If you’re a social media novice, hashtags may seem confusing and/or unnecessary. But they really are turning into an integral way we communicate online, so it’s important to understand them and know how to use them.
What a hashtag basically does is label content, connecting it with other content containing the same hashtag. It allows other people who are interested in your topic to quickly find information about that topic on the internet.
A hashtag looks something like this: #UncorkedArtist or #HashtagBrag.
You can make any word (or string of words) a hashtag just by adding the pound sign (#) in front of it.
There aren’t many rules for hashtagging . . .
– must begin with #
– can not contain any spaces
– you can use numbers, but no punctuation marks, so commas, periods, exclamation points, question marks and apostrophes won’t work
– asterisks, ampersands or any other special characters won’t work either
Other than that, you’re free to create and/or use any hashtag you like!
We like to capitalize the first letter of each word of a hashtag because we think it’s #VisuallyEasierToRecognize this way. But you don’t have to use capital letters if you don’t want to, uppercase letters will not alter your search results, so searching for #UncorkedArtist will yield the same results as #uncorkedartist.
When you are posting, keep in mind that the @ symbol does something completely different. Using @ before a person’s username will notify him directly that you’ve written about them. A hashtag will not do this.
Hashtags originated on Twitter but now are being used on just about every social media platform: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+ and of course, Twitter. So any time you post something to a social media site, say for instance Facebook, you can add the number sign (#) and create your very own hashtag. Then if you search for that hashtag on Facebook, your post along with other posts containing that hashtag will show up.
Now that you understand all about hashtags . . . it’s time to start using them!!
We frequently select random winners of a FREE Gift Certificate by searching social media sites for our 2 hashtags . . . #HashtagBrag #UncorkedArtist
All you have to do to enter this FREE Gift Certificate give-away is:
- Attend one of our paint parties at either our Warminster studio or our North Wales studio. (Just click on the studio names to visit our calendars.)
- Share a photo of you and/or your painting onto any social media site (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+)
- Include the hashtags #HashtagBrag #UncorkedArtist (you can copy and paste from here if it’s easier).
- Visit this page to learn more about our #UncorkedArtist #HashtagBrag contest.
Then be sure to Sign up for our Email Club to receive notification of winners (plus events, special deals, etc.)
There are LOTS of ways to win FREE gift certificates at The Uncorked Artist!
- #HashtagBrag #UncorkedArtist on any social media platform
- Tag yourself in any of our Facebook Photos (by using the @ symbol then your user name)
- Comment on any of our Facebook Photos
- Fill out a quick 8 question Guest Satisfaction survey online https://www.theuncorkedartist.com/ua-guest-satisfaction-survey
- “Like” our Facebook page to keep up with current deals and/or specials. http://www.facebook.com/TheUncorkedArtist
- Leave us a 5-star Facebook review (or share suggestions for improvements). All feedback is welcome, both positive or negative.
- Hold a private party at either our Warminster studio or our North Wales studio OR host a Mobile Paint Party (let us bring the party to you!) and have at least 15 painters. You’ll automatically receive a free gift certificate then!
As always, Thank you for choosing The Uncorked Artist.
We hope to see you at the studios soon!
