In 2007, the once-insignificant pound sign of telephones past was given a second chance at greatness as the omnipotent hashtag. The hashtag is used on all the main social media platforms to organise messages into larger conversations when combined with a short word or phrase, such as #tacotuesday or #blessed.
Twitter was the first to use hashtags to define the day’s trending topics and draw attention to conversations happening on the platform. The hashtag quickly spread from its original Twitter home to other social media sites including Facebook and Instagram.
If you aren’t as immersed in social media as others, you can miss out on the power of the humble hashtag because it doesn’t seem to get as much attention as it formerly did. It’s not hard to see why people might think it was a fleeting trend.
As the use of hashtags spread, so did the amount of conversation surrounding them. Every campaign was not only trying (sometimes comically) to employ hashtags, but also vocalising their attempts to do so. It seemed as though every call to action in major commercials featured a hashtag that readers might use to find related content.
Hashtags are now an anticipated part of your marketing plan on most social media platforms, so there’s less of a need for marketers to push them.
Which services still employ these annoyances, and how can you best work them into your advertising strategies? Let’s evaluate Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see how well they use hashtags and to learn about best practises.
Powerhouse that is social media. Facebook is a strange creature in that the dialogue there is less social than on other sites. Users on social media sites like Twitter, however, are more likely to look for trending topics, while Facebook users are more likely to stick to their friends’ feeds.
Many Facebook users “follow” a long number of businesses that cater to their interests, yet their friends seldom see the updates those businesses provide. Because Facebook uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine what information is most relevant to each individual user, the social media platform has become increasingly selective about what its users actually view. The site’s overarching goal is to show users more of the content that it believes will be of interest to them, such as posts from their friends or the kinds of content and ideas that have been positively received by their friends. Attaining and maintaining user involvement is crucial to Facebook’s success. Organic reach can be useful if the individuals who do see your posts engage with, like, and share the material.
Facebook, however, is primarily motivated by the desire to maximise shareholder value. With Facebook’s efforts to attract corporate sponsors, organic reach plummeted for the little guys trying to get noticed.
Now that we have some background, let’s talk about hashtags again.
Facebook hashtags should be used rarely, if at all. Research into over a billion Facebook posts found that those without hashtags performed better.
As a general guideline, you should only use a hashtag if you are participating in a current trend or if your campaign is already making use of it elsewhere on social media. Utilize no more than one or two, and put them at the very end of your message.
Twitter: the place where the #hashtag phenomenon first took off.
Hashtags are a necessary part of Twitter use. After all, this area is like a second home to them.
Twitter users should use hashtags to find and follow relevant conversations. Keep an eye on hashtags and the current subjects of conversation to inform your choice of hashtags. It’s fine to use a couple of hashtags, but remember that you have a limited number of characters and that overusing them makes you look… well, ingenious? Keep your tweets genuine, as Twitter is all about genuine discussion.
If your brand has its own hashtag, by all means use it; nevertheless, unless your brand is really popular, you should probably participate in other conversations on the same topic.
Even if your brand is highly visual, Instagram is a tough social media nut to crack. Despite this, Instagram has a tonne of content, and most users never look outside their feed. Where can I discover new fans?
Of course we’re using hashtags.
Instagram users frequently utilise hashtags in their posts. These are essential if you want to gain traction on the site.
Use hashtags after the primary text of your Instagram post if they are relevant to the topic at hand, your brand, or the content of the photo you’ve shared. Find relevant conversations on Instagram by researching hot tags and prevalent hashtags in your industry. Using more precise tags will make it simpler for potential new followers to discover you.
Final Thoughts
Now you know the three most popular social networking sites and how they use hashtags. When posting to Facebook, use a moderate number of hashtags, when posting to Twitter, use a moderate number of hashtags, and when posting to Instagram, use as many as you like. Most importantly, if you’re going to join a conversation on social media using a hashtag, make sure your posts are actually about the subject being discussed. To propel your brand to new heights, use your expertise in social media trends and current events.