Whatever social media platforms you use, knowing how to use hashtags will help boost your brand and increase views. That being said, only using the popular hashtags and saturating it on every post isn’t the right approach.
If you’re unsure about the proper hashtag etiquette, help is here. We’re going to discuss how to best use hashtags, when to use them, and where you can find the optimal hashtags for your type of business.
HASHTAGS 101
The first thing to understand is that hashtags should always be strategic. Using them as a part of your marketing strategy should be the game plan since they can help you get discovered by your target audience. Before we get into how to best use hashtags, let’s talk about some basics:
- Don’t #overuse #hashtags in #every #sentence. A good rule of thumb is that if it isn’t a relevant or a significant word, spare the hashtag.
- #dontmakesuperlonghashtags. Keep your hashtags short and bold. A run-on sentence as a hashtag is not only hard to read, but it won’t benefit you from a marketing standpoint.
- If you are using more than one or two-word hashtags, capitalize the first letter of each new word. #BestWeekendEver is easier to read than #bestweekendever.
- Refrain from broad hashtags. When you use a generic hashtag such as #fun or #school, your hashtag is likely to get lost in the sea of content. Instead, keep it specific and detailed.
- Sometimes less is more. Sure you want to have your own unique and branded content, but you don’t need to push it onto every post. Relatable content is more likely to add value and stimulate a response when not overused.
- Search relevant hashtags from your competitors and influencers. Searching the used hashtags from your competition will help you uncover what content is working with your target audience. Additionally, influencers can help you find out what content is trending and gaining traction with your type of consumers.
HOW TO FIND THE BEST HASHTAGS FOR YOUR BRAND
Find Your Influencers
Influencers are a great source for finding popular and effective hashtags. Influencers are people out on social media that have gained a huge following because they are a trusted source to viewers. These can be celebrities, YouTubers, and famous bloggers. A great online tool to find influencers in your specific industry is Buzzsumo. Buzzsumo helps you find the keywords and content that performs best and identify the best influencers for your type of business.
Other Resources To Find Hashtags
If you are a niche brand or industry, finding the right influencers for your market can be a little tricky. The good news is that there are some great online resources to help you find the most effective and current hashtags. Here are a couple of our favorites:
Hashtagify.me helps you find the most optimal hashtags for Twitter and Instagram. You have the ability to search your own hashtags and see how they rank in terms of popularity or search out suggested hashtags to use for your brand.
Ritetag works by giving you instant hashtag suggestions for any image or text based on real-time engagement. You can download Ritetag and easily integrate hashtag suggestions from where you manage your social profiles.
HOW MANY HASHTAGS TO USE
There is no one size fits all strategy when it comes to hashtags, so the number of hashtags should be dependent on the platform. Below is a general guide to follow:
Twitter: 1-2 Hashtags
The best formula for each tweet is up to 2 hashtags to help increase your overall reach. When you use 1-2 specific hashtags you can actually double your engagement and help make your posts more accessible when people are searching for your tag. However, using more than that can decrease your engagement and make your specific content harder to find.
Facebook: 1-2 Hashtags
Hashtags on Facebook have now become searchable content, which helps your posts gain visibility, attract new followers, and increase your overall reach. The best formulas to follow with your Facebook hashtags is to only use specific and relevant hashtags as they relate to your post.
Instagram: Up to 30 Hashtags
As far as Instagram goes, the more the hashtags, the more engagement. A typical rule of thumb is to use at least 10 hashtags per post, and selecting hashtags based on what’s getting the most views.
Since this is the best platform to use multiple hashtags be sure to do your research first on which hashtags influencers and your competitors are using, as well as which ones get the higher response. Since you can use more hashtags, it’s important to swap out the ones that aren’t performing as well with more relevant ones as you go.
LinkedIn: 1-3 Hashtags
Many people still aren’t aware that hashtags work as searchable content on LinkedIn, much like other social platforms. Plus, the use of hashtags can get your posts in front of people outside of your network, and put related content in front of you. You can actually search industries or groups on LinkedIn by hashtags.
CONCLUSION
When you use hashtags, you’re increasing your reach and engagement. If used correctly, hashtags are one of the most powerful tools to attract followers organically.
It’s important to invest the time discovering the best hashtags for your business and monitor the ones that perform best. You can find useful data regarding the performance of your hashtags within all the social platforms. From there you can view insights into the reach, popularity, interactions, and users around your hashtags.
If you would like more information on how to improve your brand or other ways to optimize your business, contact us directly at https://fusiononemarketing.com/contact-us/