In recent years, hashtags (also known as tags) have acquired a powerful role in the creation and promotion of content on social networks. Not only do they allow users’ publications to be classified and organized by theme, but they also help to position – as is the case with Twitter – a particular event.
The basics: What are hashtags?
Hashtags are phrases or keywords that have a pound symbol (#) at the beginning of the first letter. These act as links to other publications that contain precisely the same phrases or keywords within their description. Hashtags are present on multiple social networks, such as: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest among others. Although there are great differences between them, a common element that unites them is the use of hashtags as an element that classifies publications, that is, the use of words accompanied by numerals.
#hashtags are easy to identify because they have a different color than the rest of the text in the publication. In case of Twitter, the colors of the hashtags can be changed. On Facebook, they are usually navy blue. It is about giving any phrase the possibility of becoming a label that others can publicly use. Therefore, they are widely used to create positioning in search engines and social networks.
To understand it better, just take a walk through these platforms and discover how they have a great impact on people. For example, when we enter Twitter we can see a list of words and phrases on our right hand, which contain a # symbol behind them. These particular hashtags are considered “Trending Topics” (TT’s) because they are the most used tags during the last 24 hours to identify a particular context. TT’s allow people to find out about things that are happening in the world and what is being said about them.
Next, we invite you to learn 5 key tips so that you can use your hashtags correctly:
1. Check which hashtags suit you:
Before choosing the most appropriate keywords to present your company’s value proposition on social networks, you must first do an exhaustive investigation of the number of results that those hashtags have. Ask yourself, do many people use it? Do these people connect with your target audience? What hashtags are my competitors using?
Social media specialists recommend having a common hashtag for all publications (in this case Instagram) that directly relates the content you want to publish to your brand, slogan or campaign name.
2. Don’t overdo it:
Although your goal is to achieve the highest traffic of comments, views and likes, through the use of hashtags, there is an appropriate amount to use for each social network. In the case of Instagram, it is advisable to use a maximum of 6 hashtags. On Twitter, between 2-3 and on Facebook, because these tags do not attract as much traffic as other social networks, it is recommended to use between 1-3. When it comes to hashtags, less is more.
3. Limit the intention of your image well
The hashtags on your posts should be strictly related to them. Avoid tagging your images with words or phrases that don’t attract the right audience to your content. Think about what words your buyer personas (ideal audience) would use to find you? and connect with the people who are really going to give value to your content. For example: if you have an online store selling footwear, use #TiendaOnline #VentaDeZapatos as hashtags, this will help people who are looking for a place on the Internet to buy shoes find you more easily.
4. Monitor interaction
Constantly monitor the trajectory of the hashtags you are using in your publications What other companies are using them? Since you’ve been using them, are they attracting the right people? To monitor the interaction of a hashtag, Instagram allows you to follow it so that publications that use that hashtag always appear on your home screen.
5. Unify your campaigns
To make your marketing campaigns have a greater impact, Create a hashtag that summarizes the central message of your campaign and with which you can group all the publications you make to promote it. People who access that tag will be able to view all the related content.
What is the importance of hashtags on social networks?
Social networks in general host a large number of users made up of people and companies from all over the world. These are dedicated to constantly exchanging information with their followers with the aim of achieving a much more assertive interaction.
In the world there are 2,789 million users who use social networks, which covers 37% of the world population. For example, on Instagram, since its launch in 2010, it has recorded more than 40 billion shared photographs. Twitter, on the other hand, receives approximately 6,000 tweets per second, which translates into 500 million tweets sent per day.
These data reveal the importance that social networks have in new consumer societies and, in turn, in the strategic classification of content. Given so much traffic and movement of publications, hashtags are solutions that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (among other social networks) devised to organize and systematize the content that people spread on their digital platforms.
In this sense, hashtags on social networks became essential elements to strategically attract people to your content on these platforms, which today represent the most important communication channels for people.
