If you have spent any time on social media, any time at all, you have seen hashtags used within a post or comment. Back in the day, a hashtag was simply known as a pound symbol. Today, it is a way to start, follow, and participate in online conversations.
As a writer, promoting your brand is vital. Hashtags are a great way to stay on top of the conversation in your genre. The writing community frequently uses hashtags as a way to self-promote, announce projects, and follow trending topics of interest.
Don’t feel as if you are alone on an island when it comes to social media hashtags. Just how they work, what they are and how they can help writers on social media platforms is sometimes confusing.
What Is a Hashtag?
To understand how to use hashtags, we need to first know what they actually are.
A hashtag used on social media is a phrase or keyword followed by the pound (#) sign without any spaces #hashtags At its core, a hashtag is just a way to index search terms.
In 2007, Chris Messina is credited with using the first hashtag on Twitter and it changed how we used social media to simplify good search results.
Whenever a user includes a hashtag in a social media post, it immediately becomes discoverable by anyone using the term in a search. When someone searches the phrase or keyword the results will include real-time results highlighting all public posts making use that particular term.
Basic Use of Hashtags on Social Media
Using hashtags on social media is important to anyone trying to keep their finger on the pulse within a specific community. Using them properly is key as each platform has its own way of displaying posts under a certain hashtag. Each system also utilizes its own algorithms to generate trending content. However, there are some general tactics which are universal across most social media networks.
Any public post using a specific hashtag can be found by anyone who does a search for that hashtag. Those with private accounts will be limited to their set audience.
- When using hashtags for their intended purpose don’t string too many words together with a single hashtag. #yourresultswillbetoogeneral.
- Avoid over-tagging. Each social media platform has its own set of rules for best engagement. Facebook recommends 1-2 tags per post, Twitter is 2-3 per post. That means don’t #spam #your #posts #with #hashtags. On those networks stick to fewer tags per post for the best engagement. Instagram, however, encourages multiple tags – up to 30 but use them wisely.
- Don’t just blindly use hashtags as you will soon come to find out that type of tactic is a waste of time. If you’re not sure what to use, research your genre and how the community is using hashtags.
- Only use hashtags relevant to the post’s topic. Using a popular hashtag to draw attention to your post will more times than not have the opposite impact. Discovering irrelevant content using a mismatched hashtag will leave people annoyed.
The last entry of the above list really does start to get annoying when you run across it. I have seen writers online using the hashtag #pokemon during the Pokemon Go craze. That goes for any big event; #avengers is another one I have seen used countless times. Do yourself a favor and keep that technique out of your posts. It comes off as a bit desperate and a good way to lose accountability. Which is what you do not want when trying to build an audience.
30 Instagram Hashtags For Writers
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service owned by Facebook. With 1 billion monthly users it’s a great platform for the writing community and great for discovering writers. Users often seek out writing quotes, writing prompts, book suggestions, poems, and if you’re brave enough a writer can share a piece of their every day living.
Instagram is one of the most generous social media networks when it comes to the use of hashtags in posts. You can include up to 30 hashtags on a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a Story.
Here is a list of 30 writing related hashtags popular on Instagram
#amwriting
#authorsofinstagram
#booknerdigans
#bookstagram
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#poems
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#poet
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#poetry
#quotes
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#words
#write
#writer
#writers
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#writing
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#writingtip
40 Twitter Hashtags For Writers
Twitter uses hashtags as a way to connect conversations or to start your own. tags are one of the most important aspects of using Twitter successfully as a writer. They allow you to connect with other writers, find new readers, stay on top of the latest news, and help find new writing opportunities. Hashtags can also be very helpful in bringing awareness to your writing profile and possibly stirring the interest of publishers and editors.
Below is a list of 40 hashtags being used by the writing community on Twitter.
#amediting
#amrevising
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#ASMSG
#authors
#bibliophile
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#bookish
#booklover
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#books
#bookworm
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#creativity
#editing
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#NaNoWriMo
#publishing
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#reading
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#writing
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Although hashtags are predominantly used on Twitter and Instagram, most of the major social media platforms make use of them in some way. Facebook makes use of hashtags but their use is utilized more often by businesses and public figures to bring about brand awareness. The writing community on Facebook tends to use tags in posts to increase engagement to their page.
As a writer using hashtags for your own personal use, hashtags are a great way to categorize your posts based on specific topics. As a marketing tool hashtags can be used differently for each event, or marketing campaign – such as websites, book releases, blog posts, etc.
The best way to understand hashtags is to see how they work on each social media platform. Visit the hashtags provided in this post and see how they are being used and what type of feedback those posts are getting. Most importantly, be sure to follow different hashtags and include yourself in the conversation.
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