The Importance of Hashtags & When to Use Them

Hashtags. They're more than just a nuisance. In fact, they play a crucial role in developing interest and gaining exposure for your social media accounts.

What are hashtags?

Hashtags are keywords that relate to your content, preceded with a hash symbol (#). Hashtags enable users to categorize their posts and facilitate a search for it.

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Why are hashtags important?

Utilizing hashtags can assist in increasing your social media presence, reach audiences who are interested in your niche, and create a more recognizable brand image. Ultimately, hashtags help by leveraging your exposure among users and categorizing your content.

Fun fact: In a 2014 study by Simply Measured, they found that Instagram posts with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than a post with no hashtags

When and how should I use hashtags?

Although hashtags seem like the answer to all of your problems, proceed with caution. With great power comes great responsibility. Sound familiar? #Spiderman.

Choosing the right hashtag can actually be pretty difficult. If done incorrectly, hashtags defeat the purpose of you using them in the first place.

Hashtags should be used strategically. 

Keep your hashtags short. No one likes seeing #ExtremelyAndUnnecessarilyLongHashtags.

Use hashtags that relate to your content and company. Think of a hashtag that YOU would search for.

Don't overuse hashtags. Stick to an average of two hashtags per post.

Ultimately, how you use hashtags can determine your amount of exposure to your target audience. Research shows that hashtags are effective when used correctly. In other words, don't be a hashtag monster. Use them strategically! 

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Important Brand Personalities All Companies Should Foster

We love to feel personally connected to what we're consuming. As advertisers and marketers, it is our duty to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness between our audience and our brand. We want to create an everlasting brand feeling that people recognize and associate with our business. It all starts with authenticity and responsiveness with consumers.

In a study by Sprout Social in 2017, researchers found that consumers positively respond most to responsiveness from brands. That means, responding to questions or comments on your content, engaging with followers by liking or commenting on their content, or doing contest giveaways with followers.

Consumers appreciate the extra effort that companies take to personally reach out to them because we all love feeling special, right? Right.

On top of being able to immediately connect with consumers, social media allows companies to create communities with their followers. We are given the tools to have computer mediated communication (CMC) and foster relationships with consumers - something that would be unheard of a decade ago. Social media provides consumers with a specific type of immediacy that they may not otherwise get through other platforms.

In the same study by Sprout Social, they said that, "Brand personality is what connects your products to its consumers." Consumers reported that they prefer to see the honest side of companies more than anything.

Companies are able to gain trust with their consumers when they are authentic, and one of the easiest strategies for this is to be transparent with your consumers on social. Creating an authentic and honest brand personality on social is something that all companies can achieve (and should achieve).

Advertisers and marketers need to take advantage of the relationship-building platform that social media provides. There is beauty in fostering a community and creating authenticity around your brand because not only does that establish trust between the company and consumer, but it also means more revenue.

Moral of the story? Just be yourself on social (but maybe a little less dog obsessed and a little more timely).


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