At first the use of hashtags “#” on social media was thought to be a trend, but apparently it’s here to stay. If you are new to the world of social media, hashtags are something you want to get familiar with. Hashtags play an important role in the development of your social media accounts.
Although it’s mainly used on Twitter and Instagram, other social media platforms use them too. Think of a hashtag as a way to categorize your content for your audience. They allow people to find relevant content and interact with other users with common interests. It’s very simple, all you have to do is put the # symbol in front of your keyword or phrase and it will become a hyperlink that will show all other social media posts connected with it when users click on it.
As a business, it presents a good opportunity to be noticed and establish a presence in certain topics. If you participate in “trending topics” you are more likely to gain visibility and trust from other users. Consequently, the more visible you are, the larger your audience will be. Using hashtags only makes a difference in your marketing strategy when done the right way. Keep in mind that every platform has a different way of using hashtags and you should research the keywords you will use beforehand.
Twitter hashtags encourage conversations with the same topic and people engage in the conversation, even if they are not following each other. Usually, people search for the trending hashtags and read what others are posting. There is a list of trending hashtags on Twitter and they change constantly. This keeps the conversation going and updated to the latest news and topics of interest.
Usually, hashtags on Twitter are meant to be short and to the point. For example, #TGIF instead of #ThankGodItsFriday. It is crucial to keep your hashtags as short as possible. This will give you more room for content since characters are limited to 280 per tweet.
Hashtags on Instagram give audiences an easy way to discover content through the topics that interest them. They help other users discover your profile which can increase the possibilities of growing your audience. The use of hashtags on Instagram is a little different to Twitter. For Instagram, it’s recommended to use the hashtags that your audience is using. A good idea would be to include the hashtags your audience is already using when you post. If you use general hashtags your content could get lost in a pool of other posts and not get the engagement you want. In addition, if no one else is using the hashtag, your posts may go unnoticed.
When used effectively, hashtags can and will expand your presence in social media, increase traffic to your website and other social media platforms, which in turn, will increase your brand awareness. If you haven’t included hashtags in your social media posts for your business account, it’s not too late to start using them! Hashtags are continuously changing and can help grow your social media audience, reach and engagement, which will benefit your business. Let us know if we can help you out with our social media management services!
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