Did you know that hashtags can help to build more social media than a social media post with none? But what are hashtags and why use them? What is the best business hashtag list to use for your business?
A hashtag (#) is a label attached to a social media post. It’s a way to connect social media posts with a common theme, cause, awareness day, or social issue.
Hashtags are more commonly known for the social media platform Twitter but they are widely used on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest too. On Instagram and LinkedIn, you can also follow a hashtag, so this could mean more people discover your account and what you’re doing. You’re able to use hashtags in Instagram Stories, IGTV and LinkedIn Stories too!
Hashtags can be used for many different reasons including;
- Increasing engagement with your followers,
- Being part of a broader conversation which can lead to increased brand awareness for your brand
- Show support for a social issue or cause
- Add context to your posts
- Allow new people to find your content and social accounts
It’s important not to overload your posts with hashtags and lose your message. The hashtags you use need to make sense in the context of your post and be relevant. There are lots of hashtags to try, which might differ across the social platforms.
The social media platforms each recommend a different amount of hashtags to use. It all sounds very confusing, doesn’t it?
So where do you start? Have a look at each platform in turn and with a little digging, you can find the hashtags you might want to use and see how much they’re being used already.
Log into your Instagram account, find the search button and then add your hashtag in. You’ll get a results page which looks a little like this.
You’ll need a mixture of broad and niche hashtags to add to your post. Again they all need to be relevant and contextual to your social media post.
From your profile page, find the search box and add your hashtag idea here. You’ll then get a result which shows how many people follow that hashtag on LinkedIn. This can give you an idea of how often it’s used and you can choose to follow this hahstag too using the button.
When you’re logged into your Facebook profile, find the search button and start typing a hashtag you’re interested in. You’ll get a list like the one below with the hashtag and related hashtags in.
You’re then able to pick one and find out how many people are using this. Again, this can give you an indication of how popular your hashtag is.
If you log into your Twitter account and then go to the search function, you can add your hashtag ideas here. You’ll be able to see how often the hashtag has been used in the last hour.
Does this all sound like too much effort? Why don’t you let our Marketing team at Designated look into a social media strategy for you and take care of all your hashtags at the same time!
