When you see a #hashtag show up on your social media feed does it confuse you? Annoy you? Make you wonder what it's for? Social Media Coach & Strategist, Kathy Sipple, led this 30-minute presentation to take the mystery out of their use, followed by a help session and a Q&A period for those with additional questions. The video of the webinar is available on demand for a limited time at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/157544359

1. What the heck is a
#hashtag? And why
should I care?
Presented by Kathy Sipple @kathysipple
#msmcoach www.mysocialmediacoach.com

2. ● CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer)
at My Social Media Coach
● Social Media Training & Strategy
● 25+ Years Sales & Marketing
● Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certified
● Author, Podcast Host of “Socially Speaking”
● Conscious Evolutionaries Golden Innovator Award
● @kathysipple on Twitter
Kathy Sipple
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

3. A word or an unspaced phrase preceded by a hash
or pound sign (#) used to identify messages on a
specific topic, a form of metadata.
Clear? Maybe, maybe not...
Hashtag Definition
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

4. ● 1960’s: 12-key phone introduced, # and * added. Phone
employees wanted to call # ‘octothorpe’.
● 1968: the word ‘metadata’ was coined.
● 1970’s: information technology to highlight a special
meaning or to denote immediate address mode.
● Aug. 2007: @chrismessina introduced hashtags on Twitter.
● 2012 American Dialect Society names hashtag word of year.
● June 2014: English Oxford Dictionary added ‘hashtag’.
Recent history context...
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

5. ● 14th century: abbreviation for libra pondo or
“pound by weight” > lb with a bar over it > #
Origin
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com
Isaac Newton’
s elegant
scrawl may
be the
missing link!

6. ● Number sign
● Pound sign
● Sharp symbol (in music)
● Square (international telecommunications)
● Octothorpe (cartography)
● Gate (computing)
● Hash mark
Hashtag, aka:
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

7. W.I.I.F.M.?
What’s in it for me? Why should I care?
#msmcoach www.mysocialmediacoach.com

8. ● Collates all ideas under one thread
● Saves you from running through thousands of
random messages searching for what you want
● Makes it easier for searchers to find you too!
More targeted user experience
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

9. ● Shorthand (saves time, effort and characters)
● Gateway into specific topics of conversation
● Enables connection
● Can be used to brand your message
● Potentially amplifies your signal, broadens your
reach
● Can add humor or tone to messages
Specific benefits:
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com

10. An example
One of the best ways
to explain hashtags is
to look at how chaotic things
could be without them...
#msmcoach www.mysocialmediacoach.com

11. When will South by Southwest V2Venture winners be
announced? (60 characters)
vs.
When will #SXSWv2v winners be announced? (40
characters)
Let’s look at an example:
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

12. ● Heavily branded. Website: www.sxswv2v.com also
a Twitter account @sxswv2v.
● Event organizers share hashtag with attendees
when they register & encourage use and sharing.
● Attendees (in person and even virtual) value
connection to one another and to the event.
● It’s short and it’s unique.
What makes this example work well?
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

13. Getting Started:
Should I create a hashtag?
Or use one that already exists?
#msmcoach www.mysocialmediacoach.com

14. ● Want to show humor or personality?
● Building your own brand, differentiating
yourself, launching a long term campaign?
● Trying to connect with others interested in
the same topic, event, etc.?
Consider your objectives
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

15. Humor, fun
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple
The style is fun and
engaging, relies a lot
on visual content. Not
as concerned about
others adopting (all)
the tags. Overuses
hashtags on purpose.

16. ● Search on Hashtags.org (and/or Twitter,
Instagram or wherever you plan to use hashtags)
● Register for a free (or paid) account on Hashtags.
org.
Do your research
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

17. ● Twitter only gives you 140 characters, need to
make your point as succinctly as possible.
● Twitter example:
When will South by Southwest V2Venture winners
be announced? (60 characters) vs.
When will #SXSWv2v winners be announced? (40
characters)
Gateway: hashtags.org
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

18. Hashtag #Fails:
Beware a few of these pitfalls
and you’ll be fine.
#msmcoach www.mysocialmediacoach.com

19. Misunderstanding context
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

20. ● #Too #many #hash #tags #in #one #post!
#excessive
● Use them responsibly and with intention. Usually
no more than 1-3 per message.
Too much of a good thing
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

21. ● No spaces are allowed in hashtags so capitalizing
the first letter of each word helps the reader with
context.
● However, #Thatcher is the same as #ThatCher to
Twitter.
● Again, a little research can nip this kind of
problem in the bud.
Capitalization Confusion
www.mysocialmediacoach.com @kathysipple

22. #Questions?
If you found this training helpful and worth
sharing, please comment on Facebook, Twitter or
your preferred site using our hashtag #msmcoach.
Thanks!
#msmcoach @kathysipple www.mysocialmediacoach.com