The hashtag first started organically in chatrooms, as a way for users to find content about a specific topic. Combining a rarely used symbol – the hash or pound sign – with a topic separated it from other uses of the word, making searching easier in the days when search only brought back direct matches. It thrived for decades in online tech communities, but didn’t make its way into the mainstream until… 

On August 23^rd, 2007, blogger Chris Messina suggested bringing the technique to Twitter, tweeting “how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups” and writing a blog explaining the idea. Days later, the name “hash tag” – later compounded into a single word – emerged. Since then, the hashtag has become a part of daily life. Approximately 125 million hashtags are used per day on Twitter alone, with countless more on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more.

In the fifteen years since the hashtag entered the mainstream, it has changed how we communicate and connect, impacted culture, and shaped social media marketing.

Changing #culture

The hashtag has maintained its original purpose as a centre for conversations and communities, and it will almost certainly keep this function for years to come. However, it has moved beyond simply being used as a discovery tool, to the point where hashtags are cultural focuses in themselves.

The hashtag has become just as popular in social media challenges. Light-hearted challenges like TikTok’s #SilhoutteChallenge and #BlindingLightsChallenge have achieved hundreds of millions of views. These challenges thrive on engagement, and successful ones can naturally snowball into billions of views.

The hashtag has also found wide adoption in activism, politics, social justice and as a tool for journalists to track the latest stories. Movements like #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #LoveWins acted as opportunities to share meaningful experiences and ways to understand broad, people-led movements.

Marketers have long seen the hashtag’s value as a way to reinforce brand identity, create viral moments, and engage customers in conversation. Brands of all sizes have found success using hashtags, from the world’s largest brands – such as Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke, Red Bull’s viral #PutACanOnIt and Disney’s #ShareYourEars – to local businesses looking to generate buzz.

Making the most of hashtags

Hashtags are a powerful tool for engagement at all stages of the marketing and sales funnel. One industry that stands out when it comes to successful hashtag campaigns is the beauty industry.

For instance, the vice president of e.l.f. Cosmetics told PopSugar that the brand has jumped from the eighth most popular among teens to the second, due in part to their viral #eyeslipsface campaign, which has over 9 billion views on TikTok.

Branded challenges are a powerful way to get users involved, as social media users participate in the trend and promote the brand simultaneously. According to TikTok’s data, the median engagement for a branded hashtag challenge is an impressive 17.5%.

However, marketers must also beware of pitfalls. There is always the possibility that a hashtag becomes “oversaturated” – too broad and detached from its original purpose – or even “hijacked” – intentionally misused. To ensure that the content remains on brand, marketers need to think carefully about hashtag campaigns and monitor them closely.

What’s next for the hashtag as a marketing tool?

Brands, creators, and users alike have become far more sophisticated in their approach to and use of hashtags over their lifetime. They have gone from a one-way tool for improving searches to a two-way social phenomenon. Today, teams have full hashtag strategies to ensure they reach the right audiences and balance popular and niche ones effectively.

Predicting social media trends is always tricky. However, this more sophisticated approach will almost certainly continue over the mid-term. Features added by the platforms and clever strategies by brands will produce new ways to engage, and the use of hashtags as a two-way street is also likely to continue. For example, many brands are looking at customer-driven hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt – which has over 8 billion views – to understand better how social media drives business results.

The ways we currently see hashtags being adopted are likely to stick, but we may see a change in how the platforms themselves allow brands and creators to use them.

Further out, there is a possibility that “web3” or regulatory changes could disrupt the hashtag, but for the immediate future, it’s clear that the hashtag is here to stay. It forms a cornerstone of the social media landscape and is beloved by users. However, as with everything else in our online world, it won’t stay still – the ways we use, consume and interact with hashtags, and online content more broadly will continue to evolve.