The younger generations began using the hashtag to easily
convey a summary of their feelings at the end of their social media update.
This was an innocent gesture, but this simplification of a person’s thoughts
became a powerful tool that bloomed far beyond its original intentions. As
digital marketers began to seek out new ways to learn about their target
market, hashtags morphed into not only a representation of a social media
summary, but a short and effortless way to represent a brand.
The
hashtag is a bridge between the users of social media networks internationally
and the company’s, organizations, and marketers looking to find new ways to
reach them. Think of hashtags as a social media search engine that allows users
to get insights into things that are found interesting to other users.
Together, Google’s SEO integration and the hashtags from social media networks
became a powerhouse for market research.
Because
of this adoption by marketers, social media has now turned into a research and
exposure hub for companies who wish to informally reach their customers, doing
it passively through social expansion rather than direct marketing. ChrisTinney, the owner of social media marketing agency Hotei Media, uses this
method of marketing in his company to help automate the process for businesses.
An entire industry has formed under the pretense of the hashtag, and as
technology continually accelerates the pace of the world’s globalization, so
too will its marketing be accelerated.
