What are #hashtags and how do you use them?
Hashtags are without doubt one of the things that The Perthshire Media Co gets asked about most often. Generally, most of us know we should be using them, but not everyone is sure why, what they do, or how to use them best. If that’s you, keep reading!
What are Hashtags?
Let’s start with the very basics. Social media hashtags are the symbol ‘#’ followed by a word or several words with no spaces or punctuation. They work on social media as a kind of keyword search function, helping locate the content that interests individuals among the huge sea of irrelevant content available. For example, adding #Perthshire to your social media post is much more likely to reach people in Perthshire than a post that doesn’t use it.
So, now we know what a hashtag is and what it does, is that it? Sorry, but no. Some people do make the mistake of thinking that this basic understanding is enough, and they use hashtags in exactly the same way for all social media platforms. Only this is not a case of ‘one size fits all’ and you won’t be getting the best out of social media if you don’t maximise your hashtag use for each platform. So let’s take them one at a time.
We’ll start with Instagram, as this is the platform where you’ll use hashtags the most. Between 8 and 15 is your optimum number for this platform and you’ll want to use a good mix. As you start typing your hashtags, Instagram very helpfully tells you how many other people are using the same one. For example, at the time of writing it’s telling me that #Scotland has … uses and #Perthshire has … So you should use Scotland, right? It’s the most popular. Well, that’s true, but it also means your post is competing against … all using that hashtag, so the likelihood of it being seen is quite low. #Perthshire, then? You are much more likely to get seen with this one. So, my advice is: Use both.
By using a mix of very popular and more niche hashtags, you maximise your chance of your post being seen. But how can find the right hashtags for you? Check what popular and successful accounts with businesses similar to yours are using and make a note of them. However, it’s important not to just copy and paste them in each time, as this can lead to your post being flagged by the Instagram algorithm as possible spam.
Using hashtags on Twitter is much simpler. Use two or three, and the more popular the better! I suggest taking a look at what’s trending on the ‘Discover’ page before you tweet, and seeing is you can work any of them into your tweets. They can be something as simple as #FridayFeeling. In fact, you’ll find there’s at least one and usually more that can be used for each day of the week.
Do some research on some hashtags that are specific to your business type too (for example, if you’re a creative you could use #CraftScotland), and join in Hashtag Holidays - for example, our photographer is very excited about #WorldPinholePhotographyDay in April!
Until recently, I would have said not to bother with any hashtags at all on Facebook, but they’ve recently added them in as a way to ‘join the conversation’. This is supposed to work in a similar way to Twitter as far as I can gather — a way of searching for and seeing posts on trending topics. I haven’t seen this really taking off yet, but if you are posting about something like a world event or news item, it’s worth including the hashtag just in case. And again, hashtags for days of the week can also work — I quite often use #WellnessWednesday and #SelfcareSunday.
TikTok
I’m not quite sure how much difference hashtags make for TikTok to be honest, but they make some. It’s usual to see about 3 to 5 hashtags in the captions and usually on trending topics. TikTok is, in fact, all about following the new trends and there will usually be a hashtag specific to each one, so keep an eye on what other people with viral posts are using.
I hope you found this simple guide helpful! If you have any remaining questions please remember that The Perthshire Media Co offers 1 hour consultations for just £25, and can also provide a list of suggested hashtags for you to use on Instagram specific for your own business.
Article originally appeared in The Perthshire Magazine. Find the latest issue at: https://www.theperthshiremagazine.com/current-issue