The Importance of Hashtags in Your Social Media Strategy

The humble hashtag. Originally called the pound sign used to check your voicemail, this symbol has evolved into a social media phenomenon.

Kelly Morrow

Posted by
Kelly Morrow on

Mar 30, 2020

The humble hashtag. Originally called the pound sign used to check your voicemail, this symbol has evolved into a social media phenomenon; it’s now rare to see a post without one.

Hashtags play a crucial role in developing interest in your social media accounts. Knowing where, why, and how to properly use hashtags can change your social media presence outstandingly. Here are a few useful ways you should be using your hashtags.

1. Tailoring Hashtags to Each Platform

Hashtags are used across many different social media platforms, but most commonly on Instagram and Twitter. Knowing how to tailor your hashtags to each social media platform can increase your account’s visibility, engagement, and create a better user experience.

Using Hashtags for Instagram:

  • Use more specific hashtags instead of general ones (ex. #bestcoffeealbany vs. #coffee) – this will avoid your posts getting lost in the clutter of hashtags with millions of posts
  • We recommend using hashtags that have around 10K-900K posts – this range typically has enough activity so users will see your content, but not too much that your posts will go unseen
  • Use around 15 hashtags per post – put them in the first comment or below your caption to avoid cluttering your audience’s feed

Using Hashtags for Twitter:

  • As opposed to Instagram, avoid using wordy hashtags on Twitter and stick to more general ones – this can help others find your tweets easier & join in on the conversation
  • Don’t use too many hashtags – stick to around 2-4 per post

Using Hashtags for Facebook:

  • A little goes a long way – use around 3-4 hashtags per post for Facebook
  • Avoid putting hashtags in the #middle of a #sentence, it can lower the user’s #reading experience (see what I mean?)

Using Hashtags for LinkedIn:

  • Try to use around 5-10 relevant hashtags in each post on LinkedIn
  • Use a mix of general, one-word hashtags and more specific ones, but don’t be overly specific on this platform (ex. Don’t use things like #bestcoffeeintheworld)
  • LinkedIn has a useful feature where it suggests hashtags based on your post, your business, and hashtags you’ve used before – make sure you use this to your advantage!
LinkedIn suggested hashtags

2. Identifying/Monitoring Competition

Every business has competitors and every business wants to keep up with what they’re doing. Using hashtag research, you can keep an eye on your competitor accounts, their top posts, and their most-used hashtags. To do this, simply look up a hashtag relevant to your industry on Instagram. For example, if you are a digital marketing agency, you can search #digitalmarketing to find the most popular hashtags related to that category.

Searching hashtags on Instagram example

Following your competitors’ hashtags is also a great way to monitor if they’re receiving any complaints, how they’re responding to them, and ways you can set your business apart from them in terms of customer service.

3. Monitoring Reputation & Maximize Customer Service

Similar to how you can follow hashtags to see your competitors’ complaints, you can use the same methods to monitor any comments, complaints, & kudos about your brand. It will also allow you to respond to customers as quickly as possible!

4. Keeping Up with Industry Trends

Hashtags can also be used to keep up with your industry’s trends. Follow and engage with hashtags related to your products and services and create your own hashtags to promote your brand. For instance, if you’re an author, you may want to track hashtags like #books, #whattoread, and #writingtips to know what your colleagues are doing.

No matter how you use your hashtags, using them correctly can make a tremendous difference in your social media strategy. Not only are they a great way to increase engagement and visibility, they can also be used to monitor your reputation, your competitors, and keeping up with industry trends. To get updates on more blogs & vlogs, subscribe to our newsletter!

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