Hashtags have been around for well over a decade, yet some still seem perplexed over how to incorporate this pound symbol on social media. Add to this the ever-changing landscape that is social media, and it can be confusing as to how, when and if hashtags are still necessary. Let's delve into the latest regarding hashtags and whether these are still applicable to boost your social media strategy
Hashtags really need minimal introduction nowadays because if you're on social media (and who isn't?) you're guaranteed to have come across this symbol when creating a post. But if you want to get on more familiar terms, hashtags are simply keywords or trending terms (preceded with a pound symbol), widely circulated on social media, that typically center around mainstream topics.
Figuring out the most relevant hashtags to use is where you'll have to be choosy.?
- Your first point of reference might be to look at the feed of successful creators in your industry (or similar) to see the hashtags they've incorporated into their content.
- Look at your content. Or, rather the purpose of your content and decide from there the hashtags that'll be a good match for your objectives. For example, if you're an e-commerce store selling shirts with a brick-and-mortar location, including the name of your product together with your location might be a good idea i.e. #tshirtsdurban or separately as in #tshirts #durban depending on the popularity of each search term.
- On that note, you might wonder if you should use the hashtags associated with millions of other public posts. Much like keywords, you might find it more challenging to get noticed using ‘common’ hashtags than you would using hashtags that are a bit more specific and niche-focused. That's not to say you should avoid popular hashtags at all costs, as these could be trending, and you don't want to skip over these! (more on that in a while)
- Since it can be tempting to use too many rather than a few select hashtags, try to stick to terms that are niche-specific, brand-specific, and/ or location-specific, not forgetting to include descriptive hashtags particularly suited to your offering.?For example, you may sell premium chocolates called Wonka's Chocolates in South Africa at the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival.? Hashtags you could use include, #chocolates, #premiumchocolates, #WonkasChocolates, #CapeTown and #CapeTownCarnival, as an example. Additionally, if your post lends itself well to a topic that could mesh well with community interests, you may wish to use #ilovecapetown, as another example.
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