Whether you’re a social media marketer or a small business owner looking to engage with your customers and bring in new clients to your business, social media marketing is one of the essential tools you must possess. With hashtags as one of the key features of social media services, using them effectively is utterly important.
Hashtags have quickly become a vital tool for social media marketing. Knowing how to work with them will enhance your brand visibility and awareness while increasing your reach and audience.
In the following article, we will help you better understand these tools and teach you how to use hashtags on social media.
How to Use Hashtags on Social Media?
Find the right hashtags
Before you add hashtags to your content, you must do some research and find the right hashtags to use. Social media platforms often have a dedicated section for trending hashtags and articles, which could be the perfect place to start. Go through the trending or popular hashtags related to the field of interest of the business you’re marketing, and you should get a pretty good idea about the hashtags you’ll need to incorporate.
Once you’ve found several hashtags you can use, make sure you understand their essence. Consider what the hashtags actually represent, whether they reference a person or a social movement. Conduct preliminary research before incorporating the hashtags and their trends to ensure they are worth following and that you use them properly.
Adapt the hashtags to the social media network
The user experiences significantly vary between different social networks. Therefore, you’ll have to adapt the hashtags and how you use them accordingly. Some platforms like Twitter have a limited word count per post, so you will have to limit your hashtag use to one to two main ones. Instagram and Facebook don’t have such restrictions, so that you can use several hashtags without a problem.
However, you have to be very careful about the number of hashtags you use. Although a higher number of hashtags can bring in a broader audience, it may make your content look messy and unappealing.
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Keep things simple and memorable
To help users find your content, you’ll need to stick to simple hashtags that make your posts accessible to anyone interested in the related content. Therefore, you have to extend your range of hashtags beyond the trending ones and include some simpler hashtags that bring your target audience closer to your posts.
When using simple hashtags, make sure you keep them short, specific, and relevant. If you have the liberty, mix up a couple of unique with some more common hashtags. That way, you’ll be able to reach users, regardless if they’re performing a more general or individual search.
Here are some examples of hashtags you can use:
- Descriptive product hashtags – These hashtags are the best way to attract new customers. They describe the product and are the first thing that will pop out when a user performs a specific search. For instance, if your company sells hats, you should use #hats in every related post.
- Daily hashtags – There are many trending hashtags that vary from day to day. #MotivationMonday or #TransformationTuesday is excellent for generating unique content and attracting additional views for your posts.
- Niche hashtags – Niche hashtags are more specific hashtags that reveal more details about your business. If you’re running a photography business that works with wedding photography, you could include #WeddingPhotograhphy instead of just #Photography in each post.
Use a proper hashtag format
It is imperative that you keep your content and hashtags neat and organized. To make sure that you’re using hashtags in the right way, you’ll need to consider a couple of hashtag rules. By definition, a hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, and/or emojis, starting with the hashtag symbol (#). Therefore, you can incorporate all these things in your hashtags, but make sure they make sense.
You also have to make sure that the hashtag is brief and readable. While some trending hashtags are slightly longer, you should try to stick to shorter hashtags and make sure they’re readable and easily understandable. Your hashtags should be related to your content and the trend you’re following.
Establish your brand
Using hashtags effectively and adequately can help you establish your brand and gain user engagement by expanding your reach and calling your followers to action. To achieve that, your company must decide on a unique hashtag for upcoming promotions and include it in all the promotional materials intended to create an online dialogue about the specific product, along with your company and brand.
Once your followers engage with your brand, your audience will significantly grow. Hashtags are an excellent way to support an upward growth trend by grouping content. They make it easier for social media marketers to follow users’ engagement and see how many people are talking about your products.
Why Should You Use Hashtags on Social Media?
Using hashtags on social media is an effective way to increase your brand’s influence by participating in conversations and promoting your products and services to increase your company’s visibility.
If you adequately and effectively use hashtags for your branded social media content, you’ll get to expand your audience significantly. Hashtags organize your content so users can navigate it easily. They help your brand engage with similar content, placing your posts in a larger context along with your competitors, and follow trends to stay current.
By following our tips and tricks, you can significantly improve your hashtag use on social media. However, if you find some of these practices challenging or complex, you can always look for professional help and assistance by hiring a dedicated social marketing agency.
Regardless of what you decide to do, ensure you give hashtags the proper attention, as they are powerful tools that can help your brand grow on social media.