The Hastag – Everyone’s Favorite Trend
The Marketer’s Field Guide is our very own podcast produced by Chase Webster and Josh Dunn. Episode 4, ‘Hashtags,’ covers the impact of social media hashtags and the different ways they are used both positively and negatively. They have come a long way from the original pound sign and have been mainstream for a while now. In today’s episode, we cover their history, use in digital marketing, benefits and pitfalls, and more.
Marketer's Field Guide - Hashtags in Social Media
STOP! Don’t include too many
Deciding on your hashtags should start by looking at your brand and the topic of your post. While the number of “optimal hashtags” varies by social media platforms, we recommend using no more than six altogether as a general rule of thumb. The sweet spot is around three to five for most use cases. A large part of this will depend on your target audience and what engaged fans of your content want to read.
Recommended Types
Chase talks about his preferred hashtags when working on social media. Picking the right ones has never been more critical when you are trying to stay within the selected range of three to five per post.
We recommend the following:
- Location – These are one of the most important aspects of a local business’s social media strategy and are validated by great results.
- Event/Product or Service – We recommend including this for your event, product, or service. Doing so will keep all relevant info for specific topics linked together.
- Company – It’s essential to continue pushing your brand and establishing a social media presence that fits your message.
Recommended Hashtags Per Social Media Post by Platform
The following recommendations are being made through our research and may not be 100% accurate in some scenarios.
- Hashtags on Facebook – Three from the preferred list above (location, event, company)
- Hashtags on Instagram – Between four to six depending on who you are tagging and their purpose
- Hashtags on Twitter – One to two to account for Twitter’s higher frequency of posting
Summary
Hashtags are here to stay, so it’s essential to know how to use them effectively and avoid any potential bans across your favorite social media platforms. Next time you are planning your content stop and think about what your message is truly about, and your target audience is. If chosen correctly, a little can go along way in terms of growing your business online.