Hashtags. They’re everywhere. From Twitter to Instagram, you can’t miss them, and if your business is on social media, you better make sure you don’t.  This little symbol is a powerful tool that you need to be using, but you need to go about it the right way.   


As popular as they are today, it’s hard to imagine that back in 2007, hashtags were a new concept on the Twitter platform, although not a new idea altogether.  The symbol was originally used to organize channels in Internet Relay Chat, created in 1988. Talk about old, that’s the year I was born!  Let’s not dwell on that for too long though.  On a side note, a great “modern” IRC application is Slack, but that’s for another blog post.  

What Are Hashtags?

In short, they’re a way to organize content.  They can boost your campaign, drive traffic to your social media platforms or simply push useful information to the people that will want to read it!  Sounds a lot like inbound marketing, doesn’t it?  That’s because they’re part of great content marketing, and content marketing is a necessary component of inbound!  

When you put a “#” in front of a word or phrase, you’ve got yourself a hashtag.  They can be used in many different ways:   

  • Events or Campaigns:  #NFSD16 or #EPASaferChoice
  • Interests:  #socialmedia or #mondaycoffee
  • Popular :  #WednesdayWisdom or #tbt
  • Twitter Chats:  #LeadWithGiants or #LuxTravelChat
  • Holidays: #PetParentDay or #ArborDay

You can search hashtags and find conversations happening in real time.  On the flip side, they push your content out to people interested in the same topics and helps drive traffic to your business!

Research, research, research!

Because hashtags organize social media content, chances are that a lot of conversations on multiple platforms are using the same text with a pound sign in front of it.  It’s important to research for multiple reasons.  

Once you have a social media campaign ready to launch, the last thing you want is a hashtag that could mean something else entirely.  Even if you think your hashtag is original, look it up!  You don’t want your brand attached to something controversial.

Consider how people could use your hashtag in a negative way.  Your campaign could be a great idea, but we know the internet is a pretty unforgiving place.  Hashtags that were originally meant to promote the positives of a business can backfire to create a trending topic for all the wrong reasons.  A good example of this would be McDonald’s #McDStories campaign. Instead of using the hashtag for heartwarming tales of the fast food chain, it quickly turned into a horror stories archive of experiences at the restaurant.

When using a phrase in a hashtag, capitalize the first letter of each word. Test it out in all lowercase too, making sure that letters don’t spell out something else.  This will further protect your brand from any online embarrassment.

Choosing Your Hashtag

So, how do you go about actually choosing a hashtag?  Here are a few guidelines:

  • Keep it simple.  Shorter is better.  Hashtags that are too complicated or long can be more annoying than helpful, and actually hurt your efforts.  
  • Keep it relevant.  Make sure it goes along with what you’re trying to promote, and stick to one theme!  
  • Keep it memorable.  Something catchy and well thought-out will be beneficial as your campaign takes off.   
  • Use supporting hashtags.  Your phrase reflects your business and campaign goals.  To help push that unique hashtag out in front of viewers, use more broad hashtags with your content to reach potential followers and fans.

Now it’s time to put those hashtags to use, but make sure you’re using them in the right way!  Content on each platform performs differently and adding a hashtag can either boost or decrease engagement, depending where you post.  Take a look at how they perform on each network:

 

  • Facebook:  You really shouldn’t be using hashtags on Facebook. Sad but true.  Posts actually perform better the fewer hashtags you attach to them. Be smart about it and only use them around a campaign or event.
  • Twitter:  This platform was made for hashtag use, so it’s easy to understand why tweets would perform better with them.  When you use hashtags with content on Twitter, tweets receive 2x more engagement.  Don’t go crazy though.  If you use more than 2, engagement will drop.  
  • Instagram:  Unlike Twitter, go crazy with the hashtags on Instagram. Seriously.  Research shows that posts with 11+ hashtags perform best. #WeLoveInstagram
  • Google+:  Google automatically assigns hashtags to your content, but you can edit posts and add your own.  Hashtags on Google are searchable, so your content actually reaches more people when they’re used.

If you’d like help coming up with that winning hashtag, just contact us!  We’ll be glad to assist you in implementing your campaign ideas.