Social media is utilized by over 60% of the global populace. Social media is utilized by approximately 90% of the population in the United States. As of 2023, there are more than 302.5 million active social media users.
These figures indicate the potential social media reach of your business when you implement a social media campaign. However, these figures are significantly lower than the average number of views your posts would receive, and there are numerous factors that contribute to this discrepancy.
By incorporating a hashtag campaign into your social media strategy, you can enhance your reach. Hashtags can be instrumental in increasing the visibility and engagement of your social media accounts. Nevertheless, it is not sufficient to simply include the hashtag #ThrowbackThursday in your posts to achieve this.
What Is a Hashtag?
Today, the hashtag is one of the most readily identifiable symbols on social media. Many individuals are aware of it; however, they are not fully aware of the definition of a hashtag.
So, what precisely is a hashtag?
A hashtag is a metadata identifier that is frequently employed on social media platforms to organize content. It comprises a keyword or phrase that is preceded by the hash (#) symbol, which is referred to as an octothorpe.
The hashtag was initially introduced on Twitter (now known as X) in 2007. The hashtag was created by web marketing specialist Chris Messina to facilitate the discovery of individuals who share similar interests. Messina’s intention was to establish an inter-platform connection between individuals who shared similar interests, and it was successful.
In the present day, the hashtag is globally utilized and is not limited to any particular platform. Individuals now employ it to initiate social media engagement, convey their support for a cause, or initiate marketing campaigns.
Why Should You Use Hashtags?
The primary purpose of hashtags was to establish order in the disorderly environment of social media. Audiences can effortlessly locate content that is pertinent to them by consolidating conversations that are comparable.
In the present day, its applications have developed, rendering it a potent instrument for expanding one’s online presence. However, what is the intended purpose of hashtagging? Despite the fact that it does not directly increase your number of followers, you can still enhance your social media presence by:
- Achieving a position in the top posts for a specific topic
- Being visible in the bulletins of individuals
There are additional advantages to incorporating a hashtag campaign into your social media strategy:
Adds Context to Social Media Posts
The popularity of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts is a testament to the fact that short-form content is the norm on social media. This also applies to the captions of social media posts. If you favor shorter content, hashtags can be used to provide context to your content. You can increase the number of social media impressions without relying on a wall of text by utilizing hashtags.
Helps Your Audience Find You
In order to locate the content that most interest them, audiences can follow hashtags on social media platforms. For example, they may access the hashtag #travel to view videos and photos of the most breathtaking destinations worldwide. Alternatively, they may consult the hashtag #food to identify restaurants or recipes that are currently in vogue.
It is also possible to utilize hashtags to increase your business’ visibility. Creating visually appealing content and labeling it with popular hashtags can substantially expand your social media presence and bring you closer to your target audience.
Increase Engagement With Followers
Generating engagement with your brand can be achieved through social media engagement posts, such as conducting contests or soliciting inquiries from your followers. However, these posts are most effective when your brand already has a substantial following.
Nevertheless, you can expand the reach of your engagement posts on social media by employing hashtags to engage in larger conversations or prevalent topics. These identifiers enable your social media engagement posts to be visible to a broader audience.
Raises Brand Awareness
In addition to adhering to prevalent hashtags, it is possible to enhance brand recognition by employing branded hashtags. These may be your own brand name or a brand tagline.
Some of the most renowned examples include:
- #JifRapChallenge by Jif
- #NationalFriedChickenDay by KFC
- #ShareACoke by Coca-Cola
- #PlayInside by Nike
- #LetsDoLunch by Domino’s Pizza
Incorporate your branded hashtags into your social media engagement posts when employing hashtags related to a specific subject. Besides increasing the visibility of your brand, this also enables your audience to locate specific posts that you have previously published.
Choosing the Right Hashtags: The Four Qualities of an Effective Hashtag
To effectively utilize hashtags for social media engagement, it is essential to determine which hashtags to select. The following qualities are essential for hashtags to be effective:
- Relevant: The hashtags you use should correspond to the content you are labeling. Otherwise, it may appear intrusive and may result in your audience refraining from engaging with your brand.
- Diverse: Search for terms that are popular enough to generate a substantial number of posts, but not so popular that your content is obscured. Subsequently, expand your audience by diversifying your identifiers.
- Alive: Selecting a hashtag that is widely used is insufficient. Additionally, it must be alive, which implies that new content is still being tagged in order for it to be deemed pertinent. For example, your social media impressions will not be impacted by the millions of posts associated with #ChristmasDay2020.
- Accessible: Popular accounts may monopolize effective hashtags. Therefore, it is essential to select hashtags that are generally prevalent and similar to your own in order to achieve a more favorable placement.
How To Find the Right Hashtags for Your Social Media Campaign
Now that you are aware of the hashtags that require your attention, it is time to contemplate the manner and location in which you should search.
The following are several methods for identifying the appropriate hashtags for your hashtag campaign:
Use Social Media Listening Tools
Social media tools such as Hootsuite or SproutSocial can be employed to identify prominent hashtags that are pertinent to your content. These tools enable you to monitor the conversations of your target audience in order to determine the topics that pique their interest. Examine their performance to identify opportunities for placement with a specific hashtag.
Analyze Your Previous Posts
Occasionally, the most effective location to investigate is within your own social media profile. Examine your prior posts and determine which subjects have resonated with you in the past. Determine the hashtags that generated the most social engagement and impressions. Even in the absence of hashtags, you could still acquire valuable insights by ascertaining which topics resonated with your audience. Subsequently, investigate which hashtags are prevalent within that specific subject.
Monitor Your Competition
Researching the strategy of your competitor is an excellent method for informing your own. It can be quite beneficial in identifying prevalent hashtags that are pertinent to your brand. Begin by identifying the most prominent businesses in your field. Afterward, examine the hashtags that they are employing in their bio and posts.
Research Trending Hashtags
Additionally, platform-specific capabilities may be implemented to identify hashtags that are currently prevalent within your sector. For instance, the search bar can be employed to locate trending Twitter hashtags or Instagram Reels hashtags. To identify additional opportunities for your social media engagement posts, examine the hashtags they are employing.
How To Use Hashtags Effectively on Every Social Media Platform
In the early stages of social media, the query “What is hashtagging?” was frequently posed. At that time, hashtags were predominantly employed on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.
However, they have since evolved into a widely used social media instrument that is independent of platforms. Despite the fact that they are primarily utilized in the same manner, there are certain subtleties associated with the use of hashtags on specific platforms.
The following are a few suggestions for utilizing hashtags in social media engagement posts for each network:
How To Use Hashtags on Facebook
- Incorporate them into your Facebook caption at any point.
- Hashtags can be employed to organize topics within a group.
- Utilize the search bar to locate posts on Facebook that are associated with specific hashtags.
- Utilize the URL facebook.com/hashtag/_____ followed by the keyword you are employing to evaluate its performance.
How To Use Hashtags on Instagram
- Incorporate hashtags into your bio and captions.
- Enhance the discoverability of reels by incorporating Instagram reel identifiers.
- When conversing with followers, hashtags may be implemented in the remarks section.
- Enhance the context of Stories by employing hashtags.
- Utilize the Tags Tab positioned under Explore to search for hashtags.
- Utilize Instagram Insights to access hashtag performance.
How To Use TikTok Hashtags
- Utilize the description of your content to incorporate identifiers.
- The search bar can be used to observe trending TikTok hashtags on Discover or other topics.
- Maximize your visibility by combining trending and niche hashtags.
How To Use Hashtags on Twitter or X
- Incorporate a hashtag into your tweet at any point.
- The hashtag’s placement serves a variety of purposes, including emphasizing the main idea, emphasizing a specific keyword, or providing added context.
- The right-hand side of the page displays the most popular Twitter hashtags.
- To locate additional tweets, enter the hashtagged keyword into the search bar.
- It is imperative to take the character limit into account when employing hashtags.
