Some of you are probably thinking “hashtags… is there more to know about those?” Generally speaking, the majority of people we see, tend to misuse them; or they don't understand what the purpose of a hashtag actually is.
In today’s digital age, hashtags are a prominent part of our culture. In fact, it’s rare to find anyone that doesn't know what a hashtag is. But, just in case you have been living in a cave, we’ll start from the top.
Twitter, Instagram, google+, Facebook, and even Pinterest make use of hashtags. They are how content is categorized on social media. Because of this it also makes your content discoverable if you add appropriate hashtags to them.
It is important to be specific when using hashtags. Ultimately you are trying to hone in on a community that shares an interest in one specific theme. The more specific you can get with your hashtag, the more targeted your audience will be—and a targeted audience means better engagement. If you don’t have a hashtag in mind already, find one or two that fit the content you're sharing. Again, you want to allocate your efforts towards your tribe, and this is the group of people that are interested in what you are doing. We always suggest that you are intentional in the content you are posting and you should engage the same tactics when using hashtags.
You also need to think about the culture of each platform to which you are posting. While hashtags on all social networks have the same purpose of discovery, the best way to use them will vary from platform to platform.
For instance, hashtags on Instagram are more for descriptive purposes. On Twitter, they are used more to find groups of people based on conversation topics.
Here’s a protip: Take the time to discover the most popular hashtags for the platform you are using. A great app we use is “tag-o-matic,” head over to the Apple app store or Google Play store and download it. You’ll immediately see the value.
So often I see people creating their own #hastags. For example, #yourcompanyname. I mean that can be good for branding purposes, but if you are the only one using it, what is the point? Not trying to be the bearer of bad news here, but most likely you're not Nike. Even Nike doesn't hashtag #Nike or #JustDoIt. So keep that in mind.
Ok, so that wraps up my thoughts on #hashtags. Your big take away: be concise and intentional with your hashtags.
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