When #Hashtags Go Wrong

Developing hashtags for a campaign can be fun; however, the task can also be finicky. When thinking about the right hashtag for your social media campaign it can be easy to get caught up in trying to throw together a few perfect words that sum it all up. This can also lead to overlooking potential problems.

Some of the Biggest Hashtag Fails

Even breaking news stories and big brands fall prey to hashtag failures – it's bound to happen. Here are some of the more notable hashtag fails.  

• #nowthatcherisdead was intended for mentions of Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher following her death. However, US audiences frequently misread it as NowThatCherIsDead, leading to false reports that the singer had passed away.
• When The Hobbit movie was released tweets promoting the movie in Switzerland included the movie title and the country code for Switzerland (CH), leading to…#hobbitch.

Even perfectly appropriate hashtags can fail due to bad timing. Local Kalahari Resort is located in Sandusky, Ohio, and used the #sandusky hashtag to promote Father’s Day events in 2012. Probably not a good idea at a time when “Sandusky” was in the news for other (definitely not family-friendly) reasons.

Three Tips to Keep in Mind

With those warnings in mind, check out some quick tips to follow before you slap a hashtag on your next campaign:

• Research it – Google the term, or string of terms, you're planning on using, is it something that already has an association to it? Is it already a well-known hashtag? If so, you may be competing against it for recognition during your campaign. Is it connected to current events? You can use tools such as tagdef.com to see if it’s already in use and be sure to check UrbanDictionary.com for alternate meanings.  
• Use capital letters – If you run the term together with no capitals, can it be misread? (For an epic failure on this one, just Google “susan album party.” Susan Boyle’s PR team wasn’t having their best day…). Using capital letters in your hashtags can also help screen readers properly identify the separate words.  
• Run it by others – It's never a bad thing to run your hashtag by others – even those who aren't in a creative department. It's easy to miss something when you're working on it all day. Someone with a fresh set of eyes (and ears) might be able to tell you if something jumps out.  

When done properly, hashtags can be a great addition to your social media campaign. Giving your campaign a unique searchable term in the form of a hashtag can help you gain visibility for your brand.  

Want to stay updated on marketing tips and tricks? Subscribe to the True newsletter.

‍