How to Use Hashtags to Boost Engagement

 In General

Even though hashtags were once created for Twitter and have only been around since 2007, they’ve become a key element in creating social media posts. They’ve also gone far beyond Twitter, being integrated into several social media platforms.

Hashtags can increase brand awareness and boost engagement since they are designed to bring similar posts together into one place. This allows brands to get their posts seen by a larger audience.

The way you use hashtags can affect the performance of your post. The words you use, how many you use, etc. can all play a role in how effective the post is in reaching your target audience. But if you want to know how to use hashtags successfully, read on.

Tips For Choosing the Right Hashtags For Your Post

There are a few different ways to determine what hashtags to use in your content. You can use daily hashtags, search for trending hashtags, and/or create branded hashtags.

Daily hashtags may consist of things like #MotivationMonday, #TechTuesday, #WednesdayWisdom, #ThrowbackThursday, or #FridayFun for example. You can find more daily hashtag suggestions here.

There are several ways to search for top hashtags to share. You can visit individual social media platforms. On Twitter, you can go to the “explore” tab and search under “trending” to see what’s currently being tweeted about. You can also go to the search bar of many social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, then type in a hashtag, it will show you some suggested hashtags that go along with the one you typed in. LinkedIn offers another cool tool as well, when you type in a post it will provide you with suggested hashtags that you can add to your text.

Hashtag generators can also be helpful in identifying ones you can use in your content. All Hashtag, for example, allows you to see several of the top hashtags. They also have an option for you to type in a keyword and generate hashtags that are similar to what you typed in. In addition, there is an analytics tool, which can help you determine how effective certain hashtags are. Keep in mind, tracking the effectiveness of hashtags is a powerful tool in helping you determine which ones are working for you. Many social media scheduling platforms allow you to do this.

RiteTag is another useful tool for Twitter and Instagram. You can find out what hashtags are trending and get hashtag suggestions. When you put in the content you plan to post, it can generate suggested hashtags for you to use with the post.

A fair warning, when using any hashtag in your content, be sure you know what it means. Sometimes hashtags will have a different meaning than you may assume. Check out what comes up when you search the hashtag if you’re unfamiliar with it.

Branded hashtags are another option that you can utilize that can bring more awareness to your business by motivating others to use the said hashtag. You can create hashtags specific for your brand, an event you’re planning, or a campaign.

The Recommended Number of Hashtags to Use Per Post

The number of hashtags you use can be just as important as which hashtags you use. For example, if you use two hashtags on Twitter, it could literally increase your engagement by double. However, if you use more than the suggested amount, it could end up lowering your engagement.

What is the recommended number of hashtags? It really depends on the platform.

  • On Facebook and Twitter the recommended amount falls between 1-2 hashtags.
  • On Pinterest, anywhere from 0-5 is recommended.
  • On LinkedIn, 1-3 is typically recommended.
  • On Instagram, the recommendation is 5-30 hashtags.

As you can see, each platform is different. It’s important to keep this in mind when creating your content and choosing how many hashtags to include.

Hashtags can be a powerful tool when used correctly. They’re just one way to help increase the effectiveness of your social media presence. If you’d like additional assistance with social media management or building a content strategy, reach out to us at Headline Consultants. We’re here to meet all of your content marketing needs.  

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