Let’s face it; no matter how many articles you read about hashtags and their purpose, it will always be challenging to understand this social media feature; however, once you master the skill of using them, you are guaranteed to notice a difference in your social media reach and engagement. On this account, we’ve put together a thorough guide that can help both you and us get a better understanding of the benefits of using hashtags and how to utilize them on your favorite social media platform.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the reasons why you should be adding a few hashtags here and there.
1. Increase engagement
One of the best ways to take part in a conversation that is happening on a certain social media platform is through the use of hashtags. These words will lead to your posts becoming more visible, which will in turn generate likes, comments, shares and even some new followers. However, you should make sure your account is public otherwise your content won’t be noticed by non-followers.
2. Support a cause
With the current global crises that we’re facing, it is important to highlight matters that go beyond your brand, showing your audience that you are willing to speak up and bring people’s attention to causes that truly matter. For example, in 2021, many celebrities and influencers took it to social media to express their support when the world witnessed a rise in hate crimes against Asians with the use of the #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate hashtags.
3. Make it easier for your audience to find you
In case you didn’t know already, it is possible for users to follow hashtags on both LinkedIn and Instagram, which facilitates matters for you when it comes to finding an audience that will be interested in your content. To give an example, if you add #makeup under one of your Instagram posts, then people who follow or look up that hashtag are likely to see your post on their feed.
4. Gain brand awareness with a branded hashtag
By definition, a branded hashtag is a custom hashtag that is unique to your brand and it can be related to a certain product or event you are promoting; it can also simply be your slogan preceded by the hashtag symbol.
On the one hand, using this type of hashtags, which could look something like #oreohorrorstories, means you won’t have to compete for a spot on people’s feeds while on the other hand, you could create a challenge such as the #icebucketchallenge and encourage users to use the hashtag, which could possibly lead to you going viral.
5. Reveal sponsored partnerships
This section especially concerns influencers who plan on or are already working with brands. As insignificant as the “#Ad” hashtag may seem, it is now necessary to add it when posting sponsored content on social media platforms; the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) even went as far as creating advertising disclosure guidelines for online influencers to make sure both influencers and brands are transparent in their promotion of products or services (even Khloe Kardashian has to add it!).
To sum up, all of the above reasons show that using hashtags in your posts can be a great strategy; however, you should always avoid cramming them as their overuse can look quite spammy!
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