What exactly is a hashtag and why should we care? If you’ve been living under a rock and have no idea, a hashtag is a word, a combination of words, or a phrase that is preceded by the “#” symbol. The main reason we care is because #Hashtags are used across social media networks to categorize, classify and track content.
Why Hashtag
Hashtags are a great way to categorize social media posts to better reach a target audience and to give target audiences a better chance at finding relevant posts. Using hashtags is one of the best tools for connecting appropriate content with like-minded individuals or groups. Hashtags generate more engagement on posts and help raise awareness for a particular cause or conversation. Using relevant hashtags can direct traffic to posts and help boost views, likes and shares. With millions of social media posts being generated daily, hashtags help algorithms for Instagram and other social media platforms categorize and deliver appropriate content directly to users (even when they aren’t directly searching for that hashtag). While it’s not as common, users can also follow specific hashtags to stay up to date on specific topics.
Hashtags across networks
Hashtags are used across multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. That being said, hashtag strategy differs across the various platforms. Using hashtags on Instagram helps increase reach and drive engagement, so it’s appropriate to use numerous hashtags to gain or attract the widest audience possible. Using hashtags on Facebook can also be helpful in increasing engagement, but it’s important to avoid using too many as it can come off as unprofessional. Only one or two hashtags is recommended per Facebook post and make sure they are relevant to the post topic.
Twitter is the social media platform that started the hashtag and others then followed suit. The character limit on Twitter forced users to write more concisely while projecting their thoughts, so along came hashtags. Twitter now recommends using only one to two hashtags in each tweet to best convey the tweet’s topic. Hashtags work similarly on LinkedIn. Since LinkedIn is a professional networking site, it is important to select hashtags that are also professional. Again, it is best to use sparingly; no more than three hashtags in a LinkedIn post.
Selecting hashtags
Before choosing a hashtag or hashtags for a social media post, consider the different types of hashtags you can use. The different categories of hashtags include location, brand, industry, community and descriptive. Location-specific hashtags such as #Phoenix or #Arizona will target audiences in specific regions. Branded hashtags are useful for brand-specific events or campaigns to generate brand awareness. Industry hashtags such as #SocialMediaManagers or #RealEstateAgents will expand reach to those specific business niches. Community-focused hashtags help to bring audiences together from certain backgrounds or communities such as #LGBTQ+ or #SingleMoms; while descriptive hashtags can be used to better describe the actual content of a post. For example, if you post a picture of tacos, consider using hashtags such as #food, #mexicanfood or #tacos.
Hashtags 101
When selecting appropriate hashtags for posts, there are several things to keep in mind. Keeping hashtags short and simple is a best practice. If the hashtag is too long or complicated, readers may be confused or fail to recognize the intended message. While hashtags should be simple, they also need to be memorable. There are a ton of basic and generic hashtags out there, so making hashtags more specific helps posts stand out from the sea of others. Hashtags also need to be relevant and pertain to the specific content, and/or industry to attract followers that are interested in who you are and what you do. As mentioned previously, it is important to not overuse hashtags, as it can appear “spammy.” If too many hashtags are used, it detracts from the relevance of the post and takes away the value it provides followers.
Bottomline: Hashtags are essential to any social media strategy. Effectively using hashtags can help brands reach their target audience, increase engagement and build brand awareness organically. If you would like to learn more about hashtags, or how to better focus your social media strategy for your business, feel free to reach out and set up a time to talk.