The Importance of What Was Once the “#Pound Sign#”

Many corporate twitter accounts have found new and innovative ways to expand their customer base through use of hashtags. For example, a restaurant looking to expand their customer base could market themselves when using twitter by hashtagging certain buzzwords on their corporate twitter account. A restaurant with a menu that features local ingredients could post “Calling all #Localvores, come in to try our new menu today! #EatLocal.” A company like Kenmore could tweet “Make sure you #Staycool this summer with a brand new #Kenmore #AirConditioner.” Any user searching for information about Kenmore or air conditioning would then be able to see Kenmore’s tweets.

In all honesty, hashtags are throwing many business people off. The best way I can explain a hashtag is that it is a critical way of grouping information together, almost like a file folder.