We’ve talked a bit about hashtags before (what they do, how you can use them), but this is just the tip of the iceberg, friends. The hashtag has great and terrible powers, much like Excalibur, the One Ring, Dr. Who’s screwdriver, or Silly Putty (I don’t get what it does, but it’s SO fun!).
Ok, maybe a bit of a hyperbole, but when you’re marketing on social media, you don’t want to hashtag whimsically. Or, maybe you do…but you shouldn’t. This post is dedicated to something I just came up with called “hashtagging with a purpose.” One method of hashtagging purposefully is to use something seasonally appropriate. This could be weather related (#snowstorm, #heatwave, etc), holiday related, wardrobe (#flipflops) , or food related (#sugarcookies or #strawberries). You can even use the names of the seasons themselves.
Step 1 is finding a relevant hashtag. The good news with this step: there are a great number of tools out there. You can always go on Twitter and check out what’s trending on the sidebar, or search a hashtag you’re considering to see if it’ll get attention (more info on general hashtagging here). Seasonal hashtags are cyclic, and only work during certain points in the year. For instance, you don’t want to use #halloween in the dead of March. Also, anything to do with comfy sweaters and boots should probably be reserved for the fall/winter months.
Observe: Analytics of #winter (just from today)
…compared to use of #summer, also from today. See what I mean?
Step 2 is knowing what sorts of hashtags your target consumer will appreciate. Around the winter holiday season, there’s some tension around holiday recognition. One solution for this problem is avoiding specific holidays (i.e. using #happyholidays instead of #merrychristmas). Maybe even use #festivus. This way, no one gets excluded from your posts. Another solution is to hashtag ALL the holidays. I wouldn’t recommend this route, because a) it’s overwhelming and annoying for your followers, and b) you will exhaust yourself and probably go insane trying to keep up with every holiday. Either keep it general (and include everyone), or only use the holidays you know your audience will follow.
Remember, you can #prettymuch #hashtag #anything. But it doesn’t mean you should.
Out of curiosity, I searched for #hashtag, and was pleased with this response.