What does hashtag flour mean?
A mother and her late teenage son meandered into the baking aisle the other day and I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on their conversation as I was perusing the spice rack:
Mom: (hands full) “Hey, will you read me that recipe card and tell me how much flour we need?”
Kid: (furrowed brow) “Yeah, I would, but I’m not sure what hashtag flour means.”
Ha! Hashtag flour. I could hardly suppress my giggles as I booked it to the next aisle to avoid making a scene. But once the guffaws subsided, I was struck by the purely honest way that the pound symbol was no longer meaningful to him in any way but in terms of social media.
Because I spent much of my childhood covered in flour in my mom’s kitchen, “# flour” on a recipe card clearly translates to “one pound of flour” in my glutinous brain and it was an Aisle 4 shock to realize how much social media tools have pervaded even our old school ways of reading a recipe card.
Why # over http//:?
The Millennial generation in this way is an enigma to those of us in the marketing profession. Social media trends, whether marketing or peer-to-peer, can change the way this generation interacts with the world beyond the screens. So why # over http//:? It’s as simple as, but not limited to this: hashtags, privileged with simplicity, readability and memorability are more naturally planted in the organic world than messy URLs are.
Utilizing this statement of fact affords brands more success with one of their biggest target markets. To craft a personal and compelling brand narrative utilizing the hashtag as one of the most important mouthpieces to the Millennial generation translates to “I’m authentic, I’m compelling, I matter to you.”
It’s for these reasons that contemporary marketing is sending the URL down like a sinking ship, and raising the hashtag up on a podium. TNW News says it best, “Brands offering content that enhances a product or service while tapping into other Millennial interests gives more dimension to the brand’s relevance.” Hashtags can do that. URL’s can’t.
A flashy campaign and good product are tantamount to what peers have to say about it
Over and over again, Millennials insist that a flashy campaign and a good product are tantamount to what their peers have to say about it. A good, unique, well-traveled hashtag does just that. Well-branded marketed content bolstered by user assets is exactly what is going to drive the next sale.
Toms knows. Melding a unique visual brand identity with an extremely well-trodden hashtag (#toms has over 2.2m photos on Instagram) and a feel-good cause to boot makes for one of the best marketing recipes for the Millennial tasting. This generation wants to feel good and justified in what they are doing. And what they are doing is constantly sharing relevant, important information.
To insert your brand into this conversation is to breathe life and trust into your endeavors, and put yourself on the social map. # marks the spot.
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