The hashtag – originally conceived as an online label maker just over 7 years ago. Today, you can’t help but see myriads of hashtags appear all across your social media sites. Chances are, when you see one plastered in a status update, it’s not for organizational purposes. Ever notice how social media users tend to overkill when it comes to hashtags?

#100Happydays #Day15 #TBT #Memories #Lovinglife #Insurance #Howstupiddoilookwritinglongcontinuouspostslikethisone?

Get the picture now?

The language and purpose of the hashtag was something devised by Twitter in 2007 to label a conversation, tweet, or update with a certain theme. In 2009, Twitter enhanced the functionality of the hashtag to no longer simply stand out, but it also became a clickable feature to provide search results for anyone using a similar marking in their tweet. Fast forward to 2014, people are serving up a hashtag as a side to every social media post. It doesn’t matter what social channel you’re viewing because hashtags are everywhere. Twitter, the founder of the hashtag, obviously uses it, as do Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and even Instagram is cluttered with the symbol today.

It doesn’t help that anyone and everyone has the ability to create a brand new hashtag at any point; why you could create a new one every day if you wanted! What’s hurting the integrity and methodology behind this practice are users who over-hashtag, like the example above. Just because you have the option to include a hashtag in your status update doesn’t mean you have to. Sometimes it’s the decision to not use one that can make a message more powerful and easier to understand.

Social media marketers have the opportunity to truly create industry-specific and relevant conversations via this tool. Yes, everyone has the ability to create a hashtag all day, every day, but does everyone possess the chops to create one of great value? As influencers in the digital marketing world, it’s crucial to do your homework when working with hashtags. Whether you’re trying your luck by creating one from scratch or jumping on the bandwagon of one already in circulation, make sure to go over the following before using a hashtag for marketing purposes:

• Will you be okay with other people using it?
• Will anyone else actually use it over and over again?
• Did you have someone look over the hashtag to make sure the characters make sense?
• Did you pick the right phrase to use? Is it worth including this repeatedly?
• Is the hashtag easily recognizable? Will people understand the meaning behind it?

Remember, once you release a hashtag out to social media, it no longer belongs to you, it belongs to the community and that network and you won’t have any control over it. So before you load up your status, check to see the hashtag makes sense and is 100% warranted.