Do you know when was the first hashtag introduced and by whom? It is on August 23, 2007, by Chris Messina On Twitter. Lately, by 2009 Twitter started to hyperlink these hashtags and over the previous 8 years, social media platforms are using this widely and following the suit. Hence, hashtags have become an essential tool to expand the views and reach outside the network. They have come a far way in searching the topics and conversations and function similar to the keywords inserted on web content. Started to think about what hashtags should your businesses use on social media platforms and want to get better results. This article covers everything that you need to learn – the strategies of how to properly utilize hashtags for maximum effect on your social media posts.
What are hashtags
Hashtags are a series of words or an individual word used after the # symbol. For example, #sky, #buylocal, #ailments, #marketing and anything else. It is technically referred to as a metadata tag. For digital marketers, you use them as an approach to engaging your brand with the market.
Creative ways to use these hashtag for your business to grow.
There are different ways to use hashtags for your marketing strategies and grow your business avenues.
- Campaign and brand-specific hashtags
- Trending
- Content
- Local
- Seasons/Holidays hashtags
- Keyword targeting hashtags
Campaign and brand-specific hashtags
are used for your businesses. Use them to promote and market your brand.
Brand hashtags usually utilizes company name and tagline. Use the brand hashtag that is uniquely descriptive about your business. For instance, Kitkat uses the brand hashtag with their tagline “#haveabreak”. If you visit their social media sites, you’ll find this hashtag associated with their brand. More examples include #Starbucks, #Barista etc.
Campaign hashtags are used with their present marketing campaign. If you’re conducting any campaigns you can go for these hashtags. The most recent campaign hashtag is #MeToo which displays the miseries of gender equality and women’s safety at work. It is there on almost every woman’s profile on twitter.
Trending hashtags :
Any hashtags which have become popular come under this category and became popular. If you’re constantly using hashtags, you might have heard about people speaking what’s trending now. This is most often called trending hashtags and most talked about it in the current events. They’re constantly changing with the change in time. Moreover, every day, there will be a change in the top 10 trending hashtags. They come to go in a jiffy. Examples include #cute, #tbt, #selfie etc.
Besides, there are different websites like
Hashtags.org
Statigram and
Trendsmap
Where you can find the trending hashtags for your social brand. As a business owner, you can have a great way to quickly know which hashtag is trending in your area.
Content hashtags
are used in posts that you make on social media platforms. They improvise your SEO strategies. These aren’t branded and not used to determine your marketing and business. They aren’t highly popular and trending. Whenever a consumer searches for the content by using these hashtags, they get your updates. They are several content hashtags available which have a wider reach. Some of them are:
#marketing
#content
#contentment
#contentcreation
#socialmedia
#digitalmarketing
Here are a few categories that you can use under content hashtags
Product
Lifestyle
Event
Location
Consumers search for common product tags and use them too. Think like a customer when you’re utilizing these product hashtags. Use hashtags that are connected to your market and product. For instance, if you have a coffee shop and marketing your products on social media platforms then you can use
#Latte
#coffee
#Frappuccino
#Mocha
General rules to follow while using hashtags
While using hashtags, there are many rules to remember
- In most of the cases, using hashtags reduces interactions. While Instagram and Pinterest are exceptions.
- Use local hashtags for building community awareness
- For better conversations use product or brand hashtags
- Use various search tools to see related hashtags and their reach. For example, hashtagify.me is a free tool that displays all the related hashtags.
- Before using all the new hashtags, ensure that you have an in-depth knowledge of the existing meaning to avoid any offensive and controversial ones.
Creating hashtags for your business
Creating hashtags, though sometimes look easy but a challenging task. As a hashtag designer, you need to be creative. This makes the hashtag more memorable. For this, you can add humour or need to play on words. The tone of the hashtag depends on the nature of your business. It can be either for event, promotion or your businesses general hashtag. As you start planning and brainstorming then keep few points in mind.
Research
Hashtags shouldn’t be copyrighted. That is the reason, you need to do thorough research before creating a hashtag for your business. Conduct research to find
Words
Phrases and
Ideas
Which are relevant to your business. Make sure that the hashtag you created is not used by the others as it confuses.
Keep it short and simple
Do you agree with the statement “simple is cute”? The same applies to the hashtags. tHey have to be short with only a few words into it. Not more than four or five words long. It has to be clear and as easy as ABC. If you want to have clarity than capitalize them which looks better. Some of the well-known companies follow this. For instance, instead of using #stopworldthirst have #StopWorldThirst that is easier to look.
Make it catchy
Few brands like Airbnb, L’Oréal Paris, are widely known as their brand names are deemed to be cool. But other brands need to stand out because of the hashtags. Hence, try to make it as funny, powerful, clever or otherwise interesting. Users likely use your hashtag when it connects to the flavour of their content. You can develop the hashtag by implementing rhyming scheme if you are unsure of how and where to begin.
Conclusion
In the digitized world, there are many brands which are promoting their brands through social media platforms. This is replacing the phone numbers by AOL keywords and websites. Gradually, social media handles like twitter handle is taking their shapes. At present businesses are using hashtags to let consumers know that they exist. Consumers are searching for information by using these hashtags. Whether the hashtags can be a term, phrase or a call to action, they maximize brand awareness and social media engagement. When you create a hashtag, you’re making a new way to get in touch with your brand on social media.
