When it comes to promoting your brand on social media, hashtags are a great way to increase engagement and drive brand awareness. Also known as the pound sign (#), the hashtag is very effective in making your content discoverable to a captive audience.
Hashtags were first widely used on Twitter (now X), but they have become commonplace on other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or ‘tags’ on newcomer Threads. On many, hashtags now act as a search engine for users to find information and ask questions.
Mastering the hashtag gives you a powerful way to engage your audience and increase your social impact at no cost other than the time it takes to do some research and pay attention to trends.
Used correctly, hashtags give context to your social posts, help people interested in your topic find your brand and help expand your influence and followers.
Hashtags are everywhere these days. On Instagram, Twitter Facebook LinkedIn – you name the social platform, and there’s a good chance it utilizes hashtags in some form or another. But not everyone is using hashtags effectively or taking full advantage of their benefits.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about getting the most out of hashtags in 2024. Whether you’re a social media manager, small business owner, or personal brand just starting out, using hashtags the right way can help you expand your reach, boost engagement, and grow your following.
What Are Hashtags & How Do They Work?
Let’s start with the basics What even is a hashtag?
A hashtag is any word or phrase preceded by the pound symbol (#). For example:
- #socialmedia
- #smallbusiness
- #foodie
Hashtags originated on Twitter as a way to group and categorize Tweets by topic. So users could search for or click on a hashtag to see all Tweets about that subject in one place.
Today, hashtags serve a similar purpose across most social platforms They let users group content and track conversations by keyword or theme
Some key things to know about how hashtags work:
- Hashtags turn topics into clickable links that showcase all posts using that hashtag.
- Clicking a hashtag takes you to a page showing curated content with that tag.
- Users can search for specific hashtags to find posts about certain subjects.
- Social media algorithms track hashtag performance and may display trending topics.
- You can follow hashtags you’re interested in to see relevant content in your feed.
So in essence, hashtags act like shortcuts to content people care about. When used strategically, they help users find your content and engage with your brand.
Why Should You Use Hashtags?
Now that you know what hashtags are, let’s explore some of the key reasons businesses and marketers should be utilizing them:
Increase Discovery of Your Content
One of the biggest benefits of hashtags is increased visibility. Including relevant hashtags makes your content more discoverable in social searches and feeds.
For example, someone searching for #dogsofinstagram on Instagram is going to discover your profile if you tag your cute pup pics accordingly. Hashtags help connect your content with users who have shared interests and are looking for certain types of posts.
Join Larger Conversations
Hashtags allow you to participate in larger conversations, even if people aren’t yet following your brand. A user who searches a hashtag like #smallbusiness or clicks it from another post can still see your related content.
This gives you exposure to new audiences already interested in your industry or niche. An easy way to get discovered by potential new followers.
Increase Engagement
When people find your posts through hashtags, they’re likely to engage with it if the content resonates. This helps boost metrics like shares, likes, and comments.
Having relevant hashtags improves the chances of people engaging with your post since it clearly aligns with their interests or intent when searching/clicking those tags.
Build Brand Awareness
Using branded hashtags (like #JustDoIt for Nike) across social channels helps build awareness of your business. It gives you a unique hashtag followers can rally behind and helps associate certain keywords with your brand.
Identify Influencers & Advocates
Pay attention to who is using and engaging with your branded hashtags. These are influencers and brand advocates you may want to build relationships with. Analyzing hashtag usage helps you identify potential partners.
Gather Market Research Insights
Keep an eye on which hashtags perform best and result in the highest engagement. This can provide valuable insights into your audience and their interests that inform content strategy.
How to Find the Best Hashtags to Use
Getting value from hashtags requires finding and using the right ones for your brand and audience. Here are some tips on researching and selecting effective hashtags:
Use Relevant Industry-Related Hashtags
Start with industry hashtags like #socialmediamarketing or #contentmarketing to participate in broader conversations and engage users interested in those topics.
Include Popular Hashtags Being Used by Your Audience
Search through posts and profiles similar to yours and make note of which hashtags they’re using frequently. These likely resonate with your target audience.
Identify Trending Hashtags with Social Listening Tools
Tools like Hootsuite allow you to identify hashtags gaining traction. Quickly latch onto trending conversations when appropriate.
Leverage Viral Challenges or Memes
If a new viral meme or challenge hashtag aligns with your brand, don’t be afraid to jump on it! This helps you capitalize on trends and engage new audiences.
Research Related Keywords and Tags
Use a hashtag research tool like RiteTag to find related terms you may not have thought of. Great for discovering niche hashtags to complement the usual ones.
Create Your Own Branded Hashtag
Come up with a unique hashtag centered around your business name, slogan, or upcoming campaign. Get creative and have fun with it!
Check Performance Data and Iterate
Pay attention to engagement rates on your hashtagged posts using social analytics. Double down on the hashtags delivering results.
How Many Hashtags Should You Use?
A common hashtag question is “how many should I use?” The answer depends on the platform. Here are some best practices:
- Twitter: 1-2 hashtags max.
- Instagram: 5-10 hashtags (not all in caption).
- Facebook: 1-3 hashtags.
- LinkedIn: 2-5 hashtags.
- YouTube: 3-5 hashtags in description.
In general, you want to avoid using too many on a single post as it will look spammy. Start on the lower end and increase if you find it helps drive engagement.
Pro tip: Use a social media management platform like Hootsuite to easily add default hashtags to all posts in bulk.
What Are the Different Types of Hashtags to Use?
There are a few main categories of hashtags to incorporate into your social media strategy:
Industry / Niche
These are hashtags broadly associated with your business category, industry, or specialty. Like #socialmedia, #marketing, #foodblogger. Helps attract an audience interested in that niche.
Brand
Branded hashtags unique to your company help build awareness and identity. Ex: #JustDoIt, #LikeAGirl, #ShareACoke. Come up with something creative!
Campaign / Product
Hashtags tied to a specific campaign or product launch keep things unified. #ThinkDifferent for Apple. Use across platforms and marketing.
Trending
Jumping on trends and viral hashtags related to your brand when appropriate. Like #TBT or #ThrowbackThursday. Capitalize on what’s hot.
Community
Foster a community with hashtags centered around things like events, causes, fans, ambassadors. Ex: #HootsuiteLife
Geographic
Hashtags based on locations, cities, or regions help attract local audiences. #NYC, #Paris, #EastCoast.
Mixing and matching these hashtag types is key for maximizing reach and engagement.
Should You Put Hashtags in Captions or Comments?
Where should you place hashtags for optimal visibility? Here are some placement tips:
Put 5-10 hashtags in the first comment to keep captions clean. The comment will be visible right under your post.
Hashtags can go anywhere within the 280 characters — beginning, middle, or end. Put important ones at the start.
Include 1-2 hashtags in your actual Facebook post caption as it increases visibility.
YouTube
Add several relevant hashtags in the video description for discoverability.
Sprinkle 1-2 hashtags contextually within your update text to boost engagement.
The goal is to ensure your hashtags are visible, but not overcrowding your primary caption or content. Aim for visibility, but don’t go overboard.
Pro Tips for Using Hashtags Effectively
Here are some key tips to ensure you’re using hashtags in the most effective way possible:
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Don’t use spaces or special characters — hashtags don’t work with spaces or punctuation.
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Place them at the end of captions — keeps your copy clean and scannable.
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Use relevant tags — don’t force it if the hashtag truly doesn’t relate to your content.
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Mix niche and trending tags — find the right balance for optimal reach.
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Create branded hashtags — increases awareness and gives followers something to rally behind.
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Be consistent — integrate into strategy across platforms for maximum impact.
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Analyze performance — see which hashtags drive the most engagement and lean into those.
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Use a social media manager — easily add hashtags in bulk to save time.
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Be authentic — jump on trends spar
How to Use Hashtags on Pinterest
Hashtags are a great way to help people find your content based on keywords on Pinterest and group them into categories.
Over the past few years, Pinterest seems to have reduced the importance of hashtags – mainly because spammers were using hashtags to get to the top of feeds as posts with hashtags were once put in chronological order. Plus, hashtags no longer seem to be clickable.
But hashtags still have a place on the platform. The key is to use specific and relevant hashtags that describe the content in the pin. This will help your content get found particularly if you use Pinterest for Business.
The below is an example of the Pins that came up for the hashtag #digitalmarketing.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these 3 inspirational Pinterest campaigns.
What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is a word or keyword phrase preceded by a hash symbol (#). It’s used within a post on social media to help those who may be interested in your topic to be able to find it when they search for a keyword or particular hashtag. It helps to draw attention to your posts and encourage interaction.
For example, if you’re a local deli or store, you could use #sandwich or #foodie when you post a photo of that lunch you really liked!
What are Hashtags? How to use Hashtags
How do I use hashtags effectively?
The key to using hashtags effectively is to make sure they are relevant to the content of your post. For example, if you’re posting a picture of your new puppy, using hashtags like #puppylove or #newpuppy would be appropriate. On the other hand, using hashtags like #fashion or #food would not be relevant.
How can hashtags boost your social media presence?
Hashtags have become a powerful tool in the world of social media, allowing users to categorize and discover content with ease. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn the ins and outs of using hashtags effectively to boost your social media presence and increase engagement.
Why do people use hashtags?
Users had limited control over what content they saw and were frustrated by too many uninteresting or irrelevant posts. Hashtags were invented to help bring order to the social media user experience. Hashtags group together similar conversations to help people find content that matters to them.
Should you use hashtags on social media?
If you use social media to market your brand, you should use hashtags. But using hashtags effectively is more than just making #ThrowbackThursday posts on Instagram. This post breaks down the basics of how to use hashtags effectively on social media and why you should use them.
