To Hashtag or Not to Hashtag
When I work with clients who have been running their own social media, we often need to have the conversation about how to hashtag properly. Gone are the days where we make hashtags out of sentences. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t met a single person who has searched for “#IjustfeltlikepostingthissoIdid” or anything that looks like that.
I know the saying is “all publicity is good publicity” but you do not want people to be annoyed with your posts because they look, well, tacky. Here I’ll break down the general hashtag schools of thought that I operate in when it comes to gaining engagement.
Why Hashtags?
You can thank Chris Messina for the hashtag and all its glory (keep that one in your brain for a random trivia night!). He brought the idea to Twitter in 2007 as a way to group similar posts together and foster interaction. This created the things we know as the trends like users talking about the same event, issue, or are engaged in a conversation.
The algorithms have grown and adapted, nowadays, many of the platforms can search via keyword rather than just hashtags. Therefore, things can be included in a trending topic on Twitter even if they just mention a name or word, no tag. This changes the way strategists include them on some platforms. Not every post needs a tag, some just need to be written carefully to include the keywords users may follow or be looking for. I’ll go into more detail about what this means for you favorite sites.
Instagram has stayed true to the way we have understood hashtags in the past. What is a bit different than the other platforms is that on Instagram, people can follow tags like they would any page. This populates images in their feeds that include that specific hashtag. This is important! Finding the hashtags in your content area that are popular can help gain more views for your posts.
Only use about 10 or so hashtags for your posts. More looks both congested and turns the algorithm off from your post. Placing tags in a separate comment or spaced away from the post is important. Don’t ruin the stylistic integrity of the content you worked really hard to make by placing hashtags there.
While Twitter was the birthplace of hashtags, the usage of them on this platform should be limited. Between the character limit and also the writing style of Tweets, tags are much less popular than they used to be. Keywording has played a role in this as people can still search for posts and specific topics with just a word or phrase. If engaging in a trend of specific conversation, using a hashtag that groups these posts together is best.
Don’t use more than one or two in a tweet or thread at a time. That could turn users off and potentially confuse the algorithm with how to categorize the post. Stick to one or two important and categoric hashtags if you plan to use any at all!
Facebook, like Twitter, has fairly accurate keyword usage. Therefore, people can find public conversations via search. But the platform is also inherently private, as many users keep their profiles hidden unless you are friends with them. This is not to say that hashtags are a moot point, but again, they should be used sparingly.
Stylistically, hashtags on Facebook should be at the end of the post and again, away from the body of the content. As there is little use for hashtags on Facebook, including too many of them would both be a turn off for consumers and not serve the content in the long run, so stick to one or two at most.
LinkedIn is great for hashtags because they actively boost your visibility. The number of tags per post should be low, only about two or so. LinkedIn is helpful in that when you draft posts, it recommends tags to use. The same general rule applies, keep the tags at the end of the post with space between them and the rest of the copy.
Tags can be followed on LinkedIn so, much like Instagram, using them can help you get noticed. It is best practice to follow hashtags that pertain to your business or field so that you can interact with others. This way you can make more connections and build a network around your content.
Honor Your Brand
Content will always vary depending who is creating it and what the purpose is. Being mindful of hashtag usage is one way to be more strategic about posting and exposing your content to a wider audience. Don’t force visibility at the expense of using the platform correctly. Accurate and active use of hashtags on social media can make a big difference in your engagement. Have any questions? Contact me to chat!
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