Forget the Haters: 3 Reasons To Keep Using Hashtags

Every time I’m about to upload an Instagram, some of my friends will mockingly ask me if “[I’m] going to hashtag that, like OMG.” Hashtags get a bad rap, but damn right, I am going to hashtag that, and I have three fantastic reasons to do so.

1. Curation

When you walk through an art exhibit, it’s not a coincidence that Edward Hopper’s early works of art start at the left side and progress to his later works as you move to the right. Or that Vincent Van Gogh’s pencil sketches are contained in one room and his finished paintings in another. It’s curated to tell a story and guide your experience. Or maybe you hate Van Gogh and avoid the exhibit altogether. Regardless, hashtags serve a similar purpose. They help reach the right audience, and categorize our Instagrams to be discovered by those who actually care about seeing a deliciously, greasy burger or the stunning mountains at Banff National Park.

2. Tone

It’s the freakin’ weekend, baby, and I’m about to have me some fun (#TGIF) or maybe I’m about to free fall from an airplane (#YOLO). The hashtags that accompany the photo of you and your friends clinking bubbly or the aerial shot of New Zealand establishes a certain mood that gives greater context to your photograph. Along with your thoughtful caption, it adds clarity (or in some cases, some comic relief) to the subject of the photo you just shared to your public platform, giving your audience a greater understanding of your intentions.

3.  Branding

Whether you believe it or not, what you share on your Instagram (or on any form of social media) is building your personal brand. Instagrammers who use the photo-editing app “VSCO Cam” aim to achieve a certain aesthetic and want to find other photographers with the same point of view. Big brands do the same thing: Herschel Supply Co targets consumers who are #WellTraveled and Folk Magazine encourages readers to #LiveAuthentic. These brands attract consumers who embody these brand values in their everyday life and they become brand advocates. They belong to a group and aim to achieve a certain aesthetic by tagging their photos with these hashtags and spreading the word for these companies (free advertising, anyone?).

People are on their phones non-stop, clicking through for the perfect filter to pair with their shots of Sunday brunch (#FoodPorn) or new threads (#OOTD – Outfit of the Day). They want to give their followers a peek of projects they’re working on at work (#WWLLT–What Work Looks Like Today) or give simple reminders to look down every once in a while (#FromWhereIStand). We, as humans, want to process information in a way that’s organized and easy to understand. With the overwhelming amount of content that’s out there, we want to find information that’s relevant to us, stuff that actually matters. So add a few hashtags to your sick shot of the sunset with the lo-fi filter, you’re uploading it so it’ll be seen, right? But don’t get overzealous, and always make sure to use hashtags correctly.