How To Use Hashtags Effectively On Social Media

The present scenario depicts that audiences are much more involved with a social media platform. And, promoting a brand on such a platform is a promising strategy to gain customers, increase leads and generate revenues.
But, simply posting a picture or uploading a video is not enough for social media. You need to drive in views, shares, and likes. This is where the use of hashtag in social media is a major hack. It helps to make your content discoverable based on the interested audience.
At first, hashtags were used on Twitter, but later on, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok also implemented this strategic tool. You just cannot put any phrase or keyword as a hashtag, but it has to be a proper targeting word. And, it must have the capability to increase social impact.
There is no investment in creating a hashtag. You have to research and understand the audience to create engaging hashtags. It would increase your followers as well as expand your influencer reach.

What are the different types of hashtags?

Hashtags can be distinguished into three different categories:

 1. Content hashtags

These are related to any content. Usually, this or not is trending or brand-specific. This is the easiest approach to reach new users and proceed towards conversion. Thus, they are not unique but relatable.

 2. Trending hashtags

These are usually based on any popular post, conversation or news. You must be very careful while joining any new trending hashtag. They do have the potential to increase your reach. But, if you join with any negative or controversial hashtag, then it can pull down your brand name. So, always search and get to know in-depth about any trending hashtag.

 3. Branded hashtags

These are brand-specific and created to encourage or support any brand goal. These hashtags are used to encourage the audience to join with the brand, get to know them, and use their service. This does not have any specific demand and can be used on every post brand with a promotion intention.
So, based on the platform you are using, you need to apply the hashtags.

Where do you use a hashtag?

Hashtags are very quite simple. All you have to do is add the hashtag symbol right before the keyword. Now, this keyword should be well researched, which would help the audience to search and interact with your post. This makes it easier for the audience to find interesting topics and join in the brand discussion.

How do you implement a hashtag effectively?

 You do not use any kind of space while using a hashtag. It can include numbers but not symbols, or punctuation must be omitted. Based on your reference, you can put it at the beginning, middle, or at the end of the past.
As soon as you post the hashtag, it will be indexed by the social media network. Thus, people who are not yet informed about your brand can easily find you and contact you.
Social media users place a hashtag in front of any keywords before posting a picture or a video. But, there is a difference when you are trying to engage customers or increase your brand value.
So, now you must be wondering how to use this hashtag for all your social media posts effectively.
Let’s get to know how a hashtag can enhance brand visibility –

1. Keep it short and simple

Hashtags are part of social media strategies, i.e. hashtag social media marketing, that need to be done in the correct way. You can use any number of hashtags, but it generally depends on the platform that you are using. Try to keep it short, creative, and captivating.
Don’t choose hashtags that have become obsolete because no one is going to search for them. Further, this would unnecessarily increase the word count. Detailed research on hashtags and specifically brand-related words helps to increase leads.
Thus, it would bring in better results. This ensures that your content is not lost in the endless content posted every day.

 2. Use valued hashtags

If you are using a valued hashtag, then it would automatically stimulate interaction. Research about your competition and it is very much essential to understand what people are searching for. Thus, they can remember it quite easily. There are innumerable hashtags throughout social media.
But, using a hashtag that is difficult to spell or pronounce won’t be a good idea. Try to skip hashtags that are generic, not clear, or have never been used. Because simply, your efforts will be lost in vain.
Keep something that gives the audience a clear view of what you want to depict. Be it short and precise but relevant. Further, it should be related to your content and your brand. Try to create a trending hashtag as that would help to engage a much larger community.

 3. Identification of trending hashtags

Always try to find the list namely “trending now” for hashtags. This would help you to become a trend on social media platforms. And, then, circulate them through all your posts. This helps the audience to understand that you are updated about the latest changes.
Your hashtag can be related to any major news happening worldwide or simply related to your business. This helps to boost the target audience. And, not just your fans or followers are going to see your update, but a large scale audience.
But, before you add any hashtag, ensure that it is going to add value to your brand. Simply do not use any trending hashtag because it is getting popular. It would help if you filtered out the genuine and relatable hashtags. List out the hashtags that would be suitable for your company goal, and subsequently, plan for the campaigns.

 4. Employ hashtags with relevancy

Using more hashtags won’t fetch your more exposure for the brand. But, instead, it would lead to reducing the engagement. Based on the social baker study, it has been found that if you are using 10+ hashtags, it can reduce engagement by 68.2%.
Different social media platforms have different requirements. Suppose you are using Twitter, then try to avoid more than two hashtags for a tweet. Moreover, there are also character count restrictions. For Facebook, try to use not more than 2 hashtags – one can be a popular keyword, and the other should be relatable to your brand.
Instagram allows 30 hashtags but tries to keep it to 9 but with better results. For Linkedin, there is no barrier. But, often, if you exceed 5 hashtags, the algorithm marks the post spam. For Tik Tok, you can use 4 to 5 hashtags. However, for Pinterest, it is enough if you are using 2 hashtags.

 5. Research hashtags

Always try to portray a positive view of your brand. Ensure that the hashtag does not interpret any negative remarks or used for any incorrect means. So, you need to research the hashtag well to create an online conversion and spike in sales.
Always stay away from controversial hashtags, as they can bring negative implications for any brand. There are analytical tools that can help you to determine whether the hashtag would be profitable or not.

 6. Brand engagement

Using the correct hashtag will drive new viewers, which will allow increasing engagement. It will also expand your reach to target users and increase trust and comfort for your brand. The more the user interacts with you on social media, the more it will improve customer relationships.
Hashtags are important for conversion. However, you do not need to include them in a reply or comment. Consistency would help to maintain engagement growth. However, it is indeed challenging to post on social media platforms consistently.
And, this is where you need advertising and digital marketing agencies to craft the use of hashtag in social media calendars for you. Thus, it becomes easier to post content without any backlogs.

 7. Maintain the tone of the hashtag

When you are creating a brand image using a hashtag, you must maintain the tone. A well-designed keyword or phrase ensures that the followers are comfortable with your pitch.
It can be pretty time-consuming, but if you are trying to create a relationship with the customers that would be reciprocating, then using the right hashtag is necessary.
The word should be related to the post or brand image. Do not put in something that is misleading or only meant for generating an audience. Because this usually has a very negative impact on the brand image.

Conclusions 

Hashtags are meant for brand exploration. You are not trying to help the audience to get to the post, but hashtags will automatically drive in views. Further, it will pull in an audience who can relate to the post. Always try to avoid bad or broken hashtags.
Additionally, all your posts should follow the guidelines and thus, avoid the chances of being reported by any user. Do not post any inappropriate content. With Meraqi Digital you can find key takeaways for hashtags to make your brand easy to access and searchable.

What is hashtag?

It is a pound # symbol that you can find on your keyboard. And, the first time it was used was in 2007 by Chris Messina. This tool took the shape of web marketing on Twitter. It was created to group people or segregate them based on certain words or key phrases. At present, it has been outreached by other social media platforms too. And, has been quite effective in terms of conversion rate.

Why should you use a hashtag?

The hashtag helps to engage more followers, which leads to conversion. It creates brand awareness along with trust. Further, it also generates engagement, such as share, like, and comment. Hashtags help to connect to any social issue or to mobilize any cause. A branded hashtag helps to connect to any social issue. And, it forms a concept of – what the brand is about. Popular hashtags help to find a target audience and gain new followers.

What are the most popular hashtags of 2022?

The most popular hashtags 2022 are – #Love, #instagood, #fashion, #photooftheday, #beautiful, #art, #photography, #happy, #travel, #follow, #smile, #likeforlike, #followforfollow, #sunset, #motivation, #nofilter, and the list continues.

Can hashtags help to increase followers?

No, hashtags do not affect your followers, at least not directly. But, it will definitely help to increase your reach by increasing your post visibility. A trending hashtag will make it visible to a specific category of the audience, who can then choose to follow you.

How to understand if a hashtag is working?

There are many social media tools and software that can help you to monitor your hashtag. This will also help you analyze the data of profile visitors and engagement creation. Thus, you can modify the post accordingly or plan a campaign.

Is hashtag a part of social media marketing?

Yes, hashtags are part of social media marketing, and it is added at the end of any post or caption. There is no space in between the phrases or words. Multiple hashtags can be used to keep the readability good. Now, you can use numbers within hashtags, but not any kind of symbols. Basically, it filters out the posts based on the contents. And, that helps to gain potential customers.

How can you use a hashtag without disturbing anyone?

Here is your beginners’ tip:

• It would help if you used a hashtag that has proper etiquette. 
• It should fit your brand goal. Create promotions hashtags. 
• The words or key phrases used should be short and easy to remember. 
• Try not to capitalize the first letter of hashtags. 
• Don’t get carried away with just every trending hashtag. 
• Always use hashtags in a Twitter chat.

Why do influencers consistently implement hashtags?

Hashtags make it easier to promote any product or service for a brand. Because it allows the algorithm for social networks to divide the content or arrange the post based on the target audience. Further, Hashtags can be used specifically based on area, city, searches, convenience, likes, etc.