Social Media Roundtable: #Hashtags

February 5, 2013

What the heck are hashtags? Adding the “#” symbol before any word or

phrase without spaces Organizes posts by topic Creates a link that leads to a stream of every

post that uses the same hashtag. An important part of your social media strategy if

you are using:< Twitter < Instagram< Pinterest< Facebook

Tips for using hashtags

Capitalize the first letter of each word. For example: #HigherEd

Don’t overuse hashtags. 1-2 per post is plenty. Choose hashtags that are widely used To find out if a hashtag is being used, do a

search for it.

How to search Twitter

Directly from twitter profile Hootsuite, TweetDeck, or other 3rd party software search.twitter.com hashtags.org

How do I use a hashtag to promote an event or organization?

Search the hashtag to make sure it’s not already being used by someone else.

Find collaborators who will agree to use your hashtag.

Promote your hashtag. Use your hashtag frequently.

Minnesota State Mankato hashtags that are already being used:

#MNSU (the institution in general) #MavFam (athletics) #MavNation (coined by a past IBE cohort) #ClimbMNSU (Rock Climbing) #SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Others?