How To Use Hashtags On Your Social Media Profiles

 

(via: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/social-media-hashtag-hashtags-blog-640543/)

The growth of social media over the last decade-plus has truly been staggering. It is used to get news, to entertain ourselves, to keep in touch with others, and more. Many may even use it to date (be sure to check out this post about social media dating for a better look at the dating culture on social media).

But no matter what platform you are browsing, or for what reason, you are bound to see hashtags throughout your journey. They are labels used on social media to help people find relevant posts or content. If you click on #dogs, you are likely to see thousands of posts, photos or profiles about dogs.

However, while hashtags are easy to add to posts, many people use them terribly. In an effort to help, this blog post is going to go over a few tips on how to best use hashtags on your social media profile.

Always Use the Right Spelling

Spelling is crucial when it comes to hashtags. While some hashtags are easy and very short, others are certainly longer and can be a little more challenging. If you don’t spell your hashtag right, you miss out on all the value that a hashtag provides you with in the first place.

Not only will the misspelling of a hashtag not extend the reach of your post and will make it harder to find, but people will see the misspelling and conclude that you don’t check your content before posting it. Checking your spelling only takes a few seconds, and can ensure you are posting what you had intended.

Keep Them Relevant to Your Content

(via: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/social-media-social-media-3408791/)

A big part of using hashtags correctly is to find the right ones to use. The right ones will differ depending on what you are trying to accomplish with your posts, and what industry or niche they are in. No matter which ones you use, you need to do your best to ensure that they are relevant to your content.

This will ensure people searching those hashtags will be able to find you and potentially follow or become a customer. Also, hashtags can help you reach out to your target market directly. For example. A beauty Instagram page using hashtags like sports, camping, or carpentry won’t be reaching their target very well with those tags.

While this might seem like common knowledge, many pages have content full of hashtags that do not relate to their content. They think that having more popular hashtags on their post means it will get more traction.

Sure, more people may click on your photo or post, but you aren’t going to get many likes, shares, or new followers if your hashtags are misleading and not relevant.

Know the Right Amount to Use

The amount of hashtags you use in a post is also something to think about. While some posts will do just fine with a single hashtag, others may benefit from having multiple. The general rules are different for each platform. For example, using plenty of hashtags on Instagram posts to improve their reach is fine, while you will generally want to limit your usage on Twitter. On visual platforms like Instagram, more is fine, but putting too many in a post on a text-based platform like Twitter or LinkedIn may not look very good.

If you are unsure of how much to use, or even which ones to use, performing a little research is a good idea. Look at the social media profiles of leading influencers or businesses in your space for inspiration.

By keeping these tips in mind, you can ensure you are properly using hashtags on your social media profiles. They are truly one of the most powerful things you can use on social media, so don’t ignore them.