How to Use Hashtags Effectively & Avoid Shady Practices

Hashtags have been around?since 2007. That’s right, hashtags are almost ready to get their driver’s license. But while they’ve existed for over a decade, many small and mid-sized businesses don’t know how to use hashtags effectively in a social strategy.

To help these businesses?improve their social media approach, we’re talking about hashtags: how hashtags work, what their purpose is, and how you can use them to optimize your content.?

3 Hashtag Myths

When hashtags were first introduced to the world, companies didn’t know how to use them effectively. In fact, most people didn’t fully understand how social media algorithms used hashtags to make your content more discoverable.?

That misunderstanding bred many myths that are still highly prevalent—some people today consider them to be absolutely true. Here are three well-circulated myths we want to debunk once and for all.

Myth #1: Hashtags Can Make Your Content Go Viral

Some people falsely assume that the right combinations of hashtags can turn their content into viral sensations.?

This is not true.

Hashtags have the power to display your content to the world, but they are not a fast pass to viral content. You can’t produce half-baked content and expect your hashtags to do the rest of the legwork to make your content a viral sensation. For that to happen, you need incredibly engaging and useful content (we’ll explain how to do that a little later in this article) and a heavy dose of luck.

Myth #2: Popular Hashtags = More Customers

There is some sound logic to the myth that hashtags allow your posts to be seen on discovery pages by people who don’t follow your account. Therefore, if your content is more discoverable by your audience, that means you can gain more followers, right?

Not exactly.

Hashtags do make it easier for potential customers to find your content and discover your brand. In fact, research shows that companies can enjoy?29% more post interactions?when their posts have just one hashtag (and interactions increase to 79% with 11 or more hashtags).

You’ll find that increased engagement is all that hashtags can offer—there is no significant proof to suggest hashtags can help you gain more customers or increase sales. Therefore, hashtags should not be your primary tool to capture new leads.

Myth #3: Using the Same Hashtags Over and Over Can Penalize Your Content

Another fairly popular myth floating around is that you need to diversify your hashtags so you don’t get flagged and penalized by social media sites as spam.?

False.

A quick look at any big brand’s social media account can quickly debunk this myth. Many of the most popular brands like Apple and Nike recycle the same hashtag or set of hashtags over and over again. Their engagement clearly isn’t becoming penalized in any way, and neither will yours.

How Do Hashtags Really Work?

Now that we’ve gotten those hashtag myths out of our system, it’s time for the good stuff: how to use hashtags effectively in your?social strategy. We’ve outlined some essential tips to help you better use hashtags to improve the shareability of your posts the right way.

Good Strategy + Good Content = Virality

Of the many?problems behind business’ social media approaches, a bad strategy can do the most damage.

If you want viral content, you had better start with a solid strategy that helps you produce valuable content. But before you get too excited about this simple equation, know that the math isn’t perfect. Just having a good strategy and great content does not guarantee high levels of engagement on social media. But, if you do it enough, you can certainly improve your chances of going viral.

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