Hashtags for Social Media: What’s the deal and why are they important?
What are hashtags?
They are the little pound or hash (#) symbol used before a keyword or phrase on social media to help categorise and organise content. They are used without any spaces or special characters (which makes it hard to read or understand very long hashtags sometimes… but more on best practices later!).
Discoverability
Get your content discovered on social media by utilising hashtags - it makes it easier for users interested in your topic to find you. When users click on a hashtag, it exposes them to similar and relevant content.
Visibility
Increase the visibility of your content beyond just increasing your number of followers. When people search or follow a specific hashtag, your post can appear in their feed, even if they don't follow your account.
Trending
Twitter and Instagram have trending topics, showcasing popular conversations on social media. Joining these conversations and using relevant hashtags can help your content gain exposure and engage with a wider audience.
Unique
Use your own brand name or campaign name as a hashtag - or create something clever and funny to promote your brand or service on social media. Create a hashtag for events, causes or products and encourage people to use it when posting to their own accounts - and you’ll end up with a bank of user-generated content (UGC) that you’ll be able to re-purpose. This is key in creating an online community for your brand or product.
Analyse
Track or analyse the performance of a specific hashtag. By creating and using a unique hashtag, you’ll gauge the engagement on a particular hashtag.
Best practices
Before you go nuts on pimping your post with hashtags, do note there is an etiquette and best practice to using them. You don’t want to seem spammy or repetitive, so stick to using a bank of 5-10 hashtags that are relevant to your topic or post. Use hashtags that are popular or in your niche to engage the right audience and increase engagement.
