Why is it important to capitalise words in social media hashtags?

Answer: To avoid hashtag fails!

#susanalbumparty – When asking “does capitalisation matter in hashtags?”, well, who remembers this epic hashtag fail?

Yep, the above was a real hashtag used in a social post to promote Susan Boyle’s new album launch. And although it happened quite a few years ago now I still remember it well (as I’m sure many of you do too). Was this the perfect example of how hashtags can be misinterpreted? Or was Susan throwing three sheets to the wind and letting the world know that she was planning an adult party? I’m pretty sure this was an innocent hashtag gone wrong, but either way, it would have helped clear things up if she’d included a few capitals in there!

So, does capitalisation matter in hashtags?

Hashtags are a great way for people to discover your brand and can be really beneficial as a way to get in front of your target audience, but only if done correctly. The frustrating thing about hashtags is that you cannot include spaces or punctuation, which can make them difficult to read. This is where capitalisation is so important! Not only will this help protect you from hashtag failures, but this will also mean your social channels are more accessible to a new audience. #SusanAlbumParty – It’s a lot clearer now isn’t it!?

As well as ensuring that guests know EXACTLY what to expect from your party, there is another very important reason to capitalise the separate words in your social media hashtags.

Ensuring your social media posts are inclusive

All jokes aside, when asking “does capitalisation matter in hashtags?”, the most important reason to capitalise words in social media hashtags is to ensure content is accessible for partially sighted or blind people. Using capital letters makes it easier for screen readers to correctly read out words. If there is no space between the words in a hashtag there is no cue that there is more than one word, so screenreaders will usually read hashtags as one long word. Adding capital letters provides an indication to screenreaders that the hashtag has more than one word in it.

These cues also make hashtags friendlier for people with cognitive disabilities or dyslexia, as by capitalising each word it’s easier to identify the patterns between words.

So in summary, when asking “does capitalisation matter in hashtags?”, the answer is most definitely yes! By capitalising the separate words in your hashtags you open your social posts to a wider audience AND avoid disappointing randy guests at your album launch party.

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