The Importance of Hashtags
You may have seen posts on social media with lots of hashtags (words starting with #) in the caption or comments. But do you know why they are there?
Hashtags are becoming increasingly important as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram strive to only deliver relevant content to their users. Hashtags are a great (and free!) way to reach more people and increase the amount of views on your post. By choosing hashtags that are relevant to your brand, location and the photo/video you have posted, it is highly likely you will reach new potential customers in your area.
If you are not sure where to begin, start by looking at similar businesses in your area and industry. Notice hashtags on their posts that have a lot of likes and comments. If you find a hashtag you really like, search it on Instagram and then look at the “Related Hashtags” listed below it to add similar hashtags to your list. You can also test new hashtags by posting with just one new hashtag and seeing if you receive more engagement than usual.
Once you have a list of 20 to 30 hashtags that work for your brand, save them to your computer or on your phone so you can easily copy and paste each time you post. You can also use platforms like Hootsuite to save hashtags when you schedule out your content. It is important to customize your hashtags each time you post to make sure they are relevant, since not every post will be the same subject. Include the title of a particular dish or product, a national holiday taking place that day, or a special event happening in your area. For example, the #TakeoutfortheTriangle hashtag is one that is trending for restaurants and bars in the Triangle area amid the COVID-19 dining room closures. Utilizing hashtags that are relevant to an event or movement in your area can help local customers find out about your product or service when they are searching on social media.
The number of hashtags included on a post depends on the social media platform. You will typically see more hashtags per post on Instagram, compared to Facebook and Twitter where 1 to 3 hashtags are more common.
Need help creating a hashtag strategy for your business? Let us know if we can help!
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