In a world where social media dominates the communication landscape, creating a social presence for your crowdfunding campaign is more important than ever.
Having a platform to personally connect and communicate with supporters is key, and hashtags have evolved to be a necessary ingredient in social media communication. Hashtags, which are essentially search terms preceded by a pound (#) sign, got their start on Twitter and quickly gained popularity across all social media platforms.
Developing an effective hashtag is a great way to generate buzz and spread the word about your mission. But, you want to be sure to put some thought into the process. Take the time to think about your goals and message, and funnel those ideas into a concise hashtag.
You don’t want to send the first thing you think of into cyberspace and cross your fingers that it catches on. Here are a few important things to keep in mind when crafting the perfect hashtag for your crowdfunding campaign.
Keep It Simple
Ensuring that your hashtag is clear and succinct is absolutely necessary. Complex hashtags aren’t search-friendly or simple to remember, which will significantly decrease their likelihood of being posted or shared.
Additionally, you want readers and followers to be able to easily grasp what exactly your hashtag is representing. So, make sure it effectively captures the mission and goal of your crowdfunding campaign, without being too vague or farfetched. For example, if you’re raising money to send treats to overseas military members, utilize a simple hashtag like #SnacksForSoldiers, rather than an ambiguous term such as #CheetosOverseas.
Tip: Keep in mind that hashtags do not support spaces or special characters, so you’ll want to stick with just numbers and letters.
Make It Short
Social media posts are notoriously short, and you’re probably familiar with Twitter’s restricting 140-character limit. Consequently, posters and supporters don’t have a ton of space to work with, and they likely don’t want to take up valuable real estate with a lengthy hashtag.
Keep your hashtag short and to the point, so your posters have room to include a message of support along with your hashtag. Sticking with the previous example, #SnacksForSoldiers uses 18 total characters. You want to avoid utilizing something like #SupportOurTroopsBySendingSnacksOverseas, which is an overwhelming 40 characters.
Shorter is better when it comes to hashtags. But, remember not to completely compromise the content just to cut characters. It’s a balancing act!
Is It Taken?
Finding a hashtag that is 100% unique can be quite the challenge. So, don’t be alarmed if your desired tag has already been used in the occasional social media post.
However, you want to check to make sure that your hashtag isn’t associated with any overtly negative or explicit content. Hashtags are a simple way to group together posts about a specific topic, and you’d hate to have your crowdfunding campaign messages lumped together with undesirable or scandalous posts. Additionally, it could cause some uncertainty amongst your supporters.
Consistency is Key
Once you decide on a hashtag for a campaign, you need to stay committed to it. Switching hashtags halfway through is bound to cause confusion, which will in turn significantly decrease the likelihood of having your hashtag utilized and shared. Additionally, it will be difficult to track and monitor how many people are using your hashtag, as there could be a delay before everyone starts using your edited term.
Make sure you’re putting a great deal of thought into your hashtag the first time around, to ensure it’s something you’ll be satisfied with throughout the duration of your crowdfunding campaign.
Promote, Promote, Promote
When you’ve finally come up with the perfect hashtag, you want people to use it. So, it’s time to spread the word!
Announce the new hashtag on your website, blog, and personal social media accounts and include it on all of your marketing materials. Most importantly, make sure you’re using the hashtag on all of your relevant social media posts. Followers won’t feel motivated and inspired to use the tag if you aren’t using it yourself.
When crafting a successful hashtag for your crowdfunding campaign, remember to make sure it’s simple, short, and unique. These key factors will ensure that your hashtag is concise, shareable, and ready to spread the word about the good work you’re doing!
Photograph by Quentin Meulepas.
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