Hashtags are just like words on a billboard or signs in a store that help people navigate around and find their way back home after they've left. They're used by everyone from brands to politicians — but how exactly do hashtags work?
"They can be thought of as little billboards," says Adam Sharp, VP at digital marketing agency 360i Digital. "You see them everywhere." Hashtags allow people to connect with others who have similar interests and beliefs about topics ranging from politics to sports to fashion.
But more than being a passive tool, experts say that hashtags should also serve as an active part of any company's social strategy. By incorporating hashtags into its overall promotion plan, companies will be able to reach out to specific audiences and increase engagement.
So what does this mean for marketers looking to incorporate hashtags into their promotional efforts? What steps need to be taken when creating a hashtag and how do you actually use one once created? Here are answers to these questions.
In order to participate in Twitter chats, live streams, and other events, participants must first add the event’s designated hashtag so that they can easily follow along throughout the discussion. The easiest method to adding a hashtag to your post is through the built-in option within your tweet editor. Simply click the “#” button next to the text box where you type your message (the same place you would normally enter the title of your Tweet.) This feature allows users to automatically append a hashtag which makes finding relevant conversations easier. For example, if you were attending #SXSW Interactive, you could simply choose not to write anything else in your tweet and instead include "#SXSW2017".
If using third party tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer, many platforms provide easy ways to insert a custom hashtag into posts. These options usually come preconfigured with several popular hashtags ready to go. If you want to avoid having multiple tabs open while managing all of your accounts, try choosing a service with a simple dashboard that provides quick access to each account.
Once you've decided on a hashtag, keep in mind that it needs to fit within certain parameters. While most hashtags consist of single letters, some services may limit long phrases because of character counts imposed by Twitter itself. You'll also want to decide whether your chosen tag is too vague, ambiguous or generic to effectively engage followers. Some tips for picking a good hashtag includes making sure it doesn't contain offensive language or profanity, and that it isn't already associated with another topic.
However, don't let yourself become overly concerned over missing out on potential opportunities due to a poorly picked hashtag. "There are literally hundreds of thousands of unique hashtags available in Twitter’s search bar," Sharp notes. Even though some tags might seem appealing, take a moment before sending them off into the world to consider why they might not be ideal for your brand. Sometimes the best choice is simpler, even if it seems boring.
Another thing to remember is that unlike keywords, which tend to be longer phrases, hashtags typically only require a few characters, including spaces. So feel free to experiment with different combinations without worrying about breaking the 140 character count. However, if you really want to know how many characters can be included in tweets, check out our handy guide here.
To get started on creating your own hashtag, head over to twitter.com/hashtag_tool. From there, select Create new hash tag and give yours a name. Then simply copy the code below and paste it into your tweet. Once pasted, press return on your keyboard to refresh the page. Your hashtag will now appear beneath the "Share" icon.
This process is slightly different depending on which platform you're using. With iOS devices, you can tap the "+" sign next to the word "new", then scroll down until you see a section labeled Text Styles. Select the arrow beside New Styled Tag. On Android, open up the menu in the top right corner of your screen and select More Options. Choose Edit Tags & Banners. At either point, you will see a list of available styles with two columns side-by-side. Scroll through until you find something you like and select Copy Style Name. Next, open up your preferred app and edit whatever you'd like with the style name selected. Finally, replace the original content of your tweet with the newly copied version. Now, whenever someone sends a message to that particular tweet containing that hashtag, the recipient will receive the rest of those messages via email.
It's important to note that although Twitter has provided us with a convenient interface for entering hashtags, it still requires manual input. Therefore, we recommend taking extra time to ensure that you pick a great one for your audience and stay consistent across platforms.
Although creating a hashtag sounds relatively straightforward, it can sometimes prove challenging. One major issue is ensuring that your desired hashtags aren't already in use by another user. To prevent this problem, it's important to think beyond basic spelling errors and creative misspellings. Instead, focus on coming up with a clever alternative to existing names. Another challenge often faced by creators stems from capitalization. Although capitalizing the first letter of every subsequent word helps organize ones thoughts, it can cause confusion for readers unfamiliar with your intended meaning.
One solution is to capitalize the first letter of the last word in a phrase. Consider writing "I love dogs!" rather than "ILoveDogs!". As a general rule, however, it's recommended that you stick to lowercase unless you want to stand out among others.
Creating a successful hashtag is no small feat. It takes planning, creativity, and consistency to optimize your campaigns' chances of success. Fortunately, it won't break the bank. There are numerous resources online that offer affordable price points for individuals interested in developing a strategic approach to promoting their products. Services range widely based on pricing models, but generally speaking, the fees charged per month depend largely on complexity involved.
When deciding upon a hashtag, branding experts advise considering the tone of your campaign. For instance, if you're tweeting during a crisis situation, you might want to steer clear of controversial issues or political debates. Similarly, if you're trying to appeal to younger demographics, maybe you shouldn't rely heavily on buzzy terms like "YOLO".
Brand managers suggest exploring hashtag trends beforehand to determine which types of messaging resonate well with prospective customers. After identifying the demographic group you wish to target, research relevant trending topics in real time. When determining appropriate hashtags, marketers should look to both current discussions happening online as well as upcoming events.
For example, if you're selling tickets to a baseball game, you might want to utilize a hashtag related to the sport itself. Or, if your business sells shoes, you could opt to highlight a more recent trend involving celebrities wearing heels. Additionally, if your product features a celebrity endorsement, it's helpful to identify a hashtag that appeals to that person specifically.
In this article we'll explain how hashtags work and help you understand what they are useful for. We will also give you tips on how to use them effectively in advertising campaigns.
A hashtag (or symbol) has two functions: it helps users find content that interests them on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, as well as search engines such as Google and Bing. The # sign indicates that the word after it should be used as a tag — the first part of the hashtag identifies the topic while the second part acts as a keyword. For example if you want people to see tweets about "The New York Times" instead of just typing out "new york times," you'd type "#nytimes." You could then post something similar to "@NYTimes – What’s happening today?" This would bring up any relevant results from @NYTimes so people searching online can follow along with the conversation without having to figure out where exactly you posted it.
Hashtags allow you to easily get more eyes on one particular subject. They're great tools for making sure that all members of your team and company know which topics need attention. A good rule of thumb when using hashtags is to keep things simple by only tagging once per tweet unless there are multiple messages under the same umbrella. If you start spamming too often, followers may think these posts are annoying rather than helpful.
Some companies prefer not to use hashtags, but others insist on doing so because their brand identity relies on them. Social media experts say that choosing to include hashtags makes sense since most consumers look at them before deciding whether to click through to read the entire message.
But why did brands decide to jump into the fray themselves? Here are some reasons:
They wanted to increase engagement around certain products.
It was easier for them to manage their own presence.
Their customers asked for it.
Asking for feedback via comments gave them another way to interact directly with their audience.
If they were going to be active on other sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, etc., they needed consistent branding across those places.
They knew that it works. People who don't care much about hashtags might still end up clicking on links embedded within them thanks to the power of curiosity.
Instagram allows businesses to add hashtags to captions and descriptions. It's best to avoid overusing hashtags because they can become distracting and ruin the visual appeal of your image. When adding a hashtag, try to limit yourself to three words maximum. Another tip is to place the tags closest to the beginning of your caption. Don't forget to capitalize the letters of each hashtag and space between them. Also remember to remove unnecessary punctuation marks and spaces.
When posting on Instagram Stories, you cannot add hashtags. However, Instagram does let you attach a location marker (#location), so you can show potential clients exactly where you shot your photo. Other ways to use hashtags in Instagram stories include creating a poll or asking questions.
Here's how to go about setting up a new account on Instagram: Click on your profile icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Then select Settings & privacy > Safety & login options. Scroll down until you reach App access permission. Select Manage apps. Type in Instagram in the Search Apps box. On the next page, scroll down again until you come to Login method. Choose either Email/Password or Two-Step Verification.
Once logged in, you can now begin exploring different types of images and videos. To upload pictures, tap the camera button located above your profile picture. Alternatively, you can take photos using your phone's built-in camera app. Once you've selected an image, tap the Edit button in the top toolbar. Underneath the title field, enter text and choose a color scheme. Tap the blue arrow pointing upwards to save changes. Now tap Send. Your post will appear on your timeline. At the bottom of the post, you can edit the caption further by tapping Add Caption.
Now that you know how to set up your Instagram business profile, here are a few handy tips for promoting hashtags.
Creating your own hashtag is pretty easy. All you need to do is head back to your settings menu and scroll down past login methods until you reach App Access Permissions. From here, select Manage Applications. Find Instagram and click Create Application ID. Fill in the fields provided. Save the application ID and password somewhere safe and secure.
This lets you link accounts together on third party applications. By default, Instagram doesn't connect your personal account with any sort of marketing tool. But you can change that by following the steps listed earlier. Make sure to check off Marketing features during setup, otherwise your app won't function properly. After completing these steps, you can continue browsing Instagram normally.
Keep in mind that Instagram blocks hashtags in titles of screenshots taken inside its mobile app. Therefore, you must share screenshots taken outside of Instagram via email or messaging services like WhatsApp.
After uploading your product shots onto Instagram, you can tag them accordingly. Simply copy the appropriate hash tags from our list below and paste them into the description area of your original post.
For instance, the hashtag #hairbrush would apply to hairbrushes sold on Amazon.com.
You can also manually adjust the transparency levels of your hashtags, so they aren't overly obvious. Just open up your editing window and go to Tools " Adjust Transparency Levels. Use the sliders underneath Hash Tags to control how strong they appear.
Yes. There are plenty of websites available that let you create custom hashtags for free. Some of these even offer additional functionality like analytics tracking and trending alerts.
GoToWebinar offers a wide variety of unique branded hashtags, meaning your campaign stands apart from competitors. GoToWebinar also offers premium paid plans starting at $9.95 per month.
Hootsuite gives you full control over your brand's hashtags and provides both basic and advanced analytical capabilities. Hootsuite costs $12 per user, per month.
Buffer takes a slightly less conventional approach to hashtagging. Rather than offering preset templates based on industry standards, Buffer lets users customize their hashtags according to their preference. Users can pick colors, fonts, logos, and more. Prices range from $19 per month ($18 billed annually) to $99 per year.
Activating a hashtag means highlighting it in communications. Most organizations simply highlight existing hashtags, leaving viewers confused as to what they mean. Instead, try activating hashtags specifically related to your campaigns. Highlighting them in emails, advertisements, and promotional materials ensures that everyone involved knows what to expect.
For example, if you run a series of short clips showing various styles of haircuts, you can highlight specific ones by naming them. This tells viewers what to watch without confusing them.
Alternatively, you can also replace keywords or phrases with bolded hashtags to draw viewers' attentions. Since many viewers rely heavily on social media searches, including hashtagged terms in communications increases the odds that someone looking for information relating to your niche will discover your ad.
It's common knowledge that social media marketers need to find effective ways of promoting their brand and driving engagement with consumers. But what exactly do they mean by "promoting"?
Hashtags have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. Whether it’s #ThrowbackThursday or #BlackFriday, we can't live without them—and neither can brands. Hashtags give us quick access to information about any given topic, helping users stay up-to-date on current events. They also allow people who share similar interests to connect easily. So how should companies utilize this tool to achieve success? Here are some tips for getting started with promotion.
There are many different types of hashtags, but if you want to drive interaction from both potential customers and other users, sticking to trends will help. The following are trending topics right now:
#WomensDay (celebrated annually on 19th March)
#GivingTuesday (#occurring every year on second Tuesday after Thanksgiving day)
#NationalPizzaPartyDay (observed yearly on third Friday before Easter Sunday)
The key thing here is to identify popular hashtags relevant to your business and industry, so as not to miss out on important conversations. If you're looking for inspiration, check out which hashtags were used during previous years' Black Fridays. You'll notice that certain ones consistently crop up again and again. This means that these hashtags serve as useful tools for businesses trying to engage with consumers.
One way to determine whether a particular hashtag is worth using would be to look at its usage statistics across platforms like Twitter and Facebook. To do this, go into your profile settings, scroll down to Analytics & Insights, then click “Overview". From here, select Search Traffic, followed by Content Analysis - Trends over time. What you see next is a visual representation of traffic patterns on various related terms throughout 2016. It shows the number of times each term was searched per month.
When reviewing the results, pay attention to those with high levels of search activity. These hashtags may hold great promise for your company. For example, when analyzing the data for #NationalPizzaPartyDay, we found that searches reached almost 1 million people between November 27 – 28, making it one of the top five hashtags for content analysis in December 2016. According to Socialbakers, Pizza Hut saw huge gains in sales thanks to the popularity of this hashtag.
Another tip would be to consider creating multiple variations of the same trend. For example, instead of solely focusing on "#NationalPizzaPartyDay", why not create additional hashtags such as #NationalBurgerKingDay and #NationalIceCreamFridays as well? This allows your audience to choose which variation suits their needs better. And remember, don’t forget to include all possible plurals, acronyms, and abbreviations too.
In addition to identifying trending hashtags, another strategy to use alongside promotional activities is to monitor competitors' usage of specific hashtags. By doing this, you can gain valuable insights about consumer behavior and learn about new opportunities to market your products or services. A good place to start is through Google Alerts. Simply type in the name of the competitor whose product or service you wish to track and enter keywords associated with your own hashtag. You could even add additional words to broaden your scope. Google alerts notify you via email whenever there has been significant mention of your chosen keyword(s). This is powerful because it gives you insight on how your competition chooses to target their marketing efforts, while simultaneously giving you ideas on how to improve your own strategies.
As mentioned earlier, hashtags play an essential role in connecting communities around shared interests. While Twitter focuses mainly on text-based posts, Instagram primarily uses images. Therefore, choosing the correct hashtag format depends entirely on the platform where your message appears. When posting on Instagram, stick to short phrases or sentences rather than long paragraphs. Doing so makes your post easier to read, especially since images require less scrolling to view compared to lengthy texts.
Here are some examples of appropriate hashtags for Instagram:
#SelfiesArentDesserts
#GratefulForMyGrandma
#InstaStoriesNeedLoveToo
If your goal is to generate positive comments, try incorporating hashtags that show appreciation towards others. Furthermore, adding emojis is a fun way to inject personality into your post, allowing viewers to feel connected to your brand. Users tend to respond positively to creative captions that incorporate humor, sarcasm, irony, etc., which often lead to increased interactions. However, avoid spamming or being overly aggressive with hashtags. Instead, remain professional and focus your efforts on generating genuine interest among audiences.
An easy way to attract eyeballs on your account is to pick interesting hashtags. However, bear in mind that hashtags should relate to your industry or niche. At first glance, using random hashtags might seem appealing due to their simplicity. Yet, this approach doesn’t always work. Instead, think carefully about how your tweets will appear to others. Using irrelevant hashtges dilutes your branding significantly. That said, you shouldn’t shy away from unique, quirky, or humorous hashtags either. Just keep in mind that, unlike trending hashtags, non-mainstream hashtags take longer to spread virally. As a result, you risk losing ground to competitors sooner. Take note of hashtags commonly used within your industry too. Once established, these hashtgs will come in handy later on, once your user base grows exponentially.
To maximize exposure, tag several accounts in the same tweet. Posting regularly is crucial if you hope to increase visibility of your branded hashtag. Additionally, be sure to use hashtags in moderation. Too much tagging can turn off readers, causing them to block your messages altogether. Use hashtags sparingly, only when necessary, and refrain from cluttering your feed with unnecessary tags. Also, don’t forget to limit yourself to three hashtags per post. Otherwise, hashtags won’t stand a chance against plain old hyperlinks.
Don’t underestimate the power of emoji reactions. Since hashtags trigger automatic responses based upon pre-set filters, they typically produce lower engagement rates than regular links. Emoji reactions however, provide an opportunity to express personal opinions directly to individual posts. After all, isn’t that what emojis are supposed to do anyway? Moreover, if you use hashtags properly, there’s no reason why emoji reactions wouldn’t boost your engagement rate further.
While hashtags offer exciting opportunities for engaging with targeted audiences, you should know that they aren’t free of controversy. Some argue that hashtags are inherently manipulative, designed purely for commercial purposes. Others claim that the proliferation of hashtags online has led to decreased quality conversation. Regardless of your stance, the fact remains that hashtags still play a vital role in today’s digital world. With that said, be mindful of how you leverage hashtags. Don’t abuse them. Keep in mind that hashtags are merely a vehicle for conveying your message. Only by effectively communicating your intentions will you garner meaningful interactions from consumers.
So how does one navigate hashtags responsibly? First, decide whether you want to send general updates or establish yourself as an expert in your field. Then, develop guidelines for using hashtags. Next, analyze existing hashtags in order to understand how they relate to your intended goals. Finally, remember that hashtags are just one part of your overall social media presence. Other factors including consistency, creativity, and authenticity are equally critical to increasing follower growth.
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.