It is good to see others are starting to question why people use them..or so many of them.
Oh Yes, Hashtags do serve a purpose and if it wasn’t for the fact every part of the Darkside of Social Media has targeted all Hashtags to dump their worthless messages, I would probably click on a few. Nonetheless, there are people dead set on using them for some reason.
Why Are People and Businesses Using Hashtags?
There are a number questions related to the most effective use of Hashtags. During a recent gathering of Social Marketing authorities I asked over a dozen of them why they are using Hashtags. The answers I got ranged from “Hashtags allow us to organize our posts” to the more realistic reason…“I was told I need to use Hashtags.”
What I got from the related discussions on Hashtags was many people use Hashtags because they see other people who influence them using Hashtags. Or, the most aggravating reason giving from one of the more influential business person in the room was…“I was told by our Social Media Consultant we needed to use Hashtags in every post made in all social spaces. I am not sure why, but for $350 per hour, I am sure the advice we received has merit.”
Why Are People and Businesses Using So Many Hashtags?
What also gets me about how people use Hashtags has to do with the number of Hashtags they use. Again, I am very encouraged more people are getting turned off to posts with more than two Hashtags.
I am sure you have seen the posts in your Twitter stream where there the entire post is filled with Hashtags. Even on LinkedIn, where most people know better than to use Hashtags, you will see people ending their posts with at least a half dozen Hashtags.
When I got around to asking the group of people at the social media gathering about why they use more than one Hashtags the comments again were filled with catch phrases and flippant remarks.
The comments ranged from quotes made from some ‘Ted’ presentation that I suppose everyone in the room was suppose to see, to, again, remarks qualifying their reasoning by saying… “…the more Hashtags used in a post the more possibility of capturing a sale.”
There are a very large number of people who are getting bad advice or just doing what they see others doing thinking they are effectively using social media. Like the use of .gifs and animated graphics, Hashtags are quickly becoming the big ‘Turn Off’ by consumers.
Why can’t businesses accept the fact that the only way to gain influence online is to either take the time needed to learn how social media works or pay someone who knows how to use social media? There is no in-between.
Let me know how I can help.
