By now we all know about the power of #hashtags. Twitter, Instagram and now even Facebook use the powerful little tool to track trends and organize content. However, Twitter, which was the first to adopt the hashtag, apparently feels like marketers and everyday users alike could use a brush up on their hashtag skills. Mashable reported that the social media network released an infographic August 21 to educate users on how best to use hashtags. 

The infographic covers everything from piggybacking onto current trend phrases to making the phrase memorable. The use of a hashtag is simply to make content spread as easily as possible. 

"If people are already using a hashtag, and having conversations, part of your work is already done," wrote Twitter's UK editorial manager, Gordon MacMillan, according to the news source. "All your brand needs to do is ensure that when it joins that conversation it is adding value." 

Here are a few tips for using and creating a hashtag:

1) Don't overburden a post with hashtags. There is a such a thing as too many hashtags and a plethora of those tiny blue links can annoy and even turn off a follower. Instead of having a long stream of hashtags following your message, use one or two carefully selected terms to get your main point across. 

2) Use capitalization appropriately. If your hashtag is more than two or three words you should capitalize the first letter of each word. This will help clear any confusion on where one word ends and the next begins for easier reading. No one enjoys stumbling over a hashtag phrase trying to figure out what it says. If you don't like the look of capital letters, consider using underscores to separate each word in the phrase.

3) Use a hashtag in other marketing channels than Twitter. Now that hashtags have spread to social media networks other than Twitter, you can use those promotional phrases in various channels. Use a hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, Vine and perhaps even in non-optimized marketing materials to further promote the use of the tool and gain a greater following. 

Marketers and social media experts looking for jobs in MD and DC must know how to appropriately use hashtags to support campaign efforts. Employers are looking for this skill as a primary responsibility in any online marketing position.