Earlier this week, singer Justin Timberlake and late-night host Jimmy Fallon released a hilarious roast of the hashtag on Youtube. They mocked this glorious language of ours (deservedly so), but there are millions of people who have no idea what they’re talking about.

We still get asked all the time:  “What is a hashtag? Why is it there? What does it do?”

Today we’re going to take a look at how to use a hashtag in creative new ways.

What is A Hashtag?

But first, you might be asking, “What is a hashtag?” So here’s what we’re talking about.

People use the hashtag symbol (#) preceding a word or phrase anywhere in their tweet. Using that symbol makes that phrase instantly clickable. By clicking on the hashtagged word, you’ll produce a list of every other post from a public account using the same hashtag, so it works well for identifying other tweets on a specific topic.

And if you use services such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to view your tweets, you can even follow a specific hashtag as a list, so you can regularly scroll through all the tweets created using that phrase.

For an in-depth look at the basics of how to use a hashtag, read Mana Ionescu’s great post, How and When to Use A Hashtag.

Origins of the Hashtag

Hashtags were originally used in internet chat groups to divide them by topic. Google developer advocate Chris Messina invented the Twitter hashtag in August 2007, but Twitter didn’t begin to link hashtags in search results until July 2009.

Hashtags didn’t really catch on until around 2010. It was that year in which Twitter introduced “Trending Topics,” a main page feature displaying the most popular hashtags of the moment.

How to Use A Hashtag:  4 New Ideas

What are some creative ways to use hashtags?

1. Travel Planning

Lightspan Digital Content Strategist Myles Dannhausen says he has used hashtags to gather information about destinations while he plans and after he arrives.

“When I visit a place I’ll sometimes search the name or a related hashtag on Twitter to see what people in the area are talking about, or if there’s a great bar, beach or restaurant that people tweet about,” says Dannhausen. “You’d be surprised what you can learn with a simple Twitter search – it’s like a great insider tip without the marketing filter.”

2. Give Context

Dannhausen explains how a hashtag adds context to a tweet.

“I might tweet:  ‘That catch was ridiculous!’ but nobody would know what game, or even sport, I was talking about,” he says. “It would make no sense. But if I add the hashtag ‘#Packers’ it’s immediately clear. I don’t have to write in each tweet ‘Watching the Packers. That James Jones catch was ridiculous!’”

This saves characters, keeps your message clear, and if you’re clever, it can be a really funny way to comment on events.

3. Reconnect With Home

“I’m from Door County, a popular tourist destination, and I have a stream in TweetDeck for #DoorCounty,” Dannhausen says. “Sometimes I check it just to be reminded of home and see people post about how much they love it there. Sometimes it gives me ideas for my Dad, who runs a resort there, or other organizations I’m connected with.”

You’d be surprised by what you’ll find when you search your hometown in Twitter, and maybe learn some things you never knew. Plus, with newspapers on the decline, Twitter – and to a greater degree Facebook – is functioning as the local newspaper.

4. Take a Conference Off-site

Conferences and events generally have a hashtag associated with them, and this can be a great way to provide updates—whether it’s for fellow conference goers who are wondering what’s happening in that panel they’re missing, or people who couldn’t make the event but are following along on Twitter at home. For example, it’s social media week in Chicago, so thousands of social pros are using #SMWChicago to talk about presentations and observations.

Those tweeting from the event can provide links to articles speakers cite, to shared Google documents with notes, or to slideshare decks of the presentation.

Traditional Hashtag Uses

We don’t always have to break new ground or get creative with our hashtags. Here are a few tried and true ways to use the hashtag.

1. Industry Targeting

Plug into a hashtag used regularly in your industry. For example, writers often use the hashtag #freelance, and teachers may look for #education tweets.  You can also look for hashtags used by prospective clients or customers.

3. Comment On Current Events

Use a hashtag when responding to current events. For example, bloggers and news organizations responding to events in Syria might use that as a hashtag (#Syria). They can also be used simply for commenting on a TV show (#BreakingBad, #CRAZY).

Twitter Chats

If you’d like to participate on a weekly chat on Twitter, known as a tweetchat, using and following along with the hashtag for that chat is necessary. In Chicago people use #ChiChat each week to connect with city conversations.

Do you have some creative uses you’ve found for hashtags? Share yours in the comments below!