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| The mighty mighty #hashtag |
In my last blog post, I mentioned using
social media to network and promote your dance classes and events… and I gotta say that one of my very favorite
tools for doing just that is the hashtag.
Most people know what a hashtag is; it’s that
“number sign”, the tic-tac-toe symbol hat looks like this: #
But even though most of us are familiar with hashtags,
many of us don’t know how to use them at all, let alone use them to their
fullest advantage!
I worship at the altar of hashtags- and after you find
out how to use them, you probably will, too!
Last year at the annual Raven’s Night belly
dance event in Washington, DC as many of us were sitting around talking shop
into the wee hours, I was asked to give an explanation on hashtag use. Though it was extremely informal (and just a
little tinged with the wine we were drinking!) Illuminated the idea of how hashtags,
function. After that, many of us jokingly started saying the word “hashtag” in our speech, in front of the
words that would be hashtagged if they were being typed on a social media site!
It turned into such an in-joke that weekend that a group of us who were already
actually got small sized hashtag symbols tattooed on our bodies!
So, this is the way hashtags work: if you type the hashtag symbol (#) in front
of a word on social media sites, the hashtag and the word will turn blue, indicating
that whatever word you type (such as #dancer) will turn into a searchable
term. That means anyone who is hunting
for the word “dancer” will be directed to your post!
Now, let’s look at hashtag use in terms of
promotion.
When posting an event flyer or photo on a
social media site, many people just leave it at that, using the image only. Their online “friends” will see the image,
and can “like” it. That right there is good…but
it could be better.
If you use hashtags correctly, everyone
who is interested in whatever
you #hashtag will see it! I’m gonna use one of my own online flyers
here as an example.
Post the image, and then type
the information in your post to go along with it, like this:
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| Photo & Graphic: Maharet Hughes |
TIARA TUESDAYS: #PRINCESSFARHANA ’S #BELLYDANCE
#SHOWCASE
August 26, 2014 Special
Guests #Jenna & #Stephanya
#tarotcardreadings by Natalie
#MOUNOFTUNIS
7445 ½ SUNSET
LA CA 90046
Dinner: 7pm
show: 8pm
North African Feast $17.50
per person
Reservations a Must! (323) 874-3333
#Orientaldance #rakssharqi #tribalfusion #cabaret #LA #Hollywood #entertainment #girlsnightout
#danceperformance
Promotion-wise, adding all
the info clearly typed is a good idea anyway. But I’ve also hashtagged pretty
much anything that could pertain to
my event as well, including really obvious things like cities, neighborhoods,
the names of the special guests ( so anyone who is a student or fan can see
them) as well as specific types of dance or things that people might be looking
for if they want a night out in #losangeles!
There is so much information on this specific “post” that it would only fly on
Facebook. It would be way too long for
Twitter, which only allows 140 characters per post, so in that case, I would
just use #bellydance, not the whole
shebang!
If I wanted to post this on #Twitter,
I would click on the image on #Facebook ( aka #FB) which will then come up with all the information I have typed in to go along
with it, copy the URL, and paste it into my Twitter post, adding something short like:
“ Come to my #bellydance show 8/26 in #LA ".
If you are posting on #instagram ( also known as #IG) you have a lot more space for text and can use #unlimited #hashtags
Got it?
#Hashtags
are a #huge part of #socialmedia
, and also a really #important #promotionaltool
too!
Once you’ve mastered the
concept, you can even have #fun with
them… like this:
#learnsomethingneweveryday
#ihearthashtags
#hashtagabuse
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