What are Hashtags and how to use them?

You might be using a lot of Hashtags while using social media. Even if you are not using hashtags, you will start using them after reading this article.

You must use them.

But, what exactly are hashtags?

Let us understand Hashtags in the best possible way.

What are Hashtags?

A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the hash symbol (#) which is used on social media platforms to tag content of a particular theme/topic.

It helps in finding the content of a particular topic. It is a label/tag which is used to categorize content neatly.

They are extremely important for social media marketing.

Let us understand hashtags with a help of an example.

I post content related to digital marketing on my social media. I also post content related to motivation.

When I post content related to digital marketing, I used hashtags like #DigitalMarketing, #Marketing, #OnlineMarketing, etc so that people who are searching for the topics revolving around digital marketing or those hashtags can find my content.

Also, it helps in labeling the content. It describes the content and acts like metadata.

On the contrary, when I post content related to motivation, my hashtags are different.

Many people use irrelevant hashtags and do not understand the purpose behind it. Hashtags should be relevant to the content and describe the content.

You can have a hashtag of your own too.

For example, I produce content about digital marketing and want to convey the message that you can learn digital marketing with me. Now the entire message cannot be a hashtag because it will become a very big phrase. So, I have crafted a custom mini version of hashtag to tag my content – #DMwithJainish

Over here, DMwithJainish means Digital Marketing with Jainish.

Similarly, I also use #MotivationByJainish

You can have your own hashtags.

Such hashtags which are unique to your business/brand are known as Branded Hashtags.

As you can see in the above 2 hashtags, I want to brand myself and using my name in it. Hence, it is a basic example of branded hashtags.

#ShareACoke is one of the most famous hashtags which came in my mind when I am writing this.

What branded hashtags come to your mind? Let me know in the comments section below.

I hope that now you have an idea of what are hashtags. But why should you use them?

Importance of Hashtags

Social Media Platforms are flooded with a lot of data. Day by day, the number of social media users are increasing.

Hashtags got birth on the microblogging platform Twitter and then were used across other social media platforms too.

Today, almost every social media platform supports hashtags.

1. Hashtags allow you to label/tag your content
   
2. They help people discover the content when they search about it in the search box
   
3. Hashtags help you in branding
   
4. If your brand has a hashtag, customers can share their good/bad experience using that hashtag and it helps you understand about what your customers are speaking about you.
   
5. People can also follow your hashtags and whenever you post content with that hashtag, they are can see your posts.
   (Do follow my hashtag #DMwithJainish on Instagram & LinkedIn for regular updates on digital marketing)

These were a few of the benefits of using a hashtag. The list can go on.

Using hashtag is extremely important and using it in the right way is much more important.

How to use Hashtags?

Using hashtags is an art.

You can use 3 major types of hashtags:

1. Hashtags related to the content
2. Trending Hashtags
3. Branded Hashtags

Here, it is important to note that do not try to use a hashtag just for the sake of using it.

Also, do not try to use all types of hashtags for your content if it doesn’t match it.

• Use hashtags that match your content
• Do not make it too big (Keep it short and simple)
• Do not overuse a hashtag
• Use the hashtags at the end of your caption

You can use one or multiple hashtags for your content.

Every social media platform has limitations and certain best practices for the usage of hashtags.

As per Hootsuite, the optimal number of hashtags as per platforms are:

1. Twitter: 1-2 hashtags
2. Instagram: 9-15 hashtags
3. Facebook: 1-2 hashtags
4. LinkedIn: 1-2 hashtags

I hope this has given you a basic understanding of what are hashtags, how to use them and their importance.

Unless you try and experiment, you won’t enjoy. So, start using hashtags today and use them in a right way.