Now that we're just getting into the swing of things, let's make the most of the A to Z Challenge by keeping in mind that it stretches beyond your blog. We’re social, with a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to make it easier for you to find likeminded participants and keep up with what’s trending – including the latest news from the challenge Co-Hosts. That is why it’s important to tag the challenge by using the official #atozchallenge hashtag when referencing the challenge in your social media updates – especially Twitter. Adding the A to Z Challenge hashtag to your tweets can help all of us cut through the clutter when searching for blogs to visit or staying up to date on discussions related to our daily alphabet party.
If you’re still wondering “how the heck do I use a hashtag?”
or “why the heck would I use a hashtag?” the time for guessing games are over.
Here are simple ways to Hashtag the heck out of the A to Z Challenge.
Hashtag your correspondence with us
When you send a tweet to us by writing @AprilA2Z, also make
sure to add an #atozchallenge hashtag to the tweet. Unless it’s a really
pertinent matter, you probably would do better just replacing the @AprilA2Z
text with the #atozchallenge hashtag, altogether!
Hashtag your comments
Everyone and their momma is leaving comments that are one
variation of “Hey, I’m stopping by from the A to Z Challenge!” or another – as
if we really need to know (and we really don’t…or at least, I’ll speak for
myself by letting you know today that I don’t need the reminder that you’re
doing the challenge, ok?!) this bit of information. We get it. We read the
memo. It’s been signed, sealed and delivered. Now here’s a thought…
If you really…I mean, really
need to inform the blog that you’re visiting about your A to Z Challenge
status, just put the #atozchallenge hashtag at the end of your comment. It
takes up much less space and is less likely to leave a blogger wondering why he
or she wasted time trying to read a comment that was nothing more than an
announcement along the lines of “me too! Yay!” when it could have just as
easily been summed up with a simple hashtag.
Hashtag your questions
Most, if not all, of the questions that people ask A to Z
Challenge administrators can be useful to other participants who have similar
concerns. Using the #atozchallenge hashtag can help your fellow participants
get answers to something that they may have been wondering. At the very least,
it also puts other bloggers on alert about matters that they are curious to
know. Adding a hashtag can help simplify the question-and-answer sessions for
@AprilA2Z on Twitter as well as other social media websites. It is easier for
some participants to create a list or do a search for topics that are of
interest to them if the hashtag is utilized more often, because it cuts down on
the workload of having to find profiles and topics that might have come up in
conversation about the challenge.
Hashtag your photos
Add hashtags to the photos that are included in your blog
posts related to the challenge. This can be done by adding text directly in the
image, using photo editing software or online photo apps such as Pic Monkey. If
you don’t want to interfere with your visual masterpiece that you snapped in
preparation for winning visitors over with your photographic images, you can
also add hashtags to the “caption” section when editing the photo before
publishing the blog post. The official A to Z Challenge hashtag can also be
used to promote your blog posts on Facebook and Instagram.
So tell us…
How are you
Hashtagging the Heck out of the A to Z Challenge?
-Nicole
@MadlabPost
2013 Blogging from #atozchallenge Co-Host
See you at the movies!
