#Hazards

The hashtag, when used correctly, can reach a broader group of people than those who follow you on Twitter or connect with you on LinkedIn. As evidenced most recently by #Metoo.

(Great tweet!)

                                                                      Photo Courtesy of CBC.com

With her #, Actress Alyssa Milano was successful in encouraging other victims to follow her lead and tweet about their experiences. It has been effectively used worldwide to draw attention to the magnitude of sexual assault and harassment.

# digital marketing allows both causes and companies to create catchy slogans motivating audiences to remember and to respond!

However, the hashtag is more complicated than just throwing a few words together. Here are a few basic tips from our Social Media presentation skills training to accomplish #heroics and avoid #hazards.

Another good # campaign was #TweetFromTheSeat. Charmin’s irreverent hashtag, is often talked about in marketing circles. This is because, it successfully makes something as unglamorous as toilet paper fun, approachable, and appealing to young people. Not an easy feat.

Here’s how it goes. The company’s official Twitter account posts funny quips with the hashtag, and encourages users to do the same. Research shows that 40% of people aged 18-24 use social media in the bathroom, giving them a reason to engage with an otherwise strictly utilitarian product.

It’s working too – how else would you explain a toilet paper brand having over 68 thousand followers on Twitter?

It’s important to align the #hashtag slogan with your product or service. Even though something may be a good cause, it can backfire if it doesn’t directly apply to your purpose or product. For example:

#RaceTogether. Starbucks launched this hashtag in an effort to raise awareness for the country’s racial divide. They printed the new hashtag on every cup of joe. Unfortunately, this # message did not apply to coffee. And while the brand’s intentions were clearly for justice, they missed the mark in getting involved.

A hash-tagged phrase that lacks capital letters may allow the reader to misinterpret your meaning. Case in point: #Nowthatcherisdead was mistakenly interpreted by many who began to eulogize Cher rather than Margaret Thatcher, the United Kingdom’s former prime minister, who died at age 87 following a stroke.

Ooops!