This infographic by Offerpop goes back in time to reveal the history of the hashtag. The graphic goes back to August of 2007, which isn’t all that many years ago, but it seems like ages in social media terms. This was when hashtags were first proposed for use on Twitter. However, hashtags were not totally embraced until about two years after they were first introduced.
Following this, hashtags began to get support from other social sites like Instagram and Google+ in 2011 and finally Facebook in 2013.
Now hashtags are a powerful tool for campaigns, brands and following trending topics, plus as Offerpop’s graphic points out, tweets that contain hashtags are 55% more likely to be retweeted.
Retrospective Hashtag Infographics
Offerpop's Graphic Describes the History of the Hashtag
Trend Themes
1. Evolution of Hashtags - Opportunity to develop platforms or tools that track the evolution of hashtags and their impact on social media campaigns.
2. Cross-platform Hashtag Integration - Opportunity to create strategies and technologies that seamlessly integrate hashtags across multiple social media platforms.
3. Hashtags as Social Currency - Opportunity to explore ways to monetize hashtags and leverage their popularity as a form of social currency.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media Marketing - Opportunity for social media marketing agencies to offer hashtag tracking and analysis services.
2. Digital Advertising - Opportunity for digital advertising platforms to develop ways to incorporate hashtags into targeted ad campaigns.
3. Data Analytics - Opportunity for data analytics companies to offer insights and metrics on hashtag performance and engagement.