What Does A Hashtag Mean?
We’ve all seen the renowned # (hashtag) symbol all over our social media feed, but do you really know what a hashtag means? Or what can it do for you?
What was initially known as the pound sign has been appointed a new name thanks to the social media revolution. It’s not a surprise that some might be unaccustomed to its new purpose. This blog aims to help business owners learn how to use the symbol to its fullest capabilities.
#Hashtag101
Here are the critical basics to using a hashtag correctly. Take it as a refresher!
Use a “#” sign at the beginning, not the end of a word.
Do not add punctuation, spaces, or symbols.
Make sure your account is public for your hashtagged content to be viewed by non-followers.
Use relevant keywords only.
Capitalize letters to break up words. You want people to be able to read your hashtag. #BestCookieInCanada is much easier to read than #bestcookieincanada.
Keep it short and sweet. Stringing too many words in one hashtag can be difficult to comprehend.
In some cases, less is more. Adding too many hashtags might come off as spammy, which decreases your post’s authority.
What does hashtag mean?
A hashtag is a keyword label used across social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Google+, and Pinterest. It could be a singular word or short phrase spelled out without any spaces and attached to the # sign. Examples of how a hashtag looks like are #DigitalMarketing, #SEO, and #Photography.
The purpose of using hashtags is to help users find posts or information more easily. This is because the internet is overloaded with data. On average, 350 million photos are uploaded every day! That’s around 14.58 million photo uploads per hour, 243,000 photo uploads per minute, and 4,000 photo uploads per second. Since so many posts are uploaded onto social media, hashtags simplify the process of digging through the digital clutter by simply categorizing posts according to their theme.
The power of hashtagging
Do not belittle this sign because it can serve a multitude of benefits to boost your social media game.
Greater post engagement
Adding a hashtag means adding your brand to an ongoing conversation on that channel. Your hashtagged post will be more visible to users who are involved in that topic. This eventually leads to greater engagement through likes, comments, shares, and new followers.
Twitter reports that there is a significant advantage to using hashtags. For instance, Individuals can see a 100 percent increase in engagement by using hashtags. Brands can see a 50 percent increase. In addition, Tweets with one or more hashtags are 55 percent more likely to be retweeted.
Build your brand identity
Hashtags evolve. Take this opportunity to create a branded hashtag. This is an effective and creative way to promote your company.
An example of a hashtag that hits close to home is the Raptor’s #WeTheNorth hashtag. This was one of the most-used hashtags by Canadians during the year of the championship game.
Support an important cause
Hashtags are a great way to show your stance regarding social issues. Most consumers today resonate deeply with brands that support an important cause. One study showed that 90% of Gen Z believes companies must help social and environmental issues. Using hashtags related to a movement, not only do you gain the admiration of your followers, but you also leverage your platform to create a positive change beyond your brand.
Examples include #BlackLivesMatter, #InternationalWomensDay, and #PaidSickDays.
You can also create a branded hashtag that is related to a cause. For example, the Canadian telecommunications company, Bell, uses the branded hashtag #BellLetsTalk to promote mental health awareness.
When are hashtags used?
While you won’t get sued for using too many hashtags or adding irrelevant hashtags, there are some unspoken rules of conduct to follow.
First off, it would not be user-friendly to #hashtag #every #single #word #in #your #post. Hashtags should be straight to the point. By using them relentlessly, you will only annoy your readers and lose their interest.
Secondly, you should not create hashtags that are too long to read. Jumbling up multiple words together to look like a single word is not that fun. If anything, it risks making your post look unprofessional, #ItsAnnoyingToReadAndOfCourseNobodyWantsThat.
The whole point of using hashtags is to provide value and engage with public conversations. Therefore, hashtags are mostly used around topics such as:
Important events or conferences, like #SDGs or #UnitedNations
Global disasters or emergencies, like #COVID19 or #PrayForAmerica
Festive holidays or celebrations, like #Christmas or #CanadaDay
Popular culture trends, like #Mandalorian or #LeagueOfLegends
Specific interests, like #ZoomUniversity or #DogsOfInstagram
Popular hashtags, like #TBT (Throwback Thursday) or #OOTD (Outfit Of The Day)
How many hashtags should I add to a post?
The consensus for Instagram is that about 11 is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 1 and 3.
Facebook is a slightly different playing field. Social media experts believe that one to two hashtags will bring the most results on Facebook. As Socialbakers found, more hashtags used on Facebook only deteriorate engagement levels, while using just one hashtag seems to be better than not using any at all.
On the other hand, the recommended number of hashtags to use on Twitter is between three to five hashtags.
That being said, every business, or even every post, differs. You’ll need to do some testing to determine what works best for your particular business and audience.
How to find a good hashtag to use?
Any word or phrase can be hashtagged; it can either be very broad or specific. So it is up to you to figure out what kind of hashtags would reach most of your target audience. Essentially, you want to use hashtags that will help connect more prospective customers to your products or services. To do this, you would have to research the popular hashtags related to your industry — and don’t be afraid to experiment with them!
So how can one go about searching for industry-related hashtags? Lucky for you, there are a plethora of hashtag tools designed to identify trending hashtags up-to-date.
For example, RiteTag is perfect for gauging popularity in hashtags on Twitter and Instagram. It provides specific insight such as how many times a hashtag is used per hour, how many times it's been retweeted, and the number of impressions it generated. You can search for industry-related hashtags like #videography or #socialmedia to see how well it ranks amongst other hashtags.
You can also use Sprout Listeners to find out the hot topics amongst users. The platform identifies mostly-used terms or slang, which you can incorporate in your hashtag game.
In addition, if you own an Instagram business account, you can access your Instagram Insights to view how many impressions your post received from the hashtags you used. This is a great way to understand the effectiveness of the hashtags you’re using.
Searching for popular hashtags
If you already have a general idea of what hashtag you want to use, you can directly search for a hashtag on the social media platform. For example, on Instagram, you can just click on the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of your screen. This directs you to the "Explore" page. Simply type the keywords into the search box at the top of your screen to find pre-existing hashtags. Here, you'll find recent posts that received the most likes which use a particular hashtag.
Some of the most popular hashtags on Instagram include:
#love (1.7B posts)
#instagood (1.1B posts)
#photooftheday (763M posts)
#beautiful (639M posts)
#happy (564M posts)
#picoftheday (551M posts)
#photography (537M posts)
#nature (494M posts)
#instagram (439M posts)
#food (376M posts)
However, it is vital to note that popular hashtags differ depending on which social media platform you’re using. Also, keep in mind that the most popular hashtags are not necessarily the most effective.
Since popular hashtags are applied in a large number of posts, this means there’s a ton of content on it, and your posts might easily get buried amongst the high competition. As such, we recommend using a combination of popular and niche hashtags to reach your target audience effectively.
#Conclusion
Hashtags are a valuable and creative way to maximize the reach of your posts. They help generate post engagement, build brand identity, and support important causes.
However, it is critical to remember that hashtags are not the sole determinant of success for your social media strategy. The content quality needs to be relevant and informative to capture your audience’s attention. This is why content creators invest a significant amount of time producing high-quality posts.
Nevertheless, hashtags will give you that extra push to rise to the top. If you haven’t already been incorporating the power of hashtags in your social media efforts, now is the time to start!
FAQ
What’s so helpful about hashtags?
Hashtags are the most straightforward shortcut to organize content on social media. It helps users access information directly with a quick search of keywords. Not only is it easier for your consumers to find your specific content, but you also get to reach a broader target audience who are already interested in your products or services.
If you apply relevant hashtags to your content, you are bound to develop a more successful online presence.
Is it better to put hashtags in a post’s caption or a comment?
Most users started putting hashtags in the comment section because they want to achieve a cleaner look. However, Social Insider research found that 87% of brands place the hashtags in the original post and accounts with less than 5,000 followers saw nearly 37% more reach by placing the hashtags in the original post! Therefore, it’s more effective to put your hashtags in the caption.
In addition, there are various ways to tidy up your hashtag-filled caption. For example, you can add a line break and put all your hashtags at the bottom of the caption.
Is there a maximum number of hashtags I can use?
The only social platform that limits the number of hashtags is Instagram. It allows a max of thirty hashtags per post and a limit of ten hashtags on a Story. However, just because you can use that many hashtags, does not mean that you should. As mentioned in the blog, 11 is a good start.
For other social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, as long as you stay within the character count, you can post as many hashtags as you wish.
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