Ok, so I came across the term ‘hash-hole’ when doing some hashtag research and couldn’t resist writing a post about the origin of this funny term, and hopefully educate some of you along the way about the proper use and best practices for ‘hash-tagging’ on social media! The origin (or so I think) of the word hash-hole comes from Jordan Crook. Here is a little excerpt from his post called ‘The Hash-Hole, And 6 Other People That Ruin Instagram
“The Hash-Hole could be the worst person on Instagram. Their flagrant substitution of quality for quantity is offensive. There should never be a hashtag in front of the word #the. Still, there are 16 million photos tagged with #the. Why? Seriously, an explanation for this would surely entertain.
#Not #only #does #this #make #your #caption #unreadable, #but #it #makes #you #look #incredibly #desperate #for #Instagram #love. There are clever ways to implement hashtags in your captions, and they can still get you likes or new followers.”
hashtags everywhereBefore we get to the do’s and don’ts, let’s get really clear on what a hashtag is and what it’s for. The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics, or in other words, it is a categorizing mechanism. Originally used on twitter only, it is now used also on Facebook and increasingly popular Instagram. Do’s and Don’ts
DO: Use hashtags sparingly! Research tells us that using too many hashtags actually decreases your reach. The exact opposite of what you are trying to do. Have you ever unfollowed someone because their hashtags or statuses are literally polluting your news feed? I bet you have. Don’t pollute.
DO: Create your own ‘branded’ hashtag, and use that consistently. Example: Tinselit which is an event website where you can launch your event and curate your perfect wishlist. We are consistently using the hashtags #Tinselit and #Tinselitwishes with each post.
DO: Quality over quantity. This goes in line with #1 here, but remember, less is more. Especially if those few hashtags are geared towards finding people that are legitimately interested in your product or service (and this should be your goal)
DON’T: Use the trending hashtag for no apparent reason. Using a trending hashtag ‘just cause’ (secretly you think this will make people find your service or business and then call you… which we all know isn’t reality) is a super hash-hole move. The whole idea is to use hashtags that are relevant to the post AND your target audience. So if your status was ‘Bank of Canada drops mortgage rate overnight’, instead of posting ‘Bank of Canada drops mortgage rate overnight #TBT #dressthatbroketheinternet’ (don’t laugh, I’ve seen this before…), try something like ‘Bank of Canada drops #mortgagerate overnight #mortgage #realestate’. This might actually connect you with people looking for real estate or mortgage in their search terms.
DON’T: #putsomanywordstogetherthatyoucantreadit . Enough said
As much as I would like to publicly shame some brands I see (and quite often I might add) for being hash-holes, I will resist the temptation, and perhaps the Empty Desk Team will anonymously send them this post instead 😉 ‘hint hint if you get this in an email from us’ Now hash-holes…. You’ve been warned. Happy Hash-tagging!