To hashtag or not to hashtag — that is the question. While using hashtags on social media is a valuable practice for businesses hoping to get plenty of eyeballs on their content, it’s essential to research top-hitting subjects in order to gain traction across platforms. Take a look at a few suggestions from the Ironistic team on how to use hashtags effectively on social media.
I’ve had a debate on one of the organizations I volunteer for. The debate is whether to use hashtags with a lot of traffic across the board or to use hashtags that are unique to our organization.
Hashtags with a lot of traffic across the board have many people searching for them, and they might accidentally stumble across your post. This could result in leads coming into your business that you never would have procured otherwise. The downside is that you will be in a huge pool with a lot of other people using that same hashtag and might be a needle in a haystack.
Hashtags that are unique to your organization makes it super easy for users to find your posts because you are the only one using it. The downside is that the general public isn’t searching for your unique hashtag and likely won’t find you by accident.
My solution – do some research and combine both of these tactics. Don’t go for the SUPER popular hashtags, but focus on medium traffic hashtags that fit what you are posting about. You can also use your unique hashtag so the people loyal to you can easily find your posts.
Hashtags are about generating conversation, so using hashtags that accurately relate to your post’s message is helpful. General hashtags aren’t necessary to get your post more traction, specific trending hashtags are the way to go!
Using the right hashtags can expand your reach to the audience you’re trying to connect to, but sometimes it’s not always easy to find the correct hashtags. On Twitter, you can see the currently trending hashtags and if you click on the “Explore” button, it will show you more of them. Instagram also has an “Explore” button, however Facebook lacks this feature. Your best bet is to search for the hashtags you think will work and see how many people are already using them.
A great way to find hashtags is to use a search/discovery engine called Hashtagify! It allows you to find which hashtags are the best for your goals and gives a popularity ranking percentage to show you how commonly that hashtag is used on social. Another way I like to find popular and common hashtags is through the Instagram explore page. Keep in mind, when using hashtags, less is more!
Take a look at competitors in your industry and see what they’re using and what’s getting the most engagement. Review what’s trending on Twitter and Instagram, as well as Google Trends!
I just ask Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA
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