A hashtag is a phrase or word that follows a pound sign or a hash mark (#) and popularly used in social media networks to group messages or ideas associated with the same topic. As an example, #techbiz is a hashtag that identifies a social media post contains information associated with tech businesses. While hashtags began on Twitter, almost all other social networks have followed suit with incorporating the hashtag functionality.
With social networks becoming busier and noisier, brands have a hard time attracting the undivided attention of their target market with their internet marketing efforts. As such, there’s a need to position your content in front of the eyeballs of your targeted audience. Hashtags come in handy at this point. By using relevant hashtags in your online posts, social media users who are looking for those keywords can locate your updates and tweets, and most likely follow you for regular updates. This begs the question: how do you find the most relevant hashtags for your content? Get the best hashtags by working with an established social media agency or try out the following.
Conduct Twitter Search
While hashtags are common on many social media networks, Twitter is the pioneer. The platform boasts of the most comprehensive assortment of hashtags in use. Moreover, through Twitter’s inbuilt search engine, you can look for topics pertinent to your niche, or for phrases that have a direct connection with your content. It’s imperative when looking for hashtags to focus on those that are relevant and used often.
Check what hashtags influencers are using
Social media users often follow the advice or opinion of influencers about products and services. An influencer is a person who has influence over many prospective buyers. You need to identify which hashtags some of the influencers or leaders in your industry are using. Various hashtag tools can provide you with the top hashtags in your industry. A good example is Harshtags.org. Additionally, you can key in the Twitter handle of an influencer in your niche, and discover the hashtags they’ve used before which have resonated well with their followers.
Brainstorm about branded hashtags
You can create hashtags on your own which will be of interest to your online audience. Usually, in this case, the ideal hashtags are those that are distinct and directly connected to your brand.
See what hashtags your competitors are using
There’s a lot to learn from your business competitors, and hashtag research is one of them. Of course, you do not want to copy your rival. However, checking what they use frequently can provide you with some ideas for creating your unique hashtags.
Check what’s trending
Marketers have realised success courtesy of real-time marketing, which involves adding something that’s topical or trending in your online post to help attract more views and engagement. Therefore, you need to find out those trending topics and come up with related content for that hashtag. Twitter’s Trends Column and other hashtag tools can help you find hot topics that people are talking about on social media.
Undertake a Hashtag Search First
Before settling on a hashtag, look for it on Twitter and other social media platforms. The crux of this search is to make sure no other brand is using a similar hashtag and that it’s not related to anything negative or unrelated to your brand. If your chosen hashtag was used a couple of years ago, you may well still use it. However, if a reputable brand is currently using the hashtag as part of its campaign, then drop it immediately. You don’t want to create confusion or come across as a copycat.
When you want to share your brand message on social media, choose any of the strategies explained above to identify the most appropriate hashtags to strengthen your message.
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