Best Tips for Effectively Using Hashtags on Social Media
The hashtag has become such a popular, well-known marketing term that Oxford Dictionary added it to their word list in 2010 followed by the Scrabble Dictionary in 2014. The use of hashtags on social media is something every good marketing professional has become acquainted with and should utilize to attract the right audience to your social media post.
While hashtags are a vital part of marketing, there are specific ways to utilize them to your advantage. Here are the best tips for effectively using hashtags on social media so that you put these little words to beneficial use.
Follow the Trend
There are many tools available for you to use as a means to determine what hashtag is trending on which day. For example, a #traveltuesday hashtag is pretty trendy on Tuesdays. Trending hashtags will continuously change, which allows you to hit a trending topic as it becomes popular. Using a tool like Hashtags.org can easily find trending hashtags across social media platforms daily.
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Why Use Hashtags
Think of hashtags as a search function with social media platforms. Brands were using hashtags for a long time to track engagement and reach for their marketing campaigns. Hashtags have now grown to personal use and in turn, maximizes your ability to reach every day social media users with a hashtag based on your niche.
Using an appropriate hashtag will ensure that you are reaching your niche audience quicker because everyone knows searching by hashtag finds information faster than keyword searches via social media.
Using a tool like Hashtags.org can easily find trending hashtags across social media platforms daily.Click To TweetAlways Research a Hashtag
With the popularity of hashtags comes people who come in and use the hashtag for the wrong purpose. Instagram is famous for banning or marking some hashtags as spam, be sure to check the social media platform for what type of content is being shared under a hashtag. This helps ensure you have done your due diligence in using a hashtag that is appropriate for your target audience.
The last thing you want to do is use a hashtag that has been hijacked by inappropriate content or been listed as spam by the social media platform.
Using Hashtags on Pinterest
Pinterest is not as widely known for hashtags as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook but it’s coming on board by slowly making it’s platform more hashtag friendly. When using hashtags on Pinterest, you will need to be specific with your tag.
Using a simple #travel tag, for example, may not be beneficial. The reason being is that Pinterest’s search engine doesn’t fully recognize hashtags yet, which means #travel will showcase all pins and boards that use the word travel. This could make you fall low on the totem pole of results. Use specific hashtags and try to create one specifically for your brand when making the choice to use a hashtag on Pinterest.
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Effectively Using Hashtags on Social Media
Stick with a good, memorable type of hashtag. Something that’s easy for people to remember and associate with your brand. Be sure to research that the hashtag hasn’t been listed as spam and that it’s similar to what other brands within your niche are using to gain traction.
Try not to be too fancy when it comes to a hashtag, you want short, concise and to the point hashtags as a means to ensure it’s something the average social media user will search for. Test a few hashtags out and analyze the results. Once you see a hashtag becoming effective for your marketing efforts, stick with it and use it as often as possible on all social media platforms.
Do you have a tip you have found effective? Share your comments below.
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I never understood the importance of a good hashtag until I started blogging. Then it came hard with just how important they are.
So very important. Hope you found the blog post helpful.
Fabulous advice, I feel like I am struggling to make much of an impact on Instagram and I am not entirely sure why, I think its my hashtags or posting times but alternating the two see’s little results.. Perhaps its just my posts.. Your post has given me lots to think about 🙂
There are so many factors as to why some posts do well, while others perform terribly. Try posting really early in the morning and late in the evening. Use specific hashtags for each day and review the analytics to see what it states about your impression, reach and engagement. Test your best performing day on another day to determine if results are a constant.
This is so helpful. I have been part of some groups that help with this and it has definitely helped with my engagement.
Great to hear!
I’m getting to the point where I laugh at the hashtag. Once upon a time, it was the pound sign. Or the number sign. Times have certainly been changing in the digital age.
Yes! That definitely shows our age. LOL
This is great information. I didn’t realize how much went into choosing a good hashtag! Thank you.
Indeed! It can make or break a post.
Impressive post with useful tips. Hashtags play so important role in social
media and knowing the right way will facilitate ever growing presence.
Absolutely correct!
This is great info on how to use hashtags for social media. I’ll have to check out Hashtags.org for the future!
Fantastic. Hope it helps.
Great tips! I definitely started getting more likes and comments when I started using hashtags. A great tip is also find someone who’s social media “theme” is similar to yours with a big following and use some of the same hashtags that they use.
Yes! Great tip! Just keep in mind that if they have a larger following and use hashtags in the million post range, their postings are more likely to appear in the explorer feed than someone who is just starting out.
I often struggle with hashtags but i am trying to now use relevant tags which get noticed and these tips will definitely help…
Relevant is key! Also using day related hashtags help.
Great tips. The use of a hashtag in social media is important, this is the share that I can better understand it. Thanks for sharing!
Happy you found it helpful.
this is actually very true! I was going through your list and in my head I was just like “yeah, I actually do this too”. At the end of the day, I think it’s all about strategy, and hashtags just makes sense when we are talking about social media strategies.
Absolutely correct! It is all about trail and error. A strategy might work for one person while it might be horrible for another.
Such a great post with so many valuable tips! Finding right hashtags is not always easy. I am always confused how many hashtags is too many.
No more than 30 on Instagram, as many as you can fit on Twitter with your tweet and ideally not recommended for Facebook.
Informative and well-researched! Every blogger needs to know this. Hashtags are indeed a very powerful tool that will help you reach your audience!
Absolutely! Try to share as much info possible to help fellow bloggers / entrepreneurs.