How to Hashtag
Lynn Titcombe
?? Welcome to my little corner of LinkedIn! Along with my amazing colleagues at Holler! I get immersed in the world of marketing every day! ?? Call me ?? Email me ?? Let me buy you a coffee!
Hashtags are key essentials to any social media marketing plan these days. But what is a Hashtag and how do they work? Well, in this weeks blog we cover the ins and outs of the Hashtag and how can you use them effectively to benefit your business.
Hashtags 101
So lets start from the top with ‘What is a Hashtag’? The simplest way of describing a Hashtag is ‘a word or phase lead by a hash sign (#)’ – hence the name Hashtag! The Hashtag allows you to connect and engage with other social media users, who may or may not be following your company, based on common interests or themes.
Hashtags can improve your social awareness and get your content viewed by more people. By simply incorporating Hashtags into your posts, you can expand your reach and increase your following.
Do your Research
Sounds simple right? Well you’d be surprised. I have seen lots of people using Hashtags wrong for their business, or have completely made them up! I find that the best way to find appropriate Hashtags is to do your research and look into what your competitors are using. How does it work for them? Are they getting a large response? Do you feel that the Hashtags fit the context? By using this strategy you can start creating a list of Hashtags based on what you do and what you like.
On most social media networks they have a ‘trending’ section; this includes a list of short phrases or #Hashtags that are being used heavily at that time, sometimes its best to try and join in with some of these and see what response you get!
Keep it Simple
Hashtags can get pretty confusing, pretty quickly. They can vary from a single word to a 5-word phrase; so when using longer Hashtags, please bear in mind that they can be quite difficult to read! Try and stay away from #creatingahastagthatistoolongthatpeoplecantreadit. Long Hashtags don’t usually get a lot of response due to them being hard to read (and they look very unprofessional).
However, you don’t want to do the exact opposite and start single wording your Hashtags. By doing this you will create two separate Hashtags that are completely unrelated. A good example of this could be: instead of writing #Graphic #Design you’d want to use #GraphicDesign.
Tidy up your Posts
So now you’ve chosen your Hashtags it's time to put them to good use. A lot of marketing companies advise businesses not to overuse Hashtags due to them looking messy and chunky. However, I find that using a good amount does get the reach you are looking for! A good way around the eyesore is keeping your posts clean and tidy. Hashtags don’t need to be in plain sight of your audience, by structuring your posts so that your Hashtags are neatly tucked at the bottom you can still get your core messages to your audience without an overwhelming amount of links! Now of course this technique can only work for certain social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (due to the word limit on Twitter)
Still trying to get your head around Hashtags and how to effectively use them for your business? We offer a social media marketing plan to help boost your online awareness across all platforms! Why not give us a call today and see if we can help.