Before I even get into my list of Do’s and Don’ts let's start off with what they are and why we should use hashtags in the first place. According to my good friend google, a hashtag is simply a keyword phrase, spelled out without spaces, with a pound sign (#) in front of it. In the world of a 25-year-old like me, they are most useful on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. This is because these sites are built for the short attention spans and skim readers.
Hashtags are run on phrases with absolutely no punctuation and spaces. They are those fragmented sentences that we could get bad grades for in elementary and sometimes incomplete thoughts. In some ways they are the opposite of everything we were taught in elementary school English. But, when it comes to promoting your business or brand on social media by yourself, hashtags are a part of the basics of success. They make it easier for both your post and page to be found on social media platforms and will increase your likes and comments on your page.
Now, what kind of hashtags should you use? Well, here’s a list of hashtag basics set by Instagram:
Numbers are allowed in hashtags. However, spaces and special characters, like $ or %, won't work.
You can only tag your own posts. You can't tag other people's photos/videos.
You can use up to 30 tags on a post. If you include more than 30 tags on a single photo/video, your comment won't post.
Now, remember that this is just a basic list. The possibilities are endless. I recommend that you keep them relatable to your post, brand, or message that you are trying to create. I also recommend that you keep them short and sweet, because remember social media is built for the short attention spans and skim readers.