Even if you’ve never used one before, you’ve seen hashtags on social media. They’re the words in a post, each beginning with the # sign. They help people that see a Tweet, Instagram post, or Pinterest image to search out more content related to that word or phrase.
While it’s simple enough to feature hashtags in your content, it needs a lot of research and time to do it well. During this article, we’ll outline the benefits of using hashtags to draw in new followers and – of course – increase your profits
What is a Hashtag?
Let’s begin with the fundamentals. A hashtag may be a word or phrase that follows the # sign on social media. The goal of a hashtag in its simplest form is for people that have an interest in your business and content to search for you.
Hashtags are big business. There are Community hashtags that will happen week in week out and year after year. For instance, #ThrowbackThursday (or #TBT) is a hashtag that has been making the rounds for over a decade. In fact, #ThrowbackThursday was started by Sports Illustrated all the way back in 2006!
Hashtags can also be associated with topics or events. For instance, if you’re somebody who owns a landscaping business, you would possibly follow these hashtags:
- #Landscaping
- #Lawn
- #Lawncare
- #PropertyMaintenance
- #GroundsMaintenance
We additionally saw examples of lawn care and landscaping companies jumping on community hashtags like #SpringAhead as spring is when plenty of people get the urge to sort our gardens in time for summer BBQs and games.
Tips for Finding Relevant Hashtags
One of the top benefits of using hashtags is selecting the correct hashtags to reach your target market. It may be tempting to throw 10 hashtags onto each post, however you’ll do better with well-researched hashtags that are relevant to your business.
Let’s begin with Twitter. When you log into your Twitter account, you’ll see, to the right of your feed, the Trending Topics. This is where you can see what is trending in your area but you can also use the search bar to search for terms that may be relevant to your business.
There are some tools you'll be able to use to analysis hashtags additionally. These include:
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| A free tool that use can use to find hashtags for Twitter and Instagram | Allows you to manage your social media and helps you find hashtags that are relevant to your business with its ‘Streams’ feature | Is free to use and can help find trending topics that you can use in your business Tweets and Instagram posts |
We suggest setting time aside to research hashtags. If you discover somebody that you think may be a decent business association that has used a relevant hashtag, follow them. You will be able to connect with them during a means that helps each of you.
Tips for Using Hashtags
What should you do with the hashtags that turn up in your research? Here are some of the suggestions
- Find people that is also able to assist you market your merchandise. For instance, say you create custom cake toppers, and you notice a local baker posting photos of wedding cakes with the hashtag “CakeTopper. You send them a DM and ask if you'll be able to send them a sample topper and – if they find it irresistible – they'll feature it in one among their posts and use identical hashtag.
- Look for trending hashtags and discover a way to create them relevant to your business. For instance, if there’s a vacation coming, you'll be able to use vacation hashtags to sell your merchandise for gifts or to be used at vacation gatherings.
- Combine hashtags to expand your audience. Maybe you’ve got a brand new service or a brand new product to your lineup. Increasing your hashtag vocabulary will assist you get your social media content ahead of a brand-new audience.
- Create a custom hashtag for your business. We'd advise against using this concept at first. In several cases, making a brand-new hashtag is also the equivalent of screaming into the void. However, you'll be able to come back to it & come up with a unforgettable hashtag that helps you differentiate yourself from competitors!
A word to the wise about using hashtags. A lot of big companies have made huge missteps when trying to capitalize on trending hashtags. An Insider article from 2019 highlighted a list of Instagram influencers who promoted themselves using 9/11 hashtags.
Please do not copy them.
Examples of Effective Hashtag Use
Let’s inspect several examples of effective hashtag use. The first is from Kentucky Fried Chicken, that jumped on the #NationalFriedChickenDay train to market its meals. Though they’re a national chain, any regional store that served fried chicken may do the same. Keep your eye out for relevant tags that are trending across the country and use them to your advantage.
An example of a complete that did a good job of making its own hashtag came from Charmin, who launched the #TweetFromTheSeat campaign. The campaign was helped by the fact that Charmin may be a national brand, however the injection of humour into there social media posts may be a good way to urge individuals to listen to your content.
Finally, let’s inspect a hashtag fail that illustrates why it’s thus vital to analyse any “new” hashtag before you are trying it. Once Burger King launched its new low-fat spud, it used a #WTFF hashtag that was meant to face for “What the French Fry.” What they didn’t understand was that #WTFF was already a hashtag – and people 2 Fs stood for various styles of a word that you will simply take a guess as to what they are.
The takeaway is that hashtag selling is extraordinarily helpful for small businesses if you are doing your analysis, opt for hashtags thoughtfully, and don’t try and shoehorn your content into a hashtag once it isn’t acceptable or relevant.
Now, get out there and begin hashtagging!
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