Hashtag Strategies for Social Media

When it comes to social media, there’s a lot more that goes into it than we may first realize. It isn’t a simple matter of writing some information and posting it. When it’s used as part of an overall digital marketing strategy, every little detail matters. One of these details is the use of hashtags. Here’s a look at some strategies you can use to determine the best approach for hashtags on social media:

Whether or Not to Use Hashtags

The first thing to consider is whether or not hashtags should be used. There isn’t an easy way to answer this question, but just know that hashtags are very much a part of the landscape on social media, pretty much across all platforms. Your audience likely won’t think twice about them. Benefits of using hashtags include increasing discoverability, improving engagement, and helps you more easily embrace trends. Basically, they work in a similar way as keywords do in the search engines.

Granted, the benefits will vary based on your niche and industry. To start the discovery process, you should find similar accounts to yours to see what they are doing concerning hashtags. This doesn’t mean you should copy them, but it’s a good idea to see what your competitors are doing while you figure out how to proceed.

Mix Your Hashtags

Your hashtag strategy should include a few components. It is a good idea to mix the approach so that you can have a wider appeal on the social networks. Here are some things to include:

Branded. This should be a given. Always include as a hashtag or two the name of your business. This seems like a simple, small thing, but it can go a long way to helping you improve your brand visibility on social media.
Relevant. You should also include some keywords that are relevant to the post itself. It all depends on the content. If your post is letting people know you will be at a certain conference, you should also include in the list the official hashtag for the conference itself. If the post is sharing an article about digital marketing strategies, the hashtag should relate to the content.
Trends. If you can naturally tie in a trending keyword to your article, there’s no harm in doing that. The catch is that using a trending hashtag can’t be random. Only use in the post if it makes sense to do so, otherwise it will look spammy.

Don’t Use Too Many

We all know what hashtag stuffing looks like. It’s unpleasant on the eye and leaves people with a bad feeling. It looks spammy and opportunistic and it’s a complete turnoff to your audience. Your goal is to find the sweet spot. We advocate a conservative approach. A few, carefully selected hashtags will go a long way to helping you achieve your goals.

When it comes to hashtags, it’s all about balance. Choose the hashtags that best tell the story of what you’re trying to say in your post. This will help you attract the right audience.