Tagging

Social media tagging is the practice of identifying or mentioning another user, account, or profile within different formats of social media content. (Said formats can include posts, comments, photos, videos, and stories. ) What tagging does is create a direct link to the identified individual or entity.

Tagging, then, is not really that different from shout-outs or even name-dropping in real life. The main way to do it is by using the '@' sign in front of the username of the person being linked when one is making the link on a social media platform. For the most part, tagging in its various forms does serve a healthy purpose in a person's social media ecosystem.

One's tagged friend can be properly credited in some collaborative content. Its use as a notification system can work pretty well. A tagged user (who receives a notification for being tagged) is in a really good position to push engagement on the post one is interacting with.

It's even a decent system for accounting for people, brands, or groups when they appear in different types of visual content. However, tagging someone can also be a way to get into someone else's good graces. Tagging is a feature across many major social media platforms, and it appears to remain a key tool both in terms rejuvenating some user's past social media content and expanding the reach of that same content once it's on some social media feed.