#KnowYourHashtags

By Laurel Pretorius

Do hashtags baffle your brain? What are they used for and why are they everywhere for no apparent reason? Does it irritate you to read posts that end on a load of random hashtags.  #hashtagsbaffleyourbrain #readposts #loadofhashtags #hashtagsirritate

I feel your pain! But actually, hashtags do have a real place on social media. If they are used correctly, they can be extremely beneficial to your brand in the digital space.

Here are 6 things you need to know about hashtags

1. Hashtags are attached to keywords or topics of interest within the content you post on social media and other online platforms. By adding a # to the beginning of an unbroken word or short phrase you create a hashtag. In so doing, when your potential target market is searching for something of interest in your industry, they will click on the hashtags you have identified as popular words in your line of business.
2. Whenever a hashtag is added to a post, it can be indexed by the social network and becomes searchable/discoverable by other users. The more you use a specific hashtag, the better it performs as a search word.
3. By clicking on a specific hashtag you will be shown all the other Tweets, Facebook posts and online platforms using it. Let’s say you’re an expert blog writer and you use the #ExpertBlogWriter. If a potential client is looking for an expert blog writer using hashtags, there is a good chance yours will pop up with the rest of them.
4. When other people are looking for information about your company they can use a hashtag as an index to look it up. For example, #DigitalMarketing
5. Hashtags help you to track your online marketing campaigns. It’s important to do this when marketing online as it’s one of the ways you can track the customer’s journey.
6. Hashtags can give posts longevity. The more people refer to them, the longer your campaign gets attention.

Hashtag Rules Part 1

1. Keep hashtags as short or as distinct as you can. Abbreviations work well as hashtags. For example,  instead of #TheDigitalAllianceCopywriters we could use #TDACopywriters.
2. Hastags are not case-sensitive so you can use big or small letters. Often, it’s better to use capitals at the beginning of each word to make the hashtag easier to read. Try wrap your brain around #digitalwritersanddesigners. However, this is much clearer #DigitalWritersAndDesigners. It’s also a way to avoid confusion. A real-life example happened recently when Susan Boyle’s social media team put this hashtag out -  #susanalbumparty. How less embarrassing it would have been for Susan Boyle if they had used #SusanAlbumParty.
3. You can use numbers, but you cannot use any other symbol in a hashtag.
4. Encourage your most loyal customers to use your product hashtags as much as possible when they are online.

It’s always best to use a professional digital marketing agency when you decide to take your business onto social media. Read more about the different platforms and how they can put you where your target audience is.

At The Digital Alliance, we know how to make hashtags work for your brand. We can help you reap the benefits of using them correctly on social media. Contact us for all your digital marketing needs.