Hashtags are a fundamental part of any social media marketing strategy. Whenever a user adds a ‘#hashtag’ to their post, it can be indexed by the social network and are hunted by other users. Once someone clicks on that hashtag it will be brought to a page that combines entire posts with the same #hashtags, in real-time.
Why are #hashtags essential?
#Hashtags make your own content discoverable and allow you to find relevant content from other people and businesses. When done right, making use of hashtags in social media can be necessary to generate exposure. Indeed, ‘#hashtags’ assist you to increase engagement on Twitter and Instagram.
A hashtag can raise awareness, getting your content seen by more people than just the followers, as well as increase your social shares. Majority of SEO companies in India, incorporate #hastags into their social content, which helps them to get to the audience engagement when it comes to social platforms, based on a common theme or interest.
Here you can find five appropriate ways to use hashtags in social media marketing.
- Keep it simple and relevant:
While choosing a hashtag, it is vital to ensure that you pick something that people are searching for and can easily remember. There are a number of hashtags scattered in the social media universe. Making use of a hashtag, which is long and difficult to spell or pronounce, will most likely not give you a good result. Therefore, your hashtag must be simple, short, precise and easy to pronounce. It must give your audience a clear idea about the topic of the conversation.
The hashtag helps to categorize your content and allows people to follow a trend and even helps you to engage with a community. One should use a #hashtag which is relevant to your content and company, and also simple to use.
- Use trending #hashtags:
A #hashtag that is trending is a hashtag topic which has become very popular. Trending hashtags are continuously changing as per the latest trend. Over and over, hashtags are centered on the major news topics of the world. Whenever you find a trend that relates to your business, utilize it with the tag; resulting in your updates being found by more and more people, and not just your followers.
Furthermore, a trending hashtag is a great way to increase a brand’s visibility. Prior to using a hashtag in your social media post, ensure it adds value to your existing conversation.
- Utilize hashtag on multiple social media marketing platforms:
#Hashtags may have begun on Twitter, but now all social media platforms support it except for LinkedIn. Hashtags provide your brand more exposure so that you can reach up to a massive audience. Moreover, people easily remember your hashtag, when you use it multiple times on various channels like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.
- Search the hashtag before you use it:
Check each of the social media networks to ensure that your hashtag is not being misused. Besides, confirm that you do not choose something that can be interpreted in a way you don’t want to. It is worth ensuring that another brand is not using the same #hashtag, particularly for their promotions too. When you use it in the right way, it helps to create online conversations, brand awareness and grow your sales. Do not tweet on a negative hashtag as it may not give you good results.
- Do not use over hashtag:
Ensure to use maximum only two #hashtags for every post. Mentioning a lot more will leave the impression that you are spamming your followers. Generally, you do not wish to use more than two hashtags per post, just with one is the best choice. Furthermore, it will be significant to avoid using them in every single post that you create, as social media users are cautious of their businesses and try very hard to promote themselves. #Do not use generic hashtags and expect people to re-tweet your post.
The given methods can help you use #hashtags appropriately while you do your social media marketing. Nowadays, it is also noticed that people are using a specific and unique #hashtag for better social media engagement with an audience.