What Is A Hashtag?
Also known as the number or pound sign, the hash sign quickly becomes a hashtag when followed by a word or phrase. A hashtag is used to help your post become more recognizable within relevant categories. You choose the hashtag specific to where you want your post to be discovered.
For example, if you are posting an image of a dessert at your new restaurant, you might consider tagging the name of your restaurant or even the city you are located in. Oftentimes when potential customers are considering your place, they will search the hashtag to see if the food looks good. Hashtags can also be followed by users allowing you as a business owner to develop a sense of community where you can consistently post updates about your restaurants and new dishes.
How Many Hashtags Should I Use?
Instagram in particular allows you to use up to 30 hashtags. Just because you can use 30, doesn’t always mean that you should. Studies show that anywhere between 3-9 hashtags are more than enough. Remember, you want your post to be discovered, not lost! If you were to hashtag #restaurant, you are now competing with 42.5 million posts. The chances that your relevant audience even follows this hashtag are minuscule. Now, if you were to hashtag #pittsburghrestaurants, you have now narrowed your reach to 19.3 thousand people, which is much more realistic, not to mention, the people that follow that hashtag are most likely close to the city.
Tips To Find Hashtags
The best advice on finding relevant hashtags is first to consider the industry you are in. If you are in the restaurant industry you want your hashtags to make sense. You wouldn’t want a hashtag mentioning fashion or technology. By utilizing a social media scheduling platform, recommended hashtags are generated for you as to what is trending in the industry. My second tip would be to look at your competitors. If their hashtags are relevant to your offerings as well, there is no harm in using them, especially if it is applicable to you! Finally, create a brand hashtag. This does not necessarily mean to just hashtag the name of your business, but make it something fun that you can relate to your offering. This is something that you can start promoting for the simple purpose of drawing attention to your social media accounts. Such as Coca-Cola’s hashtag, #ShareACoke. It is fun and light, and creates a community for people to share their pictures and see others’.
If you are looking to increase your brand awareness or reach, whether it be on social media or not, Corkboard Concepts is here to help you! We strive to help others succeed.
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