MAKE MONEY #91: Create and Register Your Very Own Hashtag
Difficulty: 2 (EASY)
Initial Investment: 2 (LOW)
Location: REMOTE, WORK FROM HOME, ONLINE, FREELANCE
Good for: Writers, Retirees, Social Media Experts, ALL Creatives
Can You Register Your Own Hashtag?
YES! You can do the first step by registering your hashtag at Twubs. This creates a Place of Record. Registration at Twubs provides you with a record of your claim that can be used in any trademark or legal challenge. We record the date of registration and the important details regarding you, the registrant.
Can You OWN a Hashtag?
No, but the goal is consistently use your hashtag so that people will associate it with you. The hashtag you select should be a distinctive phrase or word associated with your company or messaging. IF you are a social media influencer or social media expert, this is a good side hustle for you.
Do You NEED to Register a Hashtag?
IF you are wondering: How do I register a hashtag for free? You do not need to register at Twubs, but it does give you extra SEO for your hashtag, which is a real benefit. It creates a PLACE of RECORD–meaning, you are saying something publicly on the record. You state it publicly, and are announcing, informing and stating and getting the public acquainted with your service or product.
Why Is Registering Your Own Hashtag a MAKE MONEY Idea?
IF you are a blogger, you know the importance of establishing strong SEO. Registering your hashtag (for free, mind you) can greatly enhance your Search Engine Optimization strategy. SEO=cash in the pocket. It also paves the way for trademark establishment and creates a “line in the sand” where you can start from.
Can You Trademark a Hashtag?
You can trademark a hashtag as it is simply like any other word or phrase that is connected to a company, product or service. As with other trademarks you need to be granted official registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and there are limits to what kind of protection you can expect from that. Setting a Place of Record first is a good idea if you want to go this route.
Briefly, hashtags increase your reach on Instagram by categorizing content which makes it more manageable and discoverable for your current and potential followers. Specifically:
- Having your own hashtag increases the number of impressions (the number of times a user sees an ad, for example).
- Hashtags establish and solidify company presence.
- Hashtags improve engagement (it’s SOCIAL media, remember).
In a Nutshell: How to Trademark a Hashtag
There is a several step process to registering a trademark for a hashtag.
- Initial background work: searching the USPTO database to see if mark is already registered by someone else and more
- Prepare and submit the application, and pay the necessary processing fees.
- The last step is having the USPTO issue the Certificate of Registration, which often takes two to three months.
A GREAT EXAMPLE: Monday Blogs
In the example above, popular Twitter account Monday_Blogs, the account owner, a successful author, has registered their hashtag. The hashtag is intimately tied to that account, so it was crucial to register and own it. The account has over 15K followers.
TIP: Registering your own hashtag is not an immediate money maker
Registering your own hashtag is not an immediate money maker–it won’t rain cash right away. But just like creating and generating domain names, if you are waiting to sell a company brand name hashtag, you need to have a little patience. But can you SELL a hashtag on certain sites?
Where Can I Sell a Hashtag?
We don’t know of a reputable place to SELL a hashtag (or hashtags) but you can test out potential hashtags that you might want to register on a site called Flick (they also have a handy Instagram Hashtag tool for analyzing hashtags here). Flick is subscription-based, so you don’t permanently own the hashtag, which is important to note.
Register Hashtag, then Track and Analyze Its Popularity and More
All Flick plans include the Hashtag Tracking feature, allowing you to track how well each of your hashtags performed on each post. The Solo and Growth plans have a limited number of posts you can track monthly per Instagram account but the Pro and Agency plans let you track unlimited numbers of monthly posts.
More Tools for Tracking Your Own Hashtag (or for Products and Businesses)
Social Dog for Twitter Hashtag Analysis
Social Dog is a useful tool for analyzing Twitter hashtags, and for automation and account management in general. We help you to streamline your operations and become more efficient, while also increasing your engagement. An impressive amount of companies use it for their Twitter needs, including Sega, Nifty, Onkyo, Rakuten, and others (they have something like 800K users). First-time users of SocialDog can try out the features of the paid plan for 7 days completely free of charge. You can use SocialDog to analyze Twitter hashtag trends and all kinds of other information.
TIP: You can also use SocialDog to analyze Twitter hashtag trends.
However, do note that they have a daily limit to the number of accounts you can follow and unfollow and the only way to increase this amount by upgrading your plan and paying more. These are SocialDog limits–they are compliant with Twitter’s restrictions. You have to use SocialDog in accordance with Twitter’s Rules and Terms of Service, of course.
Kicksta Instagram Generator for Generating Ideas and Analysis
Another useful tool is Kicksta for hashtag trend analysis. They claim that Kicksta’s Instagram Hashtag Generator gives you EXACTLY the hashtags needed to improve your presence (or the company you are working on) on the platform. At Wealthy Nest, we used Kicksta and it was quite helpful for research purposes.
Always Use Your Own Good Intuition To Supplement Any Hashtag Tool
However, we did need to weed out a few hashtags–you need to always keep in mind your own intuition about a product, service or company, and it is not always based on popularity or numbers. Sometimes, we have found that using a less popular hashtag reaped good results. Use your good common sense and understanding of audience to make the best social media decisions.
TIP: We have found that a less popular hashtag can sometimes reap good results.
Summing it all Up
Ever feel like you are shouting into the distance on social media? Well, companies feel the same way. By managing–and most importantly, optimizing–their use of social media and especially the hashtags being used, you are providing a great service for them. IF you have your own hashtag that companies can use to broaden their reach, they will come to you for help.
 | Want MORE Make MONEY Ideas? Wish You Could WORK From HOME? Looking for a Good SIDE Hustle? |
