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Twitter 101: What is a Hashtag?

What is a hashtag

Twitter is a perfect venue for a small business entrepreneur to reach a wide audience. The best way to do that is by using hashtags. But what if you’re a newcomer to Twitter and don’t know what a hashtag is, much less how it works?

Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything:

Hashtag basics

A hashtag is a keyword marked with a “#” or “hash” sign, hence the name. Twitter keeps track of these hashtags/keywords and groups together tweets that use the same hashtag. Anyone who searches for a specific hashtag will see all tweets that use it.

So if I want people to see my marketing-related tweet, I should include the hashtag #Marketing.

How do I know what hashtag to use?

You have the freedom to create your very own hashtag,  but since you’re trying to market your business you should probably stick with hashtags that already have an audience.

Here are some great ways to find out which hashtags you should be using:

Find what others use. Look for other people on Twitter who are in the same field as you and read their tweets. Chances are they’re using hashtags, too.

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Find a relevant hashtag, then click on it to see other tweets that have used it, too.

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Scan through this list and see if the people on it are the right people you want to talk to (i.e. potential customers). If they are, then take note of the hashtag! You can use it later on when you start releasing your own content.

Search bar. Twitter has a search bar that helps you look for things. If you’ve got an idea for a hashtag and you’re not sure other people are using it, type it in here. You’ll be offered several other possible hashtag options. Scan through these and see if they’ve got a significant audience.

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Trending. Lastly, try looking at “Trending” hashtags. These are the most popular hashtags on Twitter at that very moment. Twitter posts a different list of trends per region (like Toronto), which is fantastic if you want to talk to your local audience.

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Just be aware that these trends might not be related to your business. That’s okay if you just want to tweet for fun, but be careful about which ones you use for work. Also watch out for hashtags full of competitors. You might be better off looking for another one, if that’s the case.

Still not sure about hashtags? Nimble Quotes comes with default hashtags at the end of each quote to get you into the conversation on Twitter. Sign up for the 30-day free trial today.

How Hashtags On Twitter Will Help You

Nimble Quotes Lance SecretanDid you know you can search Twitter a similar way as you search on Google? Did you know using hashtags on Twitter when you tweet can help your tweet show up in Twitter searches?

Hashtags are also very powerful tools for connecting and building a network on Twitter.

What Are Hashtags On Twitter?

Hashtags are keywords or phrases that begin with the hashtag symbol (#). Hashtags are used to categorize tweets. On Twitter, when you click on a word or phrase with the hashtag symbol before it, you will be taken to a page with a list of tweets that contain that same hashtagged word or phrase.

If you use a hashtag in one of your tweets, someone who doesn’t know you but is interested in that topic can see your hashtagged tweet. It’s a great way to generate more interest in what you post and more awareness for you and your business.

Hashtags On Twitter Help

Hashtags create a wonderful opportunity to build a network. Twitter allows you to search for millions of different topics, so you can look up hashtags specific to your work and interests. And Twitter shows you all of the tweets pertaining to the hashtag, not just the tweets of those you’re following. This way, you can get into conversations, follow, RT, or favourite tweets from people you don’t even know yet. What a great way to meet and get exposed to more people, companies, charities, conversations and events. Learn more with these 5 ways Twitter hashtags help you engage and get noticed.

Try It Out For Yourself

So take advantage of hashtags on Twitter and get searching. You’ll find interesting topics for discussion and new people to interact with. Here’s how to start.

  1. To search on Twitter:
    Go to https://twitter.com/search-home

Twitter search bar

Type in the hashtag of the topic you’re searching for information about. If you are not sure there is a hashtag for your topic, start typing and you’ll see the hashtags that are currently used for that topic.

In our example, we’ll use #SmallBiz.

search Twitter for SmallBiz

Here is a screen shot of the most recent tweets with #SmallBiz. We’ve circled in red the hashtag #smallbiz in each tweet. This is why these tweets were brought up in the search.

small biz hashtag search results

Creating your own hashtag is also a great way to get your business into the conversations where your customers, clients and colleagues are, as well as potential customers, clients and colleagues. Find some more information on using Twitter hashtags for your business tweets by Stephanie Buck.

Try Out Quotes With Hashtags

Using quotes is a great way to interact with your Twitter audience. With the Nimble Quotes service, you can try 1-8 inspiring quotes per day automatically tweeted from your Twitter account. You’ll also get the option of adding hashtags to your tweeted quotes, making your tweets even more engaging. Try us out today – we offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Once your trial is over, it costs about $1/day or about $1/week to continue. Check out Nimble Quotes in action on @jenkellyjen or @newimarketing. Not ready for a trial just yet? Sign up for the Nimble Quotes newsletter instead.