
Hashtags can be an extremely valuable tool for connecting with potential customers and marketing your business, but using them badly can do more harm than good. Here are four tips for using hashtags to promote your brand online.
Pick relevant hashtags
You want your post to reach as many people as possible, which means you’ll need to use hashtags that people actually search—not just popular hashtags with a million posts a day. Check out a hashtag’s popularity by utilising the search functions within your chosen social media platform, only using those that are appropriate and relevant. However tempting it is, using trending hashtags when they are not relevant to your post is a bad move and may result in people unfollowing you.
Don’t forget proper spelling
One of the biggest mistakes people make when using hashtags is spelling them incorrectly. While we don’t expect you to spend hours proofreading your posts before you hit post, we do recommend double-checking your spelling throughout, including hashtags, checking to see how they alter the readability of your post. If they make it appear clunky, use them at the end or, if on Instagram, in the first comment box.
Avoid overdoing it
The old adage ‘less is more’ could have been made for hashtag use! You don’t need to max out every post with random tags—too many hashtags look messy and desperate. Stick to a handful for every 100 characters of text you write. If posting on Twitter be aware that it is unusual to have more than three hashtags on a post. On Instagram, you can get away with more, but do check their relevance.
Keep track
It’s no secret that social media has become an important driver of traffic to websites. If you want to be able to get your posts in front of potential customers, use hashtags. But not all hashtags are created equal, and overusing certain ones could harm your efforts. Avoid common pitfalls by keeping track of which hashtags get engagement (and positive engagement, at that) and which don’t; then either ditch or change up your low-performing tags.