Hashtags have gone from an organizational and promotional tool on Twitter to a tactic for broadcasts aimed at getting the audience to interact.
Like a previous Global Media News article explained,
A hashtag is the # symbol, followed immediately, with no space, by a word or phrase: #GlobalMediaNews. In tweets, the hashtag becomes a hyperlink you can click to go to a search of recent tweets using the hashtag.
Journalists use hashtags in two primary ways: to find tweets and to help others find their tweets. Other users of the platform use hashtags in other ways that may still be useful to reporters: regular hashtags, event hashtags, breaking-news hashtags that may spread virally before reporters can get the story out.
What's interesting about journalists using hashtags is that they're not limited to the online platforms. The advancement in technology that allows so many mobile devices to be in use has catapulted a modern integrated media. Reporters, joiurnalists, networks or programs are all looking to engage their target audiences and keep their attention.
One way they do this is through a call to action.
Turn on your television for the morning news and you're most likely going to here some variation of "Join the conversation!" as they instruct you to tweet using #xyz hashtag to voice your opinion on the topic or share a relevant photo.
In an article in the New York Times social media analyst Debra Aho Williamson said,“It’s not just hashtags appearing on your TV screen, but TV content appearing in your Twitter feed.”
Here's an example of how a television broadcast appeared via Twitter: