New York: Elon Musk, CEO of X (formerly Twitter), said it was unnecessary and ‘aesthetically unpleasing’ to use hashtags on the microblogging site. He commented in response to a discussion by an X user, who shared insights on hashtags according to the feedback from AI tool, “Grok.” Musk wrote: “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly.”
His comment was followed by quick reactions from the social media users. One user questioned, “Don’t use them, unless they hurt. Please Mr Musk can I carry on using #TwoTierKeir? I hear he doesn’t like it?!? It’s a shame really, Keir Starmer is the name that keeps on giving with rhyming slang, and it’s beautiful to see!”
Another user criticised X’s algorithm: “This kind of stuff is exactly why certain accounts get millions of undeserved impressions. The fact that the algorithm doesn’t ‘need’ hashtags is proof the algorithm over manipulates the content we see. We should be seeing everything posted by the accounts we follow, with the option (to) search hashtags, not force-fed the content the app wants us to see, even though it’s coming from accounts we don’t follow.”
Should we use hashtags? What does Grok say?
While some argue that hashtags are a valuable tool for increasing visibility, others claimed that they had become outdated. When we asked Grok whether we should use hashtags or not; this what it answered:
Visibility and Engagement: Hashtags can increase the visibility of your content by categorizing it into specific topics or trends, making it discoverable to users interested in those topics. On platforms like Instagram and TikTok, hashtags are particularly effective for reaching broader audiences. However, on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), recent sentiments suggest that overuse of hashtags might lower visibility or even suggest to the algorithm that your account might be spam or a bot.
Best Practices:
Relevance: Use hashtags that are directly relevant to your content to attract the right audience.
Quantity: On Instagram, using around 11 or more hashtags can perform well, but on X, limiting hashtags to about 2 per post is often recommended to avoid seeming spammy.
Specificity: Niche hashtags can connect you with a more targeted audience compared to broad, popular hashtags which might be too generic to be effective.
Platform-Specific Considerations:
Instagram: Hashtags are still a powerful tool for discovery, community building, and participation in trends or challenges.
X: Be cautious with hashtags. They might not boost visibility as much as they do on other platforms, and using too many can potentially harm your post’s reach.
LinkedIn: Hashtags are less critical here, but they can still be used to connect with professional communities or industry-specific conversations.
Conclusion: If your aim is to increase engagement and visibility, particularly on platforms like Instagram, hashtags can be beneficial. However, on X, you might want to use them sparingly and strategically, mainly for specific, trending topics or to join in on conversations. Always monitor the performance of your posts with and without hashtags to see what works best for your content and audience.
