Nowadays, almost everyone can use hashtags, but there’s more to this social media trend than meets the eye. Chris Messina introduced the hashtag to Twitter on August 23, 2007.
While most people use hashtags without really understanding how they work however social media marketing companies take them very seriously. They employ hashtags to increase brand visibility and reach on social media.
Hashtags can help you get more people to see your post, but only if you use them appropriately and ones that are relevant to your business. If you use too many or the inappropriate ones, it may have an adverse impact, causing people to dismiss your message or not liking what you got to offer them.
What is a Hashtag?
Hashtags on social media are made up of two parts: the hash symbol (#) and keywords. Together, they form an entirely new element that is used to classify and categorize social media posts based on various topics.
A hashtag’s main purpose is to get the content indexed properly and make it easier for users to find the information they need. Users can also choose to follow a hashtag if they wish to view posts from that hashtag straight in their social media feed.
Hashtags attract the audience to your social media posts so always choose them in a way that the right audience is reached. Social media AI has evolved so well that it always aims to show posts to the right audience and hashtags are a way they have been doing it. Your hashtags should always sync with the theme of the post. Relevancy is the key here. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and various other social media platforms revolve around quality content and relevant hashtags.
The different kinds of hashtags are as follows:
- Industry-specific hashtags – These hashtags describe your company, industry, and profession. (e.g., #seocompany, #datascience , #marketing).
- Community hashtags – Any company or individual on the internet is a member of a community using community targeting hashtags can be a good way to reach your target audience. If you run a vegan food company, for example, you may utilize hashtags like #veganlife and #vegancommunity.
- Event hashtags –If you’re hosting or attending an event, let your audience know by creating/using a unique hashtag.e.g., #autoexpo, #TEDx).
- Location hashtags – These hashtags are used to help nearby customers find your business, as the name implies. The competition for location hashtags is relatively minimal.(e.g., #gurgaonbaker, #mumbaiblogger).
- Branded hashtags – Branded hashtags include your company’s name, motto, or products and campaigns.(e.g.,#macbookpro, #Nike50).
Benefits of using hashtags
1. Improves your brand awareness
When you use hashtags in your content, it shows up on hashtag pages. To put it another way, customers can simply find your brand and content by searching for the hashtags you use and thus get to know your brand better.
2. Boosts your reach
If you utilize hashtags that many people use, your brand’s content is more likely to appear in users’ feeds, even if they don’t yet follow your brand. As a result, hashtags can help you reach a wider audience and people are able to recognize you.
3. Gives relevant Context
If your post is in sync with the hashtags then you make it simple for the audience to understand your services or products. You provide more context for users and tell the algorithm whether it’s suitable to show your content to feeds.
4. Publicize Campaigns
Hashtags are great for non-paid promoting campaigns in addition to providing context. You can draw attention to your brand’s project or event and maintain track of all the content published around it by using a unique campaign hashtag.
Dos and Don’ts of Hashtags
1. Follow each platform’s hashtag guidelines.
Not all social media platforms are created equal; each has its own set of needs that influence how the material is displayed in its feed and, ultimately, how well it performs on the site.
Each platform has its own set of regulations for using hashtags.
While it’s best to use 10 or 20 hashtags on some networks like Instagram marketing services, you may just need two or three on others platforms.
As a result, make sure you know how hashtags are used on each social media platform, as well as how your target demographic utilizes them.
2. Find Hashtags That Are Relevant
Consider adding hashtags to your post in the same way you would salt to your food: you want to strike a balance that will complement your postings while also improving them.
More specifically, you should include both popular and niche hashtags to broaden your readership. Not only that, but you should also look for hashtags that are related to your company and potential clients.
It’s a terrible mistake to use hashtags like #follow4follow, #likeforlike, and so on. These are spammy hashtags that generate bogus interaction and followers that aren’t interested in your content and won’t engage with it. In the long run, this will damage your engagement rate, so stay away from hashtags like these.
3. Keep Hashtags short
#breakingtheworldrecordforlongesthashtageverwhilestanding
outtherogersmithhotelansthisisaworldrecrdthatyoucantbeat
Andyoucantretweetplsret-weet
What is your thought on Twitter’s longest hashtag?
Not what you really want to decipher. It is important to keep your hashtags short and precise.
Keeping your hashtags readable will make it easier for your audience to understand the context of your posts. Not only this but avoiding long hashtags will improve the aesthetic of your social media content.
4. Do not add spaces & punctuation
If you use spaces or punctuation between words in your hashtags, it will influence how social platforms perceive them. It will break your hashtag and you will not be able to convey the entire hashtag to AI.
5. Do not overdo
Using too many hashtags makes your post look spammy and not pleasing to users’ eyes. Always use a balanced number of hashtags which ideal for the social media platform you are using.
Check each hashtag manually to determine if it’s banned, and if you’ve previously used any forbidden hashtags, make sure to edit and delete them from your prior posts.
That’s it for now I hope you liked this and learned something new. Get your viral content ready for your social media and pick out the appropriate hashtags.
And I hope that your next post goes Viral!
When it comes to figuring out how hashtags can help your brand expand, it takes time, experimentation, and a lot of coffee.
You can Hire a Digital Hive to help you set up the right strategy in place.
Hope this helps!