Once referred to as an ordinary pound symbol, hashtags have become an integral part of social media communication. Social media users use these hashtags to makes their content and information search specific and more accessible.
With rapidly changing social media marketing trends, using hashtags to build awareness about your brand is no more as simple as adding ‘#’ symbol with the keyword. However, brands cannot rely solely on popular hashtags, but they should be aware of the upcoming and popular trends among influencers and consumers. This helps you in optimally using your hashtags, enabling your post grab the attention of social media users. Using hashtags allows easier and active audience engagement while building a strong relationship with the customers.
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Beginning with the hashtags
A hashtag is a keyword phrase or a word preceded by a pound symbol. These hashtags appear within your social media posts to enable those who show interest in your posts to find you easier.
While it may seem simple to use a hashtag before your keyword phrase, there are some other basics that you need to keep in mind when using a hashtag to grab users’ attention.
When used effectively, only then the hashtags make a difference in your marketing strategy. Below, we have listed a few tips to help you out:
- Keep hashtags precise and convincing rather than making long hashtags.
- Avoid using hashtags after every word. The number of hashtags you incorporate depends on the platform you are using. However, using one or two hashtags has more impact than using several hashtags in one post.
- Don’t try to be too innovative or edgy with the hashtags. Keep the keyword simple so that users are able to search for them quickly.
- Use specific hashtags as they generate better quality results than general ones. General terms are least likely to be searched. If you use general terms, your hashtags and post will be lost in the vastness of social media posts.
- Avoid pushing hashtags with every post; instead, use them where they can add value to your content and stimulate interaction and conversation.
- Besides, attracting the target audience, you can also use these hashtags to search for your competition.
Where to Use Hashtags
The birth platform of hashtags, twitter still mainly depends on the hashtag symbol for grouping posts. Tweets with adequate use of hashtags glean better user engagement than those without the symbol. Even though it is hashtag-friendly platform doesn’t imply that you are supposed to go overboard with hashtags. Be relevant, strategic, selective, and topical and ensure that the hashtags apply to your shareable content.
Also, you can develop a Twitter bot that picks custom hashtags and automates the process of tweeting. According to Pew Research, Twitter bots generate 66% of all the tweets or retweets with links.
Facebook isn’t a typical hashtag-friendly or hashtag-dense platform. Most people use hashtags in the comment section or use it as an autopost to other platforms. You can use hashtags on Facebook, but most users don’t actively use hashtags on this platform.
On Facebook, it is crucial that you avoid using too many hashtags, one to two hashtags are often recommended for this platform.
LinkedIn is another platform that offers the use of hashtags but doesn’t see active engagement with them. Currently, the platform is reintroducing the use of hashtags and encouraging users to incorporate them with their relevant posts. Usually, one to three hashtags suffice for LinkedIn posts.
This platform heavily uses hashtags in captions to organize and curate photos. Unlike Twitter, using more hashtags on Instagram generate better engagement. The platform allows for up to 30 hashtags within a post, however, try to stick to ten to eleven hashtags in a post.
Use the search box to figure out the hashtags your competitors and other influencers are utilizing for user engagement. Since it is the ideal platform for hashtags, experiment with a variety of different hashtags. Use them with comments, photos, and posts.
Google +
Hashtags are crucial for user engagement on this platform. Hashtags offer SEO benefits on this platform. Add up to three hashtags on Google+ posts. Even if you do not write any hashtag, then platform naturally adds them with your posts. You can also use hashtags in the comments section on Google Plus.
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Benefits of Using Hashtags in Social Media Marketing
Improving Online Visibility
Millions of contents are posted every day on social media platforms. It is highly likely that your post will get lost in a million posts. Therefore, hashtags offer the ideal solution. These hashtags are the optimal way to gain online visibility and grab the attention of the users online. Also, these hashtag s play an instrumental role in building awareness and promoting your brand. Research the emerging hashtags and incorporate the ones that are relevant to your content.
Reach Out to A Broader Audience
Hashtags improve your online visibility, make your posts available to ta larger audience; almost working like a search engine. When you incorporate the hashtags that are relevant to your business, you make your business visible out to a broader audience.
Enhanced User Engagement
Hashtags are used effectively for engaging the users and driving them to your accounts. Social media posts with relevant hashtags, allows your business to become more prominent among other brands. Social media users will instantly find your post as per their relevant hashtag search.
Wrapping Up
Hashtags are an integral part of social media communication, but before jumping on the bandwagon, you should do detailed research. You need to figure out the hashtags that fit your business and matches your brand voice. Draft a strategy, figure the ide social media platforms and structure how you will apply these hashtags within your posts.
Today, most businesses are realizing the importance of hashtags and using them appropriately to get gain users’ attention. However, many of these businesses lack in seamlessly incorporating these hashtags in their social media posts. This is where a professional social media marketing agency can help you out. A professional agency offers you expertise, knowledge and the right strategies of making every social media post count.
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