Hashtag Homework

The humble hashtag has a long and varied history. It’s technical term is ‘octothorpe’ and it can be traced back to ancient civilizations where it was used as a symbol for weight or measure while in the middle ages, it was used in music notation to indicate a sharp note.

Recent Hashtag Updates

In the 1960s, it was adopted by telephone companies as a symbol for the “number” or “pound” key on touch-tone phones while in 1970, the number sign was used to denote immediate address mode in assembly language when placed next to a symbol or a number, and around 1973,’#’ was introduced in the C programming language to indicate special keywords that the C preprocessor had to process first.

The pound sign was adopted for use within IRC (Internet Relay Chat) networks around 1988 to label groups and topics. More recently still, the use of hashtags as we understand them now in the world of social media was first proposed by American blogger and product consultant Chris Messina in a 2007 tweet. Hashtags subsequently became entrenched in the culture of Twitter and soon emerged across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube … and LinkedIn

Hashtags on LinkedIn

Hashtags are a powerful tool on LinkedIn that MSP (Managed Service Provider) business owners can leverage to increase their visibility, reach their target audience, and ultimately grow their business. Hashtags are essentially keywords or phrases that are preceded by the # symbol and used to categorize and organize content on LinkedIn. They can be any combination of letters or numbers without spaces after the hashtagWhen users click on a hashtag, they are taken to a feed of all the posts that have been tagged with that particular hashtag.

There are several ways that MSP business owners can use hashtags on LinkedIn to their advantage. Here are a few examples

1. Increase visibility: By using relevant hashtags in your posts, you can increase the visibility of your content and make it easier for potential customers to find you. For example, if you specialize in providing cybersecurity services for small businesses, you could use hashtags like #cybersecurity, #smallbusiness, and #ITservices to make your posts more discoverable.
2. Join conversations: Hashtags are also a great way to join conversations that are already happening on LinkedIn. For example, if there is a trending hashtag related to cybersecurity, you can use that hashtag in your posts to join the conversation and potentially reach a larger audience.
3. Branding: MSP business owners can use hashtags to promote their brand and create a sense of community around their business. For example, if your business has a unique tagline or slogan, you could create a hashtag around that and encourage your followers to use it when talking about your brand.
4. Networking: Hashtags can also be used for networking purposes, allowing MSP business owners to connect with others in their industry and engage in conversations. For example, using hashtags like #MSP, #ITsupport, or #TechIndustry can help you connect with other professionals in your field.

When using hashtags on LinkedIn, it’s important to remember to use them strategically and not to overdo it. Too many hashtags can make your posts look spammy and decrease engagement, so it’s recommended to stick to a few relevant hashtags per post. It’s also a good idea to do some research to see which hashtags are popular in your industry and use those in your posts.

Which Hashtags To Use?
There are several websites and tools available that can help MSP business owners find popular hashtags on LinkedIn. Here are a few examples:

Hashtagify: Hashtagify is a popular hashtag search and analysis tool that allows users to find popular hashtags on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. It provides real-time data on hashtag popularity, related hashtags, and top influencers using the hashtag.

LinkedIn Hashtags: LinkedIn itself provides a list of popular hashtags that users can browse and search through. To access this list, click on the “Hashtags” tab in the search bar and LinkedIn will suggest popular hashtags related to your search query.

Socialert: Socialert is another tool that allows users to search for popular hashtags on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. It provides real-time data on hashtag popularity, reach, and engagement, as well as related hashtags and top posts using the hashtag.

All Hashtag: All Hashtag is a free hashtag generator tool that allows users to search for popular hashtags on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. It provides a list of relevant hashtags based on a keyword or phrase, as well as real-time data on hashtag popularity and reach.

Overall, these tools can be very helpful in identifying popular hashtags on LinkedIn, and can save MSP business owners a lot of time and effort in their research. However, it’s important to remember that popularity isn’t the only factor to consider when choosing hashtags – relevance and engagement are also key. So be sure to choose hashtags that are both popular and relevant to your business and audience.

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