#Hashtag it!

One of the best features of Marketing is its dynamism.  The ability to put a new spin on traditional marketing tasks infuses excitement and breathes new life into routine marketing tasks.

The digital age has greatly enabled this dynamism.  The many elements and features which have emerged due to the introduction of the worldwide web, has afforded many companies both small and large, the luxury of representing their firms and products in many different formats and in varying and wider markets.

One of the best products of the digital age is the #hashtag.  The hashtag was introduced to the world of marketing via Twitter in 2007.  The tech-savvy amongst us will immediately know what a #hashtag is; its use, purposes, advantages and disadvantages.  

A #hashtag, more formally known as a metadata tag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) used on social media sites such as Twitter to identify messages on a specific topic and on Instragram to increase the posts visibility within a particular niche.  This means that when an individual clicks on a hashtag, he or she would be able to find all the thoughts and comments related to that specific topic.  This sole feature makes the hashtag a valuable marketing tool which can be utilized to capture valuable information for companies.

Image from www.canva.com 

As small business move into the global marketplace, elements such as these must now be engaged in order to expand the company’s reach and identify more customers in new markets, resulting in increased sales and brand recognition.

In developing #hashtags for a business, one of three strategies may be used; a brand strategy, a campaign-based strategy or by identifying what is ‘trending’ in your industry and seek to capitalize on those trends.

The Brand Strategy - The brand strategy uses the business’s name and tagline with a view to increasing brand awareness.  For example #SandysCloset can create this hashtag and use it across all its social platforms to highlight both the products and services offered by the company.  Importantly, social media is built on imagery, therefore good quality images must be utilized as part of the process.    

By using the same hashtag across all platforms, customers can also be included in the company’s promotion and encouraged to add images of themselves in pieces from Sandy’s Closet to their social platforms using the same hashtag.  This may also be used as a reward system for customers who share the most online to earn for example a 5% discount on a future purchase.  This type of sharing will considerably increase the company’s online presence and drive even more traffic to Sandy’s Closet.

The Campaign-based Strategy - The campaign-based strategy requires a more targeted approach. Using the same example of Sandy’s Closet, Sandy’s introduces its Summer Collection to capitalize on the season’s parties and special events.  #SandysCloset may now add the hashtag #SummerCollection to identify its Summer campaign.  Once this is added, when a client clicks on the hashtag, the images and any comments relating to this collection will appear.   Sandy is then able to see the kind of impact that her summer Collection has made, any hits and misses and how those can be addressed in future summer or any other collection.

The Trend Strategy - In today’s world where image is everything, trends form a big part of how people act; their lifestyle choices and even the company they keep.  Trends also help to form one’s perception of a product or firm.  So how do you create a hashtag?  The purpose of creating a hashtag is to be able to track what is being said about your brand or product and by whom, so the first consideration is that your hashtag should be easy to remember as well as appealing.   The next step is to include your hash and there you have it --- #happyhashtagging.