The Truth About Hashtags

By: Caryn Terradas

Are you confused about hashtags? Do you want to know when and where to use them and where to find the best ones? Once upon a time, hashtags were only used on Twitter. Now, they are used on almost every social media platform. We are here to help you navigate the changing world of hashtags and how you can use them to your advantage!?

LinkedIn

LinkedIn?recommends that you only use three hashtags per post. If you don’t assign hashtags to your posts on LinkedIn, they will assign them to you. They want your posts to be found, but it is better if you apply your hashtags.?

You can follow hashtags on LinkedIn. When someone posts something and uses a hashtag you are following, it will show up in your feed. This is great for keeping up with trends in your industry or topics you are interested in.?

Instagram

According to?later.com,?Instagram?has recently advised creators to only use between three and five hashtags. We are currently testing this theory out on our own Instagram account. In the past, we have always used around ten hashtags, but we will have a better understanding of the data and analytics at the end of this month. The hashtags you choose should be relevant to your location, industry, and the current season. All of your hashtags need to be placed in your caption rather than the comments. Instagram does not recognize hashtags when they are in the comments of posts.?

Twitter

Twitter?suggests one or two hashtags per post. Just like other platforms, you can show up in searches for every hashtag that you use. You should pick through Twitter to see what your competitors are doing to make their posts found by hashtags.?

Facebook

According to?Hootsuite, two to three hashtags are ideal on?Facebook. We suggest that you do not use more than two or three hashtags on your Facebook posts. People on Facebook don’t tend to search hashtags because the age demographic is older than most other platforms. Facebook users are more likely to do a keyword search or search for a business than they are to search for a hashtag.?

YouTube?

You can use hashtags on?YouTube, and the optimal number is five. You can place your hashtags in the title or description of each YouTube post. Before you post, you can click on the hyperlink hashtag to see what other videos are posted under that hashtag. This helps you determine if the hashtag is the right choice for your video. It is better to focus on tags in your description than it is to focus on hashtags. These are what Google and YouTube use to find you when people search words and terms.?

Pinterest?

Pinterest?recommends that creators use two to five hashtags on each pin. We recommend that users don’t use more than ten hashtags on a post. You should include hashtags in your description of original posts and repinned posts. People can search keywords and hashtags on Pinterest, so it is important to use both. You can also follow hashtags on Pinterest if you are interested in seeing posts about a certain trend, industry, or topic.?

TikTok

TikTok?suggests that creators use three to five hashtags on each video they post. You can use a combination of niche and trending hashtags to have the most effective hashtag usage. TikTok is a very intuitive app that understands what its users want to see. If you post a video that has #breakfastrestaurant, and someone searches “breakfast”, TikTok will still show your video under their search. Unlike some platforms, it can pick up individual words and phrases in a hashtag.?

Twitter and Instagram as Resources

Twitter and Instagram are the best places to research hashtags being used on Twitter and Instagram. If you want to find out if your hashtag works on Instagram, search for that hashtag on the platform. If it has only been used 20 times, people probably aren’t searching for it and it’s not the best idea to use it. If it has been used 20 million times, it is being used too much. If you used it you would just get lost in all of the posts. You need a combination of some hashtags that are large and some that are small.?

Branded Hashtags?

It is important to choose a couple of hashtags that are unique to your business. These can include things like your name or your business name. It doesn’t matter how many times these hashtags are used because you know that they are unique to you.?

TweetDeck

TweetDeck?is a free Twitter management tool that includes a hashtag research feature. It is very specific to Twitter research, but it is effective and helpful if you frequently post on Twitter.?

SocialBee

SocialBee?is a hashtag generation that provides the best hashtags for each social media platform. It is based specifically on the content that you normally post. It is not free, but there is a 14-day free trial. If needed, you can sign up to get the information you need and then cancel your subscription.?

Hashtagify

Hashtagify.me shows suggestions and hashtag popularity for each platform. It tells you how often the hashtag is being used and where it is being used. It only works for Twitter and Instagram, but it is the most advanced for those two platforms. It comes with several different plans that you can choose from depending on your hashtag usage and the research volume. We have always used the free version and have never had an issue.?

RiteTag

RiteTag?is another hashtag research tool. It gives you suggestions based on the photo that you insert. It is free, but you can pay up to $4 per month.?

MetriCool?

MetriCool?is a hashtag research tool that is excellent, but you need to pay to get the most out of it. They do have a free version, but you won’t get the most out of the tool. They make it easy to choose the right hashtags inside the scheduler so you don’t have to constantly look for them. It can help you find exactly what you’re looking for on each platform. Hashtag research is a premium feature and will cost around $12 per month.?

ChatGPT

You have probably heard of all the incredible features that?ChatGPT?has to offer. It can do hashtag research for you. You just have to ask it the right questions and correct it if it is wrong. If you have not had the opportunity to check out ChatGPT, it is definitely with your time. It will soon revolutionize the way that we use the internet, and many people still do not know that it exists.?

Navigating the World of Hashtags

Hashtags are an essential tool in today’s social media landscape, but it’s important to know how to use them effectively. The number of hashtags, where to place them, and which ones to use vary depending on the platform. It’s important to use relevant hashtags that help your content reach the right audience. Additionally, using branded hashtags unique to your business can help you build brand awareness. Finally, there are various hashtag research tools like TweetDeck, SocialBee, Hashtagify, RiteTag, and MetriCool that can help you find the right hashtags for your content. By following these guidelines, you can maximize the reach of your social media posts and get the most out of hashtags.