A question I often get from my clients is, “How do I use hashtags in my social media marketing?” Here is the down-low on proper Hashtags usage in social media.
Let us begin with…
What is a hashtag? A hashtag is a word or phrase (with no spaces) preceded with the hashtag symbol (#), also known as the pound symbol, such as #properhashtags. Hashtags are added to social media posts so that people can easily search for a group of related posts and tweets on a specific topic.
NOTE: Capital letters are not factored in when a computer is searching for a hashtag so you can write it #properhashtags or #ProperHashtags and they both will be searched the same, one is just easier for humans to read.
How do I know what hashtag to use?
When adding a hashtag to your social media post you want to add a hashtag that relates to your post and promotes what you do. For example, January is National Thank You Month, you may choose to use the hashtag; #thankyou #Ilovemyclients #marketing. You could also choose #thankyoumonth or #nationalthankyoumonth if you wanted. There is no right or wrong way to choose a hashtag as long as it is relevant to your post/business and is a term that you want people to find you if they search for it.
[See the example below on how I would use hashtags for each different social media channel.]
What is the proper use of hashtags for each social media channel?
Facebook followers tend to not like to see hashtags as much as Instagram and Twitter followers. The rule of thumb for Facebook is to use them only when they make sense and only use 1-2 hashtags. Instagram is a whole different story.
[E.g. January is National Thank You Month! I want to say thank you to my awesome clients. I love working with each one of you to help your brand, market and grow your business! I am filled with love and gratitude. #thankyou #Ilovemyclients]
Instagram users love searching for posts and people to follow based on Hashtags. it is the best way to get your posts seen and have people find you. When creating an Instagram post it is ideal to put 11 relatable hashtags in your post. Make sure you are changing them up per post because if you’re not you could get your account shadowbanned. That means you will not be showing up in searches for that hashtag. This can happen for a number of reasons but one is from overusing the same hashtag in multiple posts.
[E.g. January is National Thank You Month! I want to say thank you to my awesome clients. I love working with each one of you to help your brand, market and grow your business! I am filled with love and gratitude. #thankyou #Ilovemyclients #marketing #nationalthankyoumonth #thankyoumonth #gratitude #myclientsrock #socialmediamarketing #brandyourbusiness #marketyourbusiness #growyourbusiness, #branding #brandgeek]
Twitter is also VERY Hashtag friendly, but Twitter posts are limited to 280 characters increased from the previous 140 character limit. However, the optimal twitter post is around 100 characters. 2 hashtags is the maximum number of recommended hashtags.
[E.g. Thank you to my awesome clients. I love working with each one of you to help your brand, market and grow your business! #nationalthankyoumonth #Ilovemyclients #growyourbusiness]
LinkedIn is also a great place to post and use hashtags the recommended amount of hashtags, 1-3 is the ideal number to use.
[E.g. January is National Thank You Month! I want to say thank you to my awesome clients. I love working with each one of you to help your brand, market and grow your business! I am filled with love and gratitude. #thankyou #Ilovemyclients #marketing]
YouTube is a great place to use hashtags on your video posts, just make sure they are relevant to your video and do not use more than 15 hashtags in your description or it will be flagged for overstuffing.
[E.g. January is National Thank You Month! Here is a little thank you video to all my awesome clients. I love working with each one of you to help your brand, market and grow your business! I am filled with love and gratitude. #thankyou #Ilovemyclients #marketing #nationalthankyoumonth #thankyoumonth #gratitude #myclientsrock #socialmediamarketing #brandyourbusiness #marketyourbusiness #growyourbusiness]
Congratulations, you are now ready to use hashtags in your social media posts!
#HappyHashtagging
#UseHashtags
#HashtagsInSocialMedia
