Twitter and Instagram gave the hash key a new meaning, but now most social media platforms use it. Today, using the hash symbol with a word or a phrase to make a hashtag has become a kind of rage.
Hashtags have become an integral part of social media today and not even a single day passes without seeing one. We all have indulged in the guilty pleasure of using them. We do know they are fundamentally used to reaching a wider audience. But what is the story behind it?
Let’s get to know all about our beloved hashtags.
Why Should You Use Hashtags?
Hashtags on social media label a piece of content and categorize it under a specific topic. And these work for both the users and the algorithm. To humans, hashtags make content searchable and discoverable. And all this because you can click on hashtags, and you can find more content related to the theme that has been tagged with the same hashtag.
When you use a hashtag on Instagram, your post is visible on that particular hashtag page. People also follow hashtags and not just people. This means you can reach those who don’t follow you through the use of pound symbols. These humble-looking hashes hold a lot of sway in the digital space. The use of hashtags is critical if you want to drive traffic to your social media profiles across several platforms.
Still mulling over whether you should use hashtags or not? Here are a few more reasons, if we haven’t yet convinced you enough in its favor.
What Can Hashtags Do For You?
1. Increase engagement
Using a hashtag is like participating in a conversation in the virtual world. It can lead to increased engagement, generating more likes, shares, comments, and new followers.
2. Build awareness
Using unique, branded hashtags can help you create awareness about your business or the business of your partnering brand.
3. Support causes
Think beyond your business. You can get a lot of people talking regarding a cause that is close to their hearts. Sometimes, you can come up with your hashtags to show support for certain social causes.
4. Add context
Most of the social media platforms don’t support much text. In such circumstances, hashtags work wonders.
5. Help reach a niche audience
Just like Instagram, people can follow hashtags on LinkedIn as well. Posting content with a certain hashtag will display it on that page, and you will be able to reach people interested in that topic.
6. Help disclose sponsorship
Under the FTC guidelines, influencers need to divulge their partnership deals with brands. And using hash marks is one of the ways to do so. Failure to disclose can lead to fines and penalties.
How To Place Hashtags?
Now you know how hash symbols can help you in so many different ways, but do you know how you can strategically place the pound signs in your captions or tweets? You can reach your target audience if you use trending hashtags correctly and boost engagement. Let’s see how to achieve it.
1. Number and position matter
You can reach the ideal target audience with seven to 30 trending hashtags, placed so that they are visible only when a user clicks “More”. On Twitter, using just two hashtags can do the trick.
2. Stick to your niche
Being an influencer, you must be aware of hashtags relevant to your niche. Your work pops up in user searches if you use the right kind of hashtags, especially on Instagram. But on Twitter, hashtags rule the roost and can determine what is going to trend.
3. Reusing hashtags
Always keep a mental note or write it down, if you prefer, about what worked for you in the past. If the previously used hashtags garnered views and engagement for you, they might still work.
4. The right mix of hashtags
The high-volume hashtags help categorize your content broadly, but the medium and low-volume hashes help your content stand out in a sea of posts. To reach the target audience, you’ll need to strike the right balance of different types of hashtags.
5. Find trending hashtags
There may be certain industry or niche-specific tags that you keep repeating. It is essential to look out for the top trending ones. You might find some new hashtags that might be related to your post.
6. Add to Insta Stories too
Just like any other post on Instagram, using these tags for Instagram stories also makes them discoverable. You can use these as stickers, in text, or as location tags. Like any other text, the hashtag is placed directly on the image and can be styled.
How To Find The Best Hashtags?
When looking for the best ones for your post, make sure you spend some time doing research. Here are a few ways to find the best hashtags for your latest post.
1. Monitor competitors
Begin by checking out your competitors. See which tags other influencers in your niche are using. With this, you will get an insight into how the shared target audience interacts with the hashtags they use.
2. Use tools
You can use one of the various tools available to find the trending and most popular ones. Some of the most popular tools include Hashtagify.me, Hashtracking, RiteTag, and TweetBinder, among a hoard of others.
3. Look for related hashtags
Whatever hashtags worked for you in the past may work for you again in a new form. You can use a few related ones. These might not be popular but could be more appropriate to go with your content.
4. Keep an eye on the trends
You may have a couple of all-weather hashtags that go well with your niche. But keep an eye on what is trending. Your audience might be using some popular, new tags that can resonate with your content. Don’t forget to include them.
Hashtag Strategy For Every Platform
Although most platforms use hashtags today, to be successful, there are different recipes for different platforms. Here we are giving out the secret sauce for success. Take the cue and aim for the stars… err… audiences!
Twitter hashtags
Just one or two hashtags are enough for Twitter. You can use them at the beginning or conclusion of your tweet, or you can use them to highlight your keyword. You can also use these symbols along with a word of your choice when replying or retweeting, or even in your bio! To find labeled content, all you need to do is type it in the search bar. And you can always find the popular tags in Twitter’s trending topics.
Facebook hashtags
Here too, less is more, and one or two are just perfect. These can be put in as a part of a caption or a comment on a Facebook post. Just like Twitter, in the Facebook search bar, you can look for content with hashtags. However, since accounts are mostly private on Facebook, finding a trending tag isn’t that easy. But you can find content from the public groups or profiles and establish yourself as a Facebook influencer.
Instagram hashtags
Open the flood gates. You can use five to ten hashtags in an Instagram post or stories. These are generally used after the caption, but you can also use them in comments to initiate a conversation. Just like on Twitter, you can use these hashes in your Instagram bio as well. Hashtags on Instagram can make or break your image as an influencer. On Instagram, you can not just search for certain tags from the explore section; you can even follow those.
YouTube hashtags
To get the maximum mileage out of hashtags on YouTube, you need to have two to three. However, if you wish to go overboard, don’t go beyond 15; otherwise, the YouTube algorithm will ignore all of them and your content may get flagged. You can use pound signs in either the title or the description of the video. Here too, the symbols are clickable and will lead you to related content and help you promote your YouTube channel.
LinkedIn hashtags
One to two, and you are done. You can slip in hashtags anywhere in your posts on LinkedIn. Here, too, searching for a tag is easy, and for trending hashtags, you can look at the “news and views” section on your home page. Moreover, LinkedIn too gives suggestions for tagging your content as you type your update.
Tiktok hashtags
It’s limitless. You can use as many hashtags as you want on TikTok. But since you only have 100-character space, you will have to manage with that. With short captions, you can make ultimate use of hashtags on TikTok.
Pinterest hashtags
Two to five are an optimal number for Pinterest. But don’t go beyond 20 in one Pin. These are found in Pin descriptions. In the mobile app version, Pinterest offers some suggestions regarding hashtags when creating a new Pin.
Best Practices To Revamp Hashtag Strategy
The art of using hashtags effectively is not as easy as it sounds. So, how should you go about connecting with your target audiences? Here’s our list of best practices to revamp your hashtag strategy:
- If you are using more than one word in a tag, capitalize the first letter of each word.
- Don’t use very long phrases as hashtags. Your followers might not get it.
- Use different hashes for different platforms. Hashtags that work well on one platform may not work on the other.
- If you are starting a new hashtag, try and stay unique.
Ordinarily, people don’t bother to look at the hashtags; some even find them redundant. But that is absolutely not true. In the digital space, hashtags are a strategy. If used correctly, they could propel your business and, if you are an influencer, make you a brand sought by corporations.
Having a list of regularly used hashtags is a good option, but choose wisely. Don’t copy-paste the entire list for each post on every platform. Since all platforms work differently, managing them could be a bit tricky. Join atisfyre to manage all your accounts from a single dashboard.
And the cherry on the cake: You get the chance to work with brands of your choice. So, what are you mulling over? Quit thinking and act now. Sign up with atisfyre and get expert advice today. And guess what? It is free!
