Hashtag You're It: Why Hashtags Rule the World of Social Media

Recently, I had dinner with a good friend from college. Both being young(ish) millennials, we both use various social media platforms; from  Facebook and Instagram to Twitter and Snapchat. So, I had to laugh when our conversation turned to "hashtags". Well really "pounds" as my friend calls them.  She said "I just don't get it, it's a pound sign. So when someone tags a photo with 'this concert is #epic' what I see is 'this concert is "pound sign" epic'. It makes no sense!" 

Most of us have accepted that the hashtags and the pound signs are now interchangeable but I realized that my friend does have a point. This made me think, where did the "tag" come from and why is it so important #epic? 

In chapter 2 of Groundswell:Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, tags are described as a flexible classification system. How things are tagged "depends on the opinions of the folks out there"(Li and Bernoff). Tagging offers the user flexibility to classify content any way they see fit. 

Now that you know what tagging is, can't you see why tagging is vital to harness the power of the groundswell?! Social media platforms such as Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, Instragram and YouTube all use forms of tagging. Probably the most well known and used form of tagging is the hashtag. Hashtags, first used on Twitter in 2007, quickly took off and have found a place in almost every form of social media content out there. Using the "#" marks a the word as a keyword or topic. This allows users searching for information the ability to get relevant content just by searching on that marked keyword or trending topic. Take a look at this infographic about the history of the hashtag.

So why should you tag? Tagging defines who you are on social media. Tagging allows you to show other users what you are passionate about, what you find interesting and what's important to you. Li and Bernoff say that "tagging becomes a form of shared self-expression and a chronicle of what you've paid attention to". Tagging also creates a community of people who share a common goal or interests.  For example, #SFBatkid went viral in November 2013 when the Make-A-Wish Foundation decided to help grant 5 year old cancer patient Miles Scott's wish to become Batkid for a day. Armed with #SFBatkid, Make-A-Wish hoped to get a few hundred volunteers in the San Francisco area to make Miles' wish come true. What they got was over 10,000 volunteers, a trending topic on Twitter and Instgram and one of the most heart warming stories of 2013.

You did good, San Francisco. Job well done. (cc @mayoredlee @SFPD) #SFBatkid pic.twitter.com/ADs2ueEzvK
— Make-A-Wish Bay Area (@SFWish) November 18, 2013

Thanks, @TIME, for naming #SFBatkid your most heartwarming story of 2013! http://t.co/cMZ5Uicc54
— Make-A-Wish America (@MakeAWish) December 17, 2013

So now that we know how awesome and powerful tagging can be, I couldn't leave you without sharing this cautionary tale about tagging gone wrong. You may have seen the mistake DiGiorno Pizza made last week when they absentmindedly used a trending hashtag in a tweet that nothing to do with pizza.

Something you should remember is that you have no control when it comes to tagging content. If you are managing social media for a business according to Li and Bernoff "you have no control over how people classify you or your products". The most important thing you can do is listen. Listen to how your customers tag your products and learn from what they have to say.

And finally,  let's not forgot that tagging belongs on social media platforms and not in face to face conversations. Watch as Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake demonstrate how ridiculous we sound when we talk in hashtags. #enjoy