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Yes, I'm a writer. But another passion (and day job) of mine recycling. I thought I'd combine the two today to show you how to get the most out of your hashtags on Twitter, and particularly if you're into recycling.
If you're a writer, stay tuned. I'm going to blog a nod to us hard working scribblers very soon, since this blog is, and will remain, centred around creative writing.
I've been very active on Twitter for about 4 months now. One of the best tips I can give new Twitter users is to (relevant) hashtag your tweets until you run out of characters -140 max.
What’s a hashtag?
**Quick shout out and thanks to Andy White for explaining it so clearly to me in the early days**
Hashtags are a method of joining conversations on Twitter. They are words or phrases used in tweets, which have the ‘#’ symbol placed at the beginning of the word. There are no spaces or punctuation in them. When you click on one (normally highlighted in green), Twitter reveals a stream of everyone’s tweets which include that particular hashtag.
An example of this is #pmqs for the BBC’s Prime Minister's Questions. This hashtag quite often trends on Wednesdays due to the weekly TV coverage live from the Houses of Parliament. Searching for #pmqs, you can see all the tweets where people on Twitter (‘Tweeps’) are posting about PMQs. Comments and moaning, jokes and quotes – politics is a popular topic on Twitter.
Ok, I understand that. So, how can I use a hashtag to my advantage?
Hashtags are a great way to learn about subjects you're interested in (e.g. recycling), to get more exposure, build relationships, and therefore increase your own following. As mentioned above, hashtags are a link to a conversation, to be included in tweets that are relevant to a specific topic. So, if you're interested in recycling, you could tweet something short like
Found a place to #recycle my #tetrapak cartons for the first time today - #proud!
This means your post will be visible in the three hashtag conversations of #recycle (talk of all things recycling), #tetrapak (type of rubbish - yes there are hashtags for rubbish!!) and #proud (Tweeps pleased with themselves on a plethora of achievements). All three hashtag streams will feature this tweet. That's exposure for you!
Please note: Hashtags are Twitter limited; they DO NOT work on Facebook, but I have noticed it’s quickly becoming a method of showing emotions, like with emoticons: #smile and #grr are popular. These do not link into the Twitter conversations though.
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Let me know in the comments box below if you find any more good ones to add to the list.
#recycling / #recycle / #wasteA complete pair and a good place to start.
#green / #environment / #ecofriendly
Related broader environmental issues.
#litterSelf-explanatory... A good #Twitter account to follow for these kinds of posts is @KeepBritainTidy
#upcycling
If you saw last week's #Apprentice you'd know about this already! Take a look at the new craze in recycling circles.
#plastic / #packaging / #paper ... etc!
For specific waste streams.
#lovefoodhatewasteUK campaign to reduce #food waste and help you #savemoney (space missed deliberately – it’s a popular hashtag).
If you're into all things green, you can also follow accounts like ‘waste reducing guru' Unconsumption @unconsumption, WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign @wasteawarefood, and the UK Environment Agency @EnvAgency, among many others.
Don't forget to check if your favourite charity (e.g. @UNICEF), local Council (e.g. @RecycleNptshire), grocery store (e.g. @Waitrose), favourite singer (e.g. @official_flo for Flo Rida) etc. has a Twitter page. The world is your limit!
It's really not that hard. Just be polite, interesting and honest. So, what are you waiting for? Get making a change to your world via Twitter and make the most of those recycling themed hashtags!
Oh, and you can follow me on Twitter @MissWriteUK
Lou x