On social media, the hashtag is the foundation of communication, signifying either presence or commentary on a certain event, an association with an issue, profession, hobby, opinion… Or simply underlining a certain mood or atmosphere.
Hashtags are widely used in MICE tourism and event management. You can use them to keep up with happenings at various events, join in on issues that interest you, keep up with trends, or even launch your own idea or business.
What is the hashtag (#)?
The hashtag as a designation is a word or a phrase that has the hashtag symbol (#) a prefix.
You can say that hashtags represent keywords that define a certain event, target group, mood, products, or campaign. They are also used for association with a certain trend or expressing feelings.
A hashtag can contain more than one word – you just need to write it without any spaces – and higher readability can be achieved by capitalising each word.
Hashtags are most often seen on Twitter, where they make most sense, although it also has a role in searching or reaching a specific target audience, mood, or key moments on other social media (Instagram, Facebook).
What are hashtags for?
Communicating by using hashtags represents a universal language that is not limited by countries or continents.
Using these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend – regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.
Whether it is a sports event or another kind of competition, you can share your impressions and observations, as well as monitor comments made by all who typed the hashtag relating to the event.
The same applies to discussing a new movie or TV show, some political or economic event or a celebrity. It can mean literally anything that you’re interested in.
For example, while I’m writing this article, one of the topics and hashtags trending on Twitter is #KalamSir. At the moment, people from all over the world who admire the late ex-President of India APJ Abdul Kalam are honouring him by using this hashtag.
In the event industry, you can use hashtags to keep up with events, impressions, and comments at all congresses, meetings, or seminars that are taking place in real time, just by using the tag for the event. You can also share your own experience or impressions, if you’re involved in an event.
In addition, you can keep up with trends and news in MICE tourism and business travel from around the globe by monitoring the appropriate hashtags. More importantly, you can join in.
For example, if you’re interested in hotels or news and trends in MICE tourism from South-East Europe, all you need to do is to type in the search field #KongresniTurizam and you’ll get a list of all postings or tweets that contain this hashtag. The search engine cannot discern capitalised and non-capitalised letters, so you won’t make a mistake if you sometime type out the word differently.
Numbers can also be included in hashtags, and the event industry usually uses them to designate the year in which the event is taking place (#confex15, #IMEX15). However, punctuation marks are not supported, so you can forget about quotes, exclamations, or the like.
Hashtags in event management
The most common and widely spread hashtag in our industry is most certainly #eventprofs. It has wide application, and it is used in tweets that are in any way related to event management or professionals from this field. #meetingprofs also has a similar role.
#eventtech relates to all things technology in event management, be it mobile apps, event management and registration software, or promotions of the numerous brand new start-ups in this field.
#EventCareers is used for posting stuff about know-how for event planners, as well as recruitment and employment.
Did you know?
Using these tags is the easiest way to join in on an issue, discussion, or trend – regardless of where you are or whether you are invited.
#EventJobs serves a similar purpose as the previous hashtag: it pertains to all those looking for work or employment in event management.
#eventdesign pertains to designing and decorating events.
#event is used for highlighting an event of any kind.
#eventplanning, of course, pertains to preparing and planning events.
#eventplanner is used in postings that aim to highlight the role of the event planner.
#EventTip is added to postings that serve as advice or new ideas for event organisers.
#kongresniturizam, #SEEmice, and #SEEbtm are keeping up with hotels, venues, agencies, news, trends, and studies in MICE tourism and event management in South-East Europe
#Eventhour, #EventPlannersTalk, and #EventBlogChat are used for chats on Twitter among industry professionals. The discussion takes place, respectively, every Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 10 p.m. BST, while #eventBlogChat is held every first Monday of the month between 9 and 10 p.m. GMT. This is a good opportunity to hear what event professionals from all over the world are talking about, as well as to join in on the conversation. Everyone’s invited.
Additional worthwhile items global and regional professional associations in event management. Naturally, every significant association has its own hashtag that is usually its acronym. The same goes for the most important trade fairs and gatherings. Some of these are:
#pcma (Professional Convention Management Association)
#mpi (Meeting Professionals International)
#ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association)
#asae (American Society of Association Executives)
#ises (International Special Events Society)
#gmic (Green Meetings Industry Council), #CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) include green travel and eco-events, just like #greenmeetings
#CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) pertains to the title of certified event organiser.
#ibtm, #imex designate the most important MICE trade shows, and #SEEbtmParty is used for the gathering of event management professionals from the South-East Europe region.
You can see that some hashtags are written in all lower case, and some combine capital and lower case letters. The search engine cannot discern these, so you’ll get it right anyway you write it.
Some other hashtags used in event management are also #venue, #hotel, #meeting, #networking, #tradeshow, #MICE, #EventStudents, etc. The list is never final, considering the fact that practically every day you can see a new hashtag that is important to keep up with and/or join.