From Meta, to TikTok, to X, to Pinterest, hashtags are everywhere, and when utilized correctly, can bring a slew of advantages to your brand. Whether you’re looking to raise brand awareness, target a specific set of people, improve SEO, or capitalize on popular trends and content matter, here are a few tips to use hashtags tactically to optimize your brand's social media presence:
1. Boost Organic Reach Through Your Posts.
Instagram's new algorithm has made it far more difficult for users to increase the organic reach of their posts. When you factor in the increasing number of Instagram users, it's nearly impossible to sift through the clutter. The best weapon in your social media armory is hashtags! Keep in mind that using hashtags excessively on Instagram can lead to a shadow ban. In short, your posts won’t show up in related searches, even though your hashtags are correct. To avoid this, you want to:
Use relevant hashtags that connect you to your audience.
Pinpoint your hashtags. #SuperbowlLVI is vastly superior to just #football
Keep an eye on what others are doing. Check out what competing brands/organizations are using, as well as what hashtags your followers are using, and borrow the most effective ones.
2. Create Brand Specific Hashtags.
This is, without a doubt, the most crucial thing you can do for your campaign. Branded hashtags, as the name implies, include the name of your company. They could, however, include your company's tagline, the name of a specific product, or the name of one of your campaigns. There are two major advantages of using this style of hashtags.
The first is the ability to track the effectiveness of your campaign by focusing solely on your branded hashtags.
User-generated content (UGC) is the second. When someone uses one of your branded hashtags in one of their posts, it boosts your social media exposure.
3. Utilize Trending Hashtags And Topics.
Joining current trends can significantly benefit your marketing efforts, since they engage with a substantially larger audience. To do this, you can:
Wait until a topic relevant to your niche gets popular before applying the appropriate tags. While this will put you in front of the correct people, your niche may not always be the source of many trends.
Or use hashtags which aren’t closely related to your brand. For example, you can use this strategy during holidays because, regardless of your industry, it will be easier for your company to capitalize on holiday trends and themes.
4. Don’t Overuse Hashtags.
Did you know that each social media platform has its own checks and balances when it comes to hashtag frequency and crossing this line could lead to a reduction in engagement? According to the Social Baker study, employing more than 10 hashtags reduces interaction by 68.2%. Here’s how to avoid this:
Twitter- Avoid using more than 2 hashtags because of character count restrictions.
Facebook- 2 hashtags; one popular and one tailored to your brand.
Instagram- The platform allows up to 30; but keep it to 9 per post for better engagement.
LinkedIn- There is no limit but it’s recommended to limit it to a maximum of hashtags or you will be marked as spam posts by the LinkedIn algorithm.
Pinterest- 2 hashtags.
TikTok- 4-5 hashtags to boost reach.
5. Search For Best Performing Hashtags.
Make sure your hashtag isn't being used for the incorrect cause on the appropriate social media platform. Also, make sure you don't use a hashtag that could be construed negatively, or that another brand uses it to promote themselves.
When hashtags are used effectively, they can help generate online engagement, raise brand awareness, and eventually improve sales if that is your goal. So, when deciding on the ideal hashtags, keep your target audience in mind.
You can also use the platform's analytics tools to determine which hashtags worked the best for you and which ones didn’t.
Utilizing hashtags to grow your brand is an incredible resource, and not taking advantage of it may be hurting your organization and growth. As long as your hashtags are being used correctly on social media your brand will flourish. If we can help in any way - either strategically or tactically - reach out to us today at info@heardstrategy.com
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