OSFA’s Using #Hashtags
The first question some of you might be asking yourself is what is a hashtag?
In its simplest form, it’s a word or phrase that is preceded by the pound (#) symbol.
But why it’s actually used is to serve as indicator that the piece of content relates to a specific topic or is part of a category. And clicking on that hashtag, depending on the platform, will bring up any content that shares that same hashtag, so it’s easy to sort and/or find more. It’s a way to help make content more discoverable and then hopefully reach more people!
The Communications Team in the Office of Student Financial Aid has taken advantage of some preexisting hashtags and created a few of our own – all of which are now in use each week!
For the last few years, we’ve participated in #FreeMoneyFriday – sharing each Friday a scholarship or two that our students may be eligible to apply for. Sometimes those are campus-based scholarships, sometimes they’re private scholarships out in the community. As we don’t otherwise have a way to share private scholarship information with students, our social media platforms have been excellent at spreading the word about what’s out there.
Then last year we added #MoneyWiseWednesday.
This hashtag supports the FANTASTIC program work of Pa Houa Xiong and the workshops she hosts throughout the academic year. We use this hashtag to share financial wellness tips and tricks each week or promote upcoming events. GradReady, our online financial wellness tool, is often promoted in these posts to encourage student to learn more about managing their finances.
This fall, we’ll be adding two additional hashtags into our mix – #GivingTuesday and #BadgersAtWork on Thursdays.
#GivingTuesday may sound familiar as it was created in response to the chaos of Black Friday. Although the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is the ‘official day’ each year – the movement has now grown to encourage people to donate their time, money or the power of their voice in their communities on any Tuesday throughout the year. OSFA will be using this hashtag to support our new app, Purposity. Each week, we’ll be posting a student’s need and encouraging our followers to download the app and fulfill that need.
Then #BadgersAtWork will be used each Thursday to highlight a student job that is currently hiring.
Encourage students to LIKE us on Facebook and Instagram or FOLLOW us on Twitter – then click on a hashtag for more!
For the last few years, we’ve participated in #FreeMoneyFriday – sharing each Friday a scholarship or two that our students may be eligible to apply for. Sometimes those are campus-based scholarships, sometimes they’re private scholarships out in the community. As we don’t otherwise have a way to share private scholarship information with students, our social media platforms have been excellent at spreading the word about what’s out there.
Then last year we added #MoneyWiseWednesday.
This hashtag supports the FANTASTIC program work of Pa Houa Xiong and the workshops she hosts throughout the academic year. We use this hashtag to share financial wellness tips and tricks each week or promote upcoming events. GradReady, our online financial wellness tool, is often promoted in these posts to encourage student to learn more about managing their finances.
This fall, we’ll be adding two additional hashtags into our mix – #GivingTuesday and #BadgersAtWork on Thursdays.
#GivingTuesday may sound familiar as it was created in response to the chaos of Black Friday. Although the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is the ‘official day’ each year – the movement has now grown to encourage people to donate their time, money or the power of their voice in their communities on any Tuesday throughout the year. OSFA will be using this hashtag to support our new app, Purposity. Each week, we’ll be posting a student’s need and encouraging our followers to download the app and fulfill that need.
Then #BadgersAtWork will be used each Thursday to highlight a student job that is currently hiring.
Encourage students to LIKE us on Facebook and Instagram or FOLLOW us on Twitter – then click on a hashtag for more!