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The Power of the Hashtag: Uniting Causes, Brands, and Events

Explore the history and impact of hashtags, from social movements like #MeToo to fundraising efforts like #IceBucketChallenge and marketing campaigns like #Shareacoke. Learn how hashtags can bring people together and amplify messages across various platforms.

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The Power of the Hashtag: Uniting Causes, Brands, and Events

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  1. The Power of the Hashtag By: Lily Whitters and Connor Grant

  2. The Hashtag’s History • 1988: First Introduced as the hash symbol • August 2007: Reintroduced on Twitter by Chris Messina • Intention: Organize and sort tweets to reach certain people • #SanDiegoFire • 2009: Twitter officially endorsed and adapted the hashtag • Other social media giants followed suit • Continues to grow in popularity today

  3. Popular types of Hashtags

  4. Social Movement Hashtags • Intended to spread awareness for a particular social issue • Highlight inequalities and social problems • Often politically motivated • Often integrated into protests • Popular examples: • #MeToo • #BlackLivesMatter • #WomensMarch

  5. Case Study: #MeToo • Encourages victims of rape and sexual assault to open up about it • A tweet by Alyssa Milano in October 2017 ignited the hashtag • Thousands have come forward • Over 200 male business leaders have been exposed and fired • Decreases in sexual assault cases and growing solidarity with victims

  6. Fundraising Hashtags • Raise money for a good cause by spreading awareness • Greater awareness stimulates donations • Hashtags meant to raise awareness often raise funds as a byproduct • Commonly used to raise funds for diseases, illnesses, natural disasters, and catastrophes • Popular examples: • #IceBucketChallenge • #NoMakeupSelfie • #CampFire and #WoosleyFire

  7. Case Study: #IceBucketChallenge • Started in 2014 by Pete Frates • Challenged people to dump buckets of ice water one themselves in support of ALS disease • Spread throughout social media sources, especially among younger audiences • Raised over $115 million for the ALS Association • Also used as #endALS

  8. Marketing Hashtags • A cost efficient way to boost brand equity, awareness, and reputation • Keep in touch with customers and create conversation around a product • Many companies will link a hashtag with a giveaway or contest • Hashtags can be unique to the company or based off of an existing hashtag • Popular examples: • Coca-cola: #Shareacoke • Audi: #WantAnR8 • Denny’s: #CollegeIn5Words

  9. Case Study: #Shareacoke • Launched in 2011 in Australia • Traded the traditional Coca-Cola logo with popular names • People could share these with family and friends • Consumers share photos and stories with the hashtag • Stimulated online conversations • The campaign continues to grow today

  10. Event Hashtags • Event planners building excitement for their event(s) • Spreading the word of events has become much easier with the use of hashtags • Most popular for recurring events (i.e. annual, monthly, etc.) • Promoted and used before, during, and after the event • Popular examples: • School events • Sporting events • Concerts/music festivals

  11. Case Study: Santa Clara University • SCU sporting events, teams, and the athletics department in general use hashtags to promote the teams • #StampedeTogether • #RuffRiders • Other campus clubs and organizations use personalized hashtags to promote meetings and events • Easily recognizable and accessible to the school community

  12. Conclusion • Hashtags come in many different forms • Different types of hashtags are not mutually exclusive • Unite people under a common cause or common passion • During the mere span of 11 years, the hashtag has become incredibly popular and powerful

  13. References • https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/how-to-use-hashtags-for-your-event-ds00/ • https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/health/the-ice-bucket-challenge-helped-scientists-discover-a-new-gene-tied-to-als.html • https://www.buckandbuck.com/blog/the-icebucketchallenge-raising-awareness-through-hashtag-activism/ • https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/aug/20/ice-bucket-challenge-hashtag-charity-macmillan • https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100715/what-makes-share-coke-campaign-so-successful.asp • https://mention.com/blog/hashtag-marketing-how-to-use-hashtags-for-better-marketing-campaigns • https://www.tintup.com/blog/7-examples-of-successful-hashtag-campaigns/ • https://www.instyle.com/news/who-started-me-too-movement • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44045291 • https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/23/us/metoo-replacements.html • https://www.wired.com/2017/05/oral-history-hashtag/ • https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2018/02/history-hashtags-symbol-changed-way-search-share/

  14. Photo Bibliography • https://plentyoftweed.wordpress.com/ • https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/754664/hash_hashtag_sharp_tag_icon • https://footwearnews.com/2018/focus/opinion-analysis/nike-executives-resign-sexual-misconduct-metoo-519578/ • https://cocacolaunited.com/blog/2015/05/18/share-coke-bigger-better-ever/ • https://www.als.net/icebucketchallenge/ • https://fhi.duke.edu/labs/social-movements-lab • https://www.iclasspro.com/blog-article/fundraising-ideas-for-your-team-or-business • https://www.flaticon.com/free-icon/megaphone-with-sound-waves_78482 • https://icons8.com/icon/1461/event • https://twitter.com/SCUWomensSoccer/status/1003692996645310465

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