Jun 8, 20202 min read

How To #Hashtag ... and more.

On one client meeting, I was ranting on how much a brand can do on social media. One of the attendees looked confused, or focused, I couldn't tell which until he stopped me and said "What's a hashtag?"

My first thought was of course, "what does he mean, what's a hashtag?" I stared back at him for what felt like an eternity, but probably wasn't more than 5 seconds, before I realized that he actually had no idea of what a hashtag is.

After the awkwardly-silent moment, I explained what a hashtag is. But the point is, this was a great lesson for me. I am out there preaching social media to people who have different levels of experience and knowledge about it. I can never assume that everybody will understand what I'm talking about. In order to be understood, I have to talk to "the lowest common denominator," as we called it in journalism class. Meaning, the least informed person. That person is someone who doesn't know what social media is and have never used it. Because they exist, trust me.

This is a prime example of how someone (in this case me) can get so stuck in his or her own bubble, that one forgets who the receiver of the message is. And this happens all the time. If you do the same mistake, don't beat yourself up for it. But be aware, listen to the clients and dare to ask questions on how much they know on the topic you are talking about.

Since then, I have actually gotten the question several times. So naturally, I made an e-book on the subject. I hope you like it.

Side note: I like hashtags, and I understand people use trending hashtags to get more likes, followers, etc. But never forget: don't let it take away from who you are and sharing content that portrays you and your business. If you're self-employed, YOU are the only thing that makes your business stand out from your competitors. If a hashtag isn't something you can relate to, don't use it, no matter how much it's trending.

In the e-book you can read about: