You do not have to be an expert in social networks to generate good content on Instagram and be able to organize the information under a hashtag that allows people to follow the conversation and participate. A hashtag is a tag that allows you to group post that refer to the same topic and facilitate their search. They are widely used in very important news events, in funny memes that run through Instagram, to cover events and talks, and for many other activities.
Creating a hashtag is quite simple, the way to do it is to put the # symbol followed by a word. Some examples: #miners, #Iconfess, #Chile.
Here are 10 tips for you to create good and explanatory hashtags on Instagram:
- If it already exists, you don’t have to create it.
Many times you want to group your ideas with a hashtag and it has already been created. Many events have in mind the hashtag that will be used long before. Others are generated spontaneously. For the last elections of deputies in Venezuela the most used hashtag was # 26S, because the elections took place on September 26. It is better to search and join the conversation if a hashtag already exists, than to create another one.
- Hashtags had better be short.
The longer a hashtag the fewer characters can be used to express ideas. This can be a big problem, if you have 140 characters and use 20-25 in the label that will group them, you are wasting space. To achieve this many people and organizations cut words or use initials.
Today in Venezuela #UniVe is being used for a march that demands a better budget for the country’s universities. It is short and easy to understand that we are talking about the universities of Venezuela. Many local hashtags use the country name summarized in its structure: Chi, Cr, Co, Mex, Mx, etc. As an exception to the rule, the only long hashtags that are successful are related to humor, the hashtag helps part of the joke.
- A hashtag should be self-contained, trying to explain itself in a few words.
An excellent recommendation from Oscar Ortegano. If the hashtag is short, and at the same time you can understand the topic it refers to, you will have a great tag. The example of the #miners hashtag is very good, short, direct and simple. There is no need or place #minersChi, since the entire humanity was awaiting the rescue.
- Be original
A hashtag does not have to be a programming variable. Interesting advice from Mary Duarte. Our language is full of short words. With a little ingenuity and creativity we can create fantastic hashtags. Before trying initials, think of a few words. For example if you want to give recipes, use the #recipes, it is short and you can add an initial or another word.
- It reaches a consensus with the rest of the people who are going to use it.
Good advice from Leonard White of course this is in addition to common sense. If a small group of people, an organization wants to start posting a photo, it is best to talk and agree on the tag to be used. Very valid for talks, press conferences, small events. At the same time, if the conversation has already been generated, or there are many people involved, it is really very difficult to do.
- It has to be easy to memorize.
When trying to short a hashtag we are likely to use complicated letters or combinations. Currently there is a very popular hashtag that is #grrrr, which is easy to memorize once you realized that they are 4 Rs, but that is very complex to start with. Although it is not a simple hashtag, it became popular because it was original, and because it could be remembered once its structure was understood. But at the same time it is very easy to be wrong. Of course, it’s one of those labels that has humor in it.
- Be careful with the double meaning.
I am not just referring to the possible sexual involvement of some words. It is probable that in another country that same word means the opposite or is offensive. The hashtag #Mountain in Venezuela or Chile is not the same, to give an example. The least you want is for your event and hashtag to be riddled with people making fun or making joke.
- The hashtag must seek balance, it must be short and expressive at the same time.
You have to achieve that balance, perhaps being very clear we are abusing the words, or being very short nothing is understood. The larger and more global the reason for the hashtag, the shorter and more summary it can be. The example of # 26S for all of Venezuela, on the day of their elections, is very clear.
- Be careful not to use a hashtag that is in use for another purpose.
If you are organizing an event, the least you want is that the information and your post are confused with other things. Do some research and decide which one to use based on this point.
- Do not abuse hashtags.
You don’t have to create a tag for everything you post on Instagram. Also do not fill your post with 10 hashtags, with one or two (in extreme cases) is enough.
With these 10 tips you have an excellent starting point to better organize your post and the conversations you want to generate in the events you are organizing