We use social media to connect with others. Whether it’s to share thoughts, ideas, content, or wholesome memes (don’t know what a meme is? Maybe we’ll write an article about that), social media platforms can help us reach people we wouldn’t normally be able to without technology.

But with so many users posting to sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many more, these platforms have had to come up with a system that could enable us to alert specific people that we may want to reach. On every social media platform, there is a function that allows you to reach beyond your following, and it’s most commonly referred to as “tagging”.

What is Social Media Tagging?

Not to be confused with “hashtags”–although, performing a similar function–tagging means using the “@” sign plus the social media handle of a person or business in your post or photo.

You might use the “#” to label objects, phrases, or movements. The “@” symbol is for tagging actual accounts within the social media platform. The “#” allows users to participate in a larger conversation with the rest of the Internet. The “@” lets you connect with a specific person.

If you type the “@” symbol immediately followed by a person’s or business’ profile name, that account will be notified of your post. This also makes the name clickable. Whoever is reading the post will be able to click the tagged name and be redirected to that profile.

Let’s say you wanted to tag CS Designworks in your post on Facebook. You would write: @CSDesignworks (make sure there is no space between “@” and “CSDesignworks”). We would then be notified of and linked to your post.

Why Tag People?

Tagging is an easy way to engage with others and the only way to guarantee that those people will see your post.

Imagine that I just had a fancy new logo designed by this amazing graphic design company, CS Designworks. I want to show this logo off on my Instagram account. I post the picture but I do not tag CS Designworks. My followers may see the post but the odds of CS Designworks just stumbling upon my post are next to none.

If I post the picture and tag CS Designworks, they will be notified of the post. They now have the opportunity to interact with that post which could lead to increased engagement (which is always the goal of social media marketing).

Tagging Etiquette

Much like other utilities of social media, marketers easily overuse this function and make it spammy. And then they ruin it for the rest of us.

Don’t tag someone in a post unless they are involved in or are relevant to said post.

Did you just buy a new Canson sketchbook and want to post a picture of the lovely drawing you made in it? Go ahead and tag Canson. But don’t post a picture of a generic sketchbook and then tag every company that makes sketchbooks. That’s annoying. Don’t be that guy.

Relevance is key and it’s also good to put yourself in other people’s shoes. If being tagged would annoy you, then odds are that person would feel the same way.

How To Tag People on Different Platforms?

It’s essentially the same across all platforms with very small variations. Another thing to keep in mind is that on most networks, in addition to tagging people in your captions, posts, and photos, you can also tag people in your comments.

Twitter

Write your tweet and add an “@” symbol before an account name. There will be a dropdown menu that offers a list of people you may be trying to tag. If you see the name you want pop up, you can click it. Or continue to type out the username.

There will also be a feature that allows you to tag a photo. If you compose a tweet with a picture, there will be an option that says “Who’s in this photo?” Click the button and type in the name of the account you wish to tag.

Facebook

If you are tagging someone who is in your friend list, you actually don’t even need to use the “@” symbol. Simply type in the person’s name and you will receive a drop-down menu of people to tag. But this might vary depending on people’s privacy settings, so just to be safe, use the “@” symbol anyways. But similar to twitter, type “@” then the account name and you will be able to tag that person.

Instagram

There are two ways to tag an Instagram account. After you’ve edited a picture but right before posting it, there will be a “tag people” option. After clicking this, you will be able to tap anywhere on the photo you are about to post and search for the person you wish to tag. Tap on their name and the deed is done.

You can then additionally tag a person in your caption, the same way you would on Twitter or Facebook.

LinkedIn

Just like with Instagram and Twitter, you can either tag people within the text of your post or by posting a photo and clicking the tag photo option.

All in all, tagging is just another way to get exposure and connect with others on social media. Making sure to tag others in relevant posts and keeping track of who’s tagging you will help you to create a sense of community with your followers and connect with those outside of your social reach.

Sources

• https://www.marketingbyminal.com/what-is-social-media-tagging/
• https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/courtney-hunt/2015-07-06/understanding-and-using-tags-and-tags
• https://www.ocreativedesign.com/using-hashtags-tagging-social-media-strategy/