Ever since Twitter became an integral part of our daily lives, people seem to be speaking a new language — the language of hashtags. To a newcomer, a hashtag might be confusing. Phrases such as #VacationMemories or #VisitAustralia may seem cumbersome and even odd, but they are becoming a cultural norm in today’s ever-connected social world. Companies all have an official hashtag now so customers can talk to them and they can keep track. For those who do not know, hashtags are essentially topic headings you use to index a post you make. That way, when someone searches a particular hashtag, they are essentially searching for a topic and all posts indexed with that topic will appear.Your tour and activity company should create an official hashtag that users can incorporate into their posts on the most popular social networking sites. While hashtags were once the hallmark of the Twitter platform, they are now also widely used in order to track topic trends on Facebook and Instagram — which happen to be the most powerful social networking tools for tour and activity operators.What Should Be Included In Your Official Hashtag? Here’s a few elements that you should try to incorporate into your official hashtag:Your tour and activity company name. By including your brand name in your hashtag, you will automatically be identified as the provider of the service or experience. So when a traveler takes a photo on your tour and posts it to Instagram, they can use the hashtag that boasts your company name and market your products for you.Descriptive or rhyming words. Try to get creative with your hashtag, and make it something that people will want to use on their social media posts.Your company tagline. Instead of using the actual name of your company, you could use your tagline instead. This is most effective, however, when you already have a brand that is well-known and you may be recognized by your catch phrase. It is not always the best option for small businesses.How Can You Promote Your Hashtag? Here’s several ways that you can promote your hashtag and get travelers to start using it on their posts:Use the hashtag yourself. Everything you post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram should use the official hashtag. This helps your followers to identify with the hashtag and recognize it as yours. It also helps you to develop a trending topic online.Identify the hashtag at your physical location. You should put up a sign in the lobby to let your customers know what the official hashtag is, or add a sign to your tour buses.When you send an automated e-mail to your guests about what they can do to prepare for the tour, remind them to post about their experience on social media. Include the hashtag information in this e-mail, so your travelers will come ready to share their experiences with their friends, family members and followers on social media.Creating an effective and creative hashtag for your company will help you increase your user engagement online and also helps you to improve your reach amongst travelers who are interested in visiting new locations. In order to learn more about effective online marketing strategies and developing a positive presence on the most popular social networking sites, download the Rezdy social media ebook today.