Hashtag marketing is a key method of promoting your content and reaching new followers.
Events, social media profiles, trending topics, marketing campaigns and more can be covered by a single hashtag, which can now be used on sites all across the web. Hashtags are also a good way of tracking posts and determining relevance, and easy, one-click search methods can be used to determine if other people are using similar tags.
There is however some cautions to keep in mind for those who are hashtag friendly and use them on multiple social media profiles. Specifically, today we’re going to talk about using SFW tags on NSFW posts.
If your profile and/or the content you promote leads to material or websites that are not safe for work (NSFW), you need to be careful when — if — you’re using SFW (safe for work) tags.
Safe or Not Safe… for whose work?
If you are taking the acronym literally, you may be wondering Whose work? For those of us working in the adult industry, things that are typically “off limits” for the “normal” workplace are totally fair game. In fact, they are probably what we’re working on. Who among us hasn’t, at least once, been blissfully and productively tweeting or updating or whatever only to all of a sudden look around and realize you should probably turn your screen?
In today’s world, “safe for work” and “not safe for work” say more about social propriety than they do about what you literally can and cannot look at in a workplace. SFW currently really means more of “safe for public viewing” — content that most likely wouldn’t be considered “inappropriate” in public setting (like, in an airport or if you worked at Starbucks). On the flip side, NSFW content is material that is generally considered unacceptable to view in public and/or in the presence of minors.
How does this relate to the hashtags I use?
That is a good question! First and foremost, it’s important to know what the true nature of the hashtag you’re using is currently.
For instance, though this used to happen a lot more frequently a few years ago, you used to be able to find all kinds of “different” content under seemingly SFW hashtags. So, though the hashtag #porn may have always been blocked on Instagram, there was a time when hashtagging the eggplant emoji (or, hashtagging three eggplants in a row) may have yielded some tricky NSFW results.
Now, not so much.
Eggplant farmers rejoice! (tho “11long3thick” is prolly not talking bout veggies)
The Daily Dot wrote up a convenient explainer and how-to guide — “The sneaky way to find hidden NSFW content on Instagram” — in 2016. It’s cute to think back to such simpler times…
There are also some hashtags that may seem like they should be NSFW, but their current use is very much considered SFW.
For instance, consider #BBW. You’d think it was NSFW, but the hashtag links most often to the VH1 show “Basketball Wives” and non-adult plus size models. This shows the importance of knowing what the hashtag is doing, like I mentioned, currently.
This episode is SO FKN MESSSSYYY.. Whew, I'm ALL for stirring the pot a little; but, these bitches is SCRAPING THE BOTTOM & TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN. #BasketballWives #BBWLA #BBW pic.twitter.com/4VvdVjsSSp
— Mrs.Creole Roux Princess♊ (@dankie1982) August 15, 2019
The key point here is to pay attention. You can determine whether hashtags are currently yielding NSFW or SFW results by searching the tag itself and seeing what comes up.
For instance, if you were to look up something like #iphone (or, #shotoniphone, which is what Instagram is currently pushing — #iphone may be too broad to even be useful), you would find that the majority of the people using that hashtag are members of the general public posts sharing content that anyone could view. It’s not likely the #shotoniphone is a porn heavy tag — though it could certainly be relevant.
This means that, if you use that SFW hashtag to promote adult content, you may be nearing a slippery slope.
Using SFW Tags in NSFW Spaces
There are two potential issues that you could accidentally or on purpose engage when it comes to SFW tags and NSFW spaces.
1. You could use a relevant SFW tag on your NSFW stuff: What if your latest clip was in fact shot on an iphone? #shotoniphone is totally relevant, even if your content is NSFW.
2. You could use an irrelevant SFW tag on your NSFW stuff: If you didn’t shoot your latest clip on an iphone but you tag it with #shotoniphone… well, that’s not a good tag.
Using an irrelevant SFW tag is different from trying to hide adult content under the eggplant emoji. When this was a popular trick, it was done using tags that had a commonly understood sex meaning. So, people looking for the eggplant tag were often looking for sex stuff. Putting a completely irrelevant SFW tag on adult content also puts your work in front of people not looking for porn though. The line here is very different.
The Issues
Mistagging becomes an issue when people lured into viewing adult content via a SFW hashtag report your account. They can — and they will — let the powers-that-be know you are promoting unwanted NSFW content.
This then puts your accounts and profiles in jeopardy of suspension or termination due to terms and conditions violations. Most if not all social media sites have policies outlining the types of content they allow and how that content is searchable to readers. These policies can include, but not be limited to, links in your profile and posts, as well as the language of your biography and content.
You generally should have an idea of what tags would be considered SFW or NSFW simply from the context of the words. While #iphone and #shotoniphone are SFW, #iphonenudes (for which there are no results on Instagram, by the way) would be considered NSFW.
It’s understandable to want to use various hashtags to promote your work, as you may want something to go viral or gain new followers. Our advice is to just be mindful of what tags you use — and how they could potentially bring you viewers who legitimately may not be interested in what you are offering. As outlandish as that seems, it is possible to expose your content to those who will quickly report you.
I was #nursenaughtea pic.twitter.com/226J1g2KHG
— ?QueenofBBW.com?? #QUEENOFBBW #PLATINUMPUZZY (@PlatinumPuzzy1) August 23, 2019
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Kari “Platinum Puzzy” Anthony is an events trailblazer in the adult industry community. She created and organized BBWFANFEST, the first BBW niche trade and awards show recognizing plus size performers, and BBWCAMHOUSE — the first live 24-hour voyeur house filled with curvy adult stars, cam performers, dancers and more. Email her at platinumpuzzy@ynotcam.com.
Cherries in the banner by Lisa Fotios via Pexels. Screengrabs by YNOT Cam.
