is a recent post on Instagram by Olga Buzova. There are several hashtags here at once - and mostly they are Olga’s personal ones. They perform two functions: they sort posts on a specific topic (tour 2019, words of gratitude to the team and loved ones) and express the individuality of the star.

We see here several Olga’s personal hashtags

5. Demonstration of humor and creativity. Some viral hashtags are, let's say, on the verge of a foul. Take the same #fabulousbali - a hashtag that was born by chance or mistake (well, it seems to me) from an ordinary Instagram user and instantly spread across all social networks.

The same hashtag

Whoever tagged it - even famous people grabbed the palm and joyfully played with such a tasty news feed. So they apparently wanted to seem modern, with a sense of humor and keeping up with trends.

And some online stores jumped in and released T-shirts with the same hashtag.

What are the hashtags?

Let's look at a few of the most common types.

Viral

Sometimes a trend sweeps the world, and popular hashtags are created for this trend. As I already mentioned, on September 3 (it’s time to introduce a national holiday, by God!) the Runet was filled with hashtags dedicated to the song of the same name. Well-known companies also did not shy away from trends and put the hashtag #3September under their publications.

An example of using viral hashtags

Contextual

These are words relevant to the topic of the post. For example, a person went for a walk, ordered sushi at his favorite restaurant - he puts the hashtags #walk or #sushi. I took a beautiful photo - use the hashtag #photo, #photographer.

Sometimes contextual hashtags are abused - they are placed through every word. Bloggers on Instagram are especially guilty of this. Sometimes it looks funny: I #ate #sushi and am very #happy. #love and #goodness to everyone!

Geographical

Everything is simple here: if a person is in a certain city (lives there, came on a trip or on an excursion), it is quite acceptable to use location hashtags. For example, #Moscow, #St. Petersburg and even the already textbook #fairytale Bali.

Geographic hashtags are also actively used by companies operating in a certain location.

Advertising, professional

If the previous types are used by all users of social networks, then advertising or professional ones are used by those who want to attract a specific target audience, advertise goods or services. For example, an internet marketer puts hashtags related to his work. This is how he attracts new customers and shows his expertise so that he can teach in the future.

This post was seen by the professional community. Well, I hope

Personal or branded

As already mentioned, companies and individual entrepreneurs often create their own hashtags and actively use them. This is where anyone can see the publications of a person or brand and find them in search.