What’s in a hashtag?

06 Jul What’s in a hashtag?

It was a challenge that we were up for. Could we write an entire blog about hashtags? You might be surprised to find out that there was a lot to say about the humble hashtag and we have managed to write more than we initially thought about the subject!

What is a hashtag?
A hashtag is simply the hash symbol (also known as the pound symbol) followed by a word or short phrase used in social media to make it easy to group, categorise and search content and in turn help boost reach and engagement on posts. Historically the # symbol was used to denote pounds of weight but nowadays you’d be hard-pressed to find many people that know its use outside of social media.

Why use hashtags?
A hashtag tells both visitors to your posts and the algorithms that work behind the social media facades, what topics, conversations and categories your posts belong too. This makes your content much easier to find and ultimately it will reach more (of the right) people. So, if you are looking for everything to do with #blueflamingos, you’ll find all the content that shares that hashtag all in one place.

A hashtag tells a thousand stories
Well maybe not a thousand. We like the way a hashtag replaces a lot of text, for instance if you support the Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand and ran a pink breakfast fundraiser, a photo and #pinkbreakfast says a lot, no need for lengthy explainer descriptions that you have to write and someone’s got to read!

How do you use hashtags?
While it is as easy as typing a # and adding a word or phrase related to your post, a bit of thought goes a long way. Do your research about what hashtags will work for you – if it is hashtag with over 1.1 million posts (#flamingos) will your flamingo garden ornament even be found to be engaged with? And conversely are there enough posts to make people think it is worth the effort of clicking? It’s not about choosing the most popular hashtags, more about choosing the ones that people who are important to you and your brand would actually search on and the hashtags that best reflect what’s important to you and the values of your business.

Quick dos and don’t
• You can use as many hashtags as you like, but you might want to exercise restraint not to appear too spammy. Up to 30 is considered acceptable. Experiment to find your sweet spot.
• Make sure you don’t use any gaps, symbols or punctuation in the middle of your hashtag as it won’t work!
• Hashtags are a waste of time if your account/s aren’t public (go to your settings to check).
• The best hashtags are fairly short, succinct and relevant to your audience #flamingogarden.
• Don’t just copy and paste the same list of hashtags on each post, algorithms are clever and a little a bit of personalisation will actually work better for real people too.

Are hashtags just for Instagram?
• While the use of hashtags started on Twitter and have been perfected by Instagram, hashtags got off to a rocky start on Facebook. But now, you can tag, sort and search by hashtag on this social media giant as well. Of course you will only see the results of public accounts, and the results aren’t as visually appealing as Instagram.

What should I do now?
1. Ensure your Instagram and Facebook pages are public.
2. Do your research: Go to your Instagram Explore page and check out commonly used hashtags relevant to your business (look at both top and recent posts), look what your competitors are using, think about current trends, time of the year, etc, but ultimately think like a customer.
3. Make a list of possible hashtags for your brand, products and services.
4. Test different hashtags, combos and number of hashtags and see which combos get you the best engagement.
5. Continue adding, refining and working through your list.
#hashtaglove