Hashtags are words or acronyms that begin with the number (#) sign.  Twitter hashtags like #followfriday help spread information on Twitter while also helping to organize it.

Hashtags are a great way for users to group tweets together by subject. They are used when many people are tweeting about the same topic or event.  To see some different hashtags, log on to Twitter and view Twitter’s trending topic list.  At least one hash tag is on this trending topics list.

Before using a hashtag, search the hashtag in the Twitter search box to see how it is being used.  After it is determined what a hashtag is being used for, the Twitter user can use a hashtag to send a message to a much more specific audience.   A tweet about the GOP or political news, for instance, reaches a much more specific audience with the hashtags #GOP and #TCOT.  

The hashtag is a useful tool of event organizers and it is also a way for a Twitter user to organize information.  If Twitter users agree to append a hashtag to a Tweet about the topic of baking blueberry bagels fast, it becomes easier to find that topic in a search if everyone interested in the topic uses the hash tag #BBBF after their Tweet.  Here’s how it would work. "@SMCreator Using a great new recipe. Found it here. http://bit.ly/IEXbLv #BBBF."

Twitter has published an informational article on the use of hash tags which can be viewed here.




Visit the Social Media Creator Group for more exciting tips or to start your own Twitter or Facebook page.