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Are you #BreakingTheLaw by using Hashtags?

The Hashtags and Use

The “pound sign” (#) has seen quite a resurgence in popularity the past few years, as people repurpose it as the omnipresent hashtag on social networks like Twitter and Facebook.


Marketers and brands jumped on the hashtag train early (with some hilarious missteps), using hashtags to run giveaways, facilitate Twitter chats or just get cheeky with brand audiences.

The law protects businesses from unfair competition by making it illegal for someone else in your industry to use your protected mark on their competing goods.

Putting a hashtag symbol in front of someone else’s trademark is fine if you’re a private citizen having a conversation online, but it could be risky for marketers to hashtag a competitor’s trademark.

Tips to #HashtagReponsibly:

  1. Avoid using trademarks as hashtags in marketing posts (unless you own the trademarks).
  2. Don’t hijack another brand’s hashtag during an event or Twitter chat. It might not be illegal, depending on the circumstances, but it’s bad manners regardless.
  3. Don’t use irrelevant hashtags. If you tag your marketing post #DIY when the content you’re posting has nothing to do with crafting or “do it yourself” projects, people will be annoyed. Typically not the reaction you’re going for when you use social media for marketing.
  4. Don’t hashtag your Twitter fights. Ideally, don’t engage trolls at all, but if you feel the need to have a heated discussion about your brand online, avoid using hashtags relating to your brand. It’s like posting road signs to your street brawl!

Of course, in your personal life, you can hashtag all you like. Just exercise caution when hashtagging a tweet or Facebook post made on behalf of a client or employer.

Source: businessesgrow

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