We constantly utilize hashtags, especially on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. You may have used them elsewhere, such as Pinterest or Facebook. But do you know how to correctly use hashtags for more focused marketing campaigns?
When used strategically, hashtags can give numerous benefits. Hashtags are the best tools to use in your marketing strategy.
They can bring your material in front of a larger audience, raise brand awareness, target a specific set of people, boost your SEO, and take advantage of popular trends and themes, among other things. Use the following seven hashtag strategies for better marketing campaigns to get the most out of them.
Increase the organic reach of your posts
Social media algorithms have made it far more difficult for users to increase the organic reach of their posts. When you consider the expanding number of social media users, it’s nearly hard to get through the noise.
Aside from influencer marketing, hashtags are your most powerful tool. They basically help social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram categorize your content and get it in front of the right people.
Keep in mind that overusing these hashtags can result in a shadow ban, something the platform has yet to acknowledge. In other words, even if you use the correct hashtag, your postings will not appear in searches. Here’s how to avoid that and increase the organic reach of your posts:
- Use specific hashtags. “#NBAFinals” is far superior to “#finals.”
- Use appropriate hashtags. Your tags should connect you to your intended audience, not just anyone ready to exchange likes and follows.
- Take note of what everyone else is doing. Examine the hashtags your competitors and followers are using and steal the ones that look to be the most effective.
You can use a TikTok hashtag generator as a terrific alternative if you’re seeking a simple way to produce relevant TikTok hashtags.
Make your own hashtags
This is quite likely the most crucial thing you can do for your campaign. Branded hashtags, as the name implies, contain your company’s name. However, they may also include your company’s tagline, the name of a specific product, or the name of one of your campaigns.
There are two major advantages of using hashtags. The first is the ability to track the success of your campaign simply by focusing on your branded hashtags.
The second type of material is user-generated content. Every time a user includes one of your branded hashtags in one of their posts, they increase your social media profile.
Participate in trending topics
Trending subjects can greatly aid your marketing efforts because they engage a massive number of readers. The appropriate hashtags for a current topic can put your product, service, brand, or content in front of a large number of people. They may even be seen by people who are not necessarily part of the audience you are attempting to reach, resulting in increased brand exposure.
You can use hashtags to participate in popular topics in two ways. You can just wait till a topic relating to your niche gets popular before applying the appropriate tags. While this will bring you in front of the proper people, your niche may not always be the source of many trends.
You can also utilize hashtags that are unrelated to your industry. One method to achieve this is to employ them throughout the holidays, when it will be simpler for your company to capitalize on festive trends and topics, regardless of your niche.
If you can’t find a link between your industry and a popular topic, you can customize your content to meet the topic. However, this must be something at least vaguely relevant to your niche.
Participate in a social media discussion
This is comparable to following a trend. You can join a social media debate by utilizing the appropriate hashtags. For example, you can use hashtags related to your local football club or the playoffs, show support for a worthy cause, or simply join in on statutory or informal national holidays.
However, as we discussed in the case of trending subjects, your industry must be relevantly tied to the debate.
Encourage contests and freebies
Nothing beats contests and giveaways for increasing user engagement. People enjoy competing, but much more so, they enjoy discounts and freebies. When it comes to freebies, it’s best to perform multiple little ones rather than one large one because it will help you generate social media momentum.
Contests, on the other hand, generate a plethora of user-generated material with your hashtags, resulting in increased brand recognition.
For example, Lay’s developed a new chip flavor by polling its customers first. This resulted in their “Do Us A Flavor” contest, which was aided by the hashtag #DoUsAFlavor. As a result of all the user-generated content using the aforementioned hashtag, their contest spread like wildfire.
You may also use similar tags to promote your own specials, prizes, and competitions, bringing in more new clients while raising awareness about your business.
Raise awareness on a specific topic
Hashtags that raise awareness about a critical issue not only have the potential to go viral but also generate a large amount of user-generated material. Simultaneously, you and the community will raise awareness about your own firm. Even more importantly, you will be doing good, and your organization will be seen as socially responsible.
The #PubLooShocker campaign, launched in 2013 by the UK Department of Transport to raise awareness about the dangers of intoxicated driving, is a perfect example of this. As customers proceeded to wash their hands, the mirror in front of them (which was actually a screen) showed a fake skull breaking through the glass. It was a nasty yet effective manner of raising awareness about an important issue, and millions of people responded to the hashtag as a result. In 2017, this campaign would have been even more effective.
Create a community centered on a hashtag
Hashtags can help you create your brand, which is the first step in creating a community. Suppose you’re successful in coining the proper hashtag for a specific campaign. In that case, your followers will be able to converse via chat or messages and connect with one another by using your hashtag.
These communities can let you connect with some wonderful people, both in your specialty and outside of it, which can improve your business. They may have the same values, ambitions, and missions as you, which is priceless. Finally, all of you can use this community to establish a movement that can do some good.
Just make sure the hashtag you choose is unique and hasn’t previously been used by another brand, group, or community.
Conclusion
As you can see, hashtags can help you grow your business in a variety of ways. With a little time and work, you’ll be able to contact your target audience more quickly while growing your business. If you want to get the most recent news about social media refer to Social Media Notes.
