For avid social media followers, the concept of hashtags is a familiar and exciting one. Hashtags are a potent driving force behind social media marketing. They form one of the easiest and powerful tools for brand engagement.
While hashtags made their debut on Twitter back in 2007, they are now used on all social media platforms, which shows the power they hold.
Want to know how to harness the power of hashtags to the maximum. Read on to know how, when, and where you can use them for the best results.
Hashtags began as a web marketing idea by Chris Messina to group Tweets with similar or related content. When you use a hashtag:
- You can connect content on social media to a particular conversation, theme, campaign, event, etc.
- You can identify related topics. On Twitter, you can identify the particular hashtag stream using categories such as Top, Latest, People, Photos, Videos, and more
Some hashtag rules that will keep you trending always on Twitter include:
- Begin your hashtag with # and avoid using symbols, punctuation, or spaces, which renders them ineffective.
- Ensure the content you have hashtagged is open to the public so even non-followers can tag it.
- Use as few words as possible. Too many or too complex words can make them difficult to read and remember.
- Make them relevant so people can relate to them better.
- Too many hashtags can spoil the whole effect. Restrict the hashtags.
You can use hashtags for a lot of things. Some of the main ones are listed below.
Boost Engagement
When you include hashtags in your posts, you are including yourself in an ongoing conversation. This will help:
- In making your posts visible in the related conversation
- Increase your brand’s engagement with likes, comments, shares, etc.
Enhance Your Brand Value
Including your brand name in the hashtag is a powerful business promotion idea. It can improve brand value and power conversation.
Increase Your Brand Visibility
Your target customers will easily find you when you use popular or trending hashtags. For instance, using a hashtag like #gogreen can attract users who follow it and increase your Twitter followers. Find out the popular ones for Twitter.
The popularity differs based on the platform you use. For instance, #beautiful, #food, #photooftheday trend on Instagram, it is #leadership, #workfromhome, etc., for LinkedIn. You can use sites such as Task Ant for generating the best hashtags.
Here are some essential hashtag tips to remember to make them effective:
1. Any part of a Tweet can be used to add the hashtag.
- If you add them in the beginning, it helps to stress the theme.
- Ending with a hashtag helps to add context.
- Including them in the middle helps to highlight a specific keyword.
- You can also include them in Retweets and your bio.
2. There are no limits to the number of hashtags you can use, but two is the recommended limit on Twitter.
3. Before you create a hashtag, research the content and ensure it is not already in use.
4. Find out what influencers are using on Twitter. Use tools like Twitalyzer to help identify the hashtags relevant to your brand or product. Use popular competitor names and brands to identify the common and popular ones.
5. Make sure the ones you have identified are relevant to your purpose.
6. Look at the volume and popularity to ensure the chosen hashtag is appropriate. Tools like ‘Hashtagify.me’ help to identify the ones that have the most potent effect.
7. Twitter Chats
These are Q&A sessions that are organized live on a particular conversation or topic. Also called Tweet chats, these sessions occur at a preset time using a prearrangedhashtag. These sessions serve as a powerful tool to create interest and build a big following for your brand. With a Twitter chat, you can:
- Promote your brand
- Receive instant feedback on your product
- Interact, follow, retweet, etc, ensuring your followers become advocates of your brand
Final Takeaway
To expand the visibility of your Tweet to not just your follower but to any person interested in the content, a hashtag is the best tool. Hashtags have turned into a vital part of Tweets as they are excellent for organizing and sorting out tweets.
You can easily make your content relevant and draw the attention of your target audience with the smart use of hashtags. By following the tips mentioned above, you can turn your tweets into potent tools that drive an insane amount of traffic and user engagement.
