While the use of hashtags has evolved over time, they remain a valuable tool for social media marketing and content discovery if effectively used. In short, use them effectively by choosing relevant and specific hashtags that align with your content and target audience. If you don’t do this intentionally, your hashtags will fail.
What is a Hashtag?
Before we dive into the question of if you still need to use hashtags, we need to first look at what a hashtag is and how it is used. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the pound symbol (#) that is used to categorize and organize content on social media platforms. Hashtags were first popularized on Twitter and have since become a common feature across all social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. I’m sure everyone reading this has seen them on many social media posts.
How Do Hashtags Work?
When using a hashtag, we can indicate that the content is related to a particular topic or theme. When someone clicks on a hashtag or searches for a specific hashtag, they will be able to see all the content that has been tagged with that hashtag. Hashtags can help increase your content’s visibility, reach a wider audience, and connect with people who share similar interests.
Hashtags can be used for organizing content around a specific topic or event, increasing the reach and visibility of your posts, tracking and measuring the performance of social media campaigns, and joining and participating in conversations around a specific topic or theme. Overall, they are a valuable tool for social media marketing and getting you content discovery.
The Keys to Using Hashtags
When using hashtags, there are several key factors to keep in mind to ensure that you get the results you desire the five key factors to consider are:
1. Relevance
Make sure that the hashtag is relevant to your content while trying to avoid using popular and trendy hashtags, especially ones that are not connected to your content. Using popular and trendy hashtags will make people think your post is spammy and not attract the right audience.
2. Specificity
Use specific hashtags to target your audience more precisely. Specific hashtags will help you reach people who are interested in a particular topic or niche.
3. Consistency
Use consistent hashtags across your social media pages. This will help establish your brand and make it easier for people to find your content.
4. Restraint
Don’t use too many hashtags in a single post. Research shows that using more than 5-7 hashtags can decrease engagement. So, keep your hashtag usage relevant and limited to a few important ones. It also doesn’t help that algorithms are getting smarter and can tell when you’re using hashtags just to get more eyeballs, not because it’s important to the message of your post.
5. Research
Do your research on popular hashtags that are relevant to your content or industry. This can help you discover new audiences and keep up with current trends in an organic way.
Reviewing These Key Factors
These five factors are one of the keys to using hashtags effectively. Following these factors will help make sure that you are getting the most out of your post and helping to connect with the correct audience for your information.
Now that we have gone over hashtags, we need to answer the question of if they are still relevant and do you still need to use them on your social media posts. The answer to this question is #Yes. Yes, hashtags are still relevant, maybe not as much as they use to be with the changes to social media algorithms, but they can still be a valuable tool for helping people find the information that could be most relevant to them and with the right strategy that post could be yours that they see and engage with.
About the Author: Craig comes to us after 7 years at an agency and working independently in digital marketing, focusing on digital campaign creation and strategy. He did most of his work solving data problems and coming up with data-driven solutions and strategies. Craig grew up in the Boston area and graduated with a BS in Business Administration from Johnson and Wales University. When not working on digital marketing you might find him coaching a CrossFit class or spending time with his daughter.
