Hashtags are integral to any social media marketing strategy. They effectively connect content with specific topics and conversations while driving likes, shares, comments, and new followers.
Hashtags are integral to any social media marketing strategy. They effectively connect content with specific topics and conversations while driving likes, shares, comments, and new followers.
When deployed appropriately, they can help organizations:
A strong hashtag strategy includes a balance of popular, relevant, and branded hashtags. Balance is key – too many popular hashtags will bury a post. Specific, obscure tags may give context but are unlikely to reach the target audience. And brand tags on their own don’t typically generate engagement.
Like anything, there are varying opinions on the value of hashtagging. But, despite naysayers, hashtags offer two significant benefits. First, they provide a way to reach social media users with a common interest. And second, hashtags give context – allowing for clear messaging while staying within character limits.
It may seem obvious, but make sure your accounts are public. Otherwise, non-followers won’t see the hashtagged content.
There’s nothing worse than launching a campaign only to find out a hashtag doesn’t mean what you thought it meant. Or that it’s associated with an unrelated topic.
Avoid hashtags associated with spammy or inappropriate content.
Resist the temptation to copy and paste the same list of hashtags on every post. It’s against Instagram’s community guidelines, plus the algorithm doesn’t like it.
Keep them short and memorable. Long hashtags are hard to read, and side-by-side words can have unintended results.
Yikes example: #therapist
More isn’t always better. Limit the number of hashtags, as the algorithm may actually view your post as spam.
Track post insights to see many impressions your hashtags received.
"Instagram hashtags are far, FAR from being dead in 2023. With a strategic and creative approach, they can be an extremely powerful tool for reaching your target audience and promoting your content."
Kasia Pilch, Online Strategist
IQ Hashtag
The foundation of this strategy is only to use hashtags that make sense. The number of people who see it is does not indicate success (it's a vanity metric). It’s about reaching the right people – your target audience.
Driving results is the name of the game. The key is to continually test and then, based on the outcome, regularly adjust your overall social media marketing approach. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Start by following basic guidelines and expand from there. #GoodLuck
For many organizations, balancing marketing initiatives with day-to-day operations is challenging. Tomato Rock Communications offers affordable, full-service marketing. We simplify the process – bringing your brand to life while empowering you to focus on your business.
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