How to use hashtags for social media promotion
In December 2017, Instagram allowed users to follow hashtags. This gave a lot of opportunities to commercial pages: now the promotion of popular tags can quickly bring popularity to the profile. But is there any benefit to this? And how to work with hashtags in other social networks? Let's figure it out.
Social networks have a single rule for writing hashtags: after the # sign, you can write letters, numbers, and underscores. But each platform has its own restrictions on the use of tags: in length, number, and other factors.
In contact with
Restrictions: You can not use hashtags that consist only of numbers (#2018).
How does it work
There are three ways to work with hashtags on VKontakte:
What is the use
A hashtag with a mention of the page is the most effective way to ensure that the subscriber sees only your posts when they click through. Competitors are unlikely to use the hashtag with the name of your page.
But the first method for promotion does not work well, especially if it is a popular hashtag. Entries are updated too often and move you from the top positions. You will be able to advance in the general search only by narrow tags that are specific to your activity.
Trick: It is possible to work with such a hashtag, but it is difficult. It becomes too long to type it manually in the search bar.
Restrictions: No.
How does it work
Pinterest is a photo hosting in which users group images into thematic collections. When registering, you must select interesting categories - from them the primary feed is formed. In the future, you can subscribe to interesting profiles from other categories.
Hashtags can be used as much as you like: the transition is possible from a post or a search line.
What is the use
A feature of the platform is sorting by topics. You can create a company page and make multiple collections of photos, but within a collection, posts must contain one topic. Photos in the style of “helpful tips” work well - instructions, recipes, etc. Here you will not have a random audience - only a target one.
Trick: If the topics of your posts do not match any of the proposed starting categories, you will not be included in the primary feed and will not be noticed. Starting categories appear automatically for each new user and are highly dependent on gender.
Also, text descriptions are not shown in the search. You should be interested only in photography.
Restrictions: Posts with a lot of hashtags look like spam on Facebook. It is better not to use more than three tags in one message.
How does it work
Facebook sorts all content with the right hashtag into categories:
- posts on public pages;
- groups and pages (the word from the hashtag is in the title);
- posts on personal pages (posts from your friends, what they commented on, liked and shared).
It is also possible to manually change the automatic issuance filter - there is a special block for this.
What is the use
You can use a keyword that characterizes your activity (SMM, SEO, marketing, etc.) in the name of a group or page, and use it as a tag in your posts. If a person searches for such a hashtag, you will be included in the search results in all categories at once.
Trick: Promoting popular hashtags on Facebook will not work because of the smart feed. And for a large number of tags, the social network can reduce the percentage of your posts shown in the user feed. It’s better to stop using hashtags on Facebook altogether, as BuzzSumo confirmed back in 2016.
Google Plus
Restrictions: You can not use hashtags only from numbers.
How does it work
You can navigate from a record or a search bar. At the same time, the platform prompts the user which hashtags with the same topic may be of interest to him. They are selected from popular labels.
What is the use
Posts with hashtags are more likely to appear in the feeds of users whose circles you are not yet a part of. Without tags, you will grow your subscriber base longer.
Especially popular in this social network are hashtags from the category of “useful tips” - use them to find your target audience.
Restrictions: The length of the post itself cannot exceed 280 characters for the web version and the updated mobile app. For older versions - 140 characters. There is no limit to the length of the hashtag.
How does it work
You can navigate from the tweet or use the search bar. Popular hashtags appear in a special block: in the column on the left (in the web version) and in the search section (in the mobile app).
Hashtags in this section appear for a reason - "Topical Topics" are formed based on the user's location and profiles to which he is subscribed. If earlier it looked like the TOP 10 popular hashtags, now both tags and topics in general get here.
The most popular hashtags on Twitter fall into "Topical Topics"
What is the use
Viral hashtags work well on Twitter. This allows you to generate UGC in large numbers. But the character limit will prevent users from telling long stories. But to draw attention to the brand - quite. Especially if the hashtag contains the name of the company or its identification mark.
Trick: Hashtag search sorts the results around the world. Therefore, it will not work to move along popular tags - the audience is too wide.
Telegram
Restrictions: You cannot write special characters.
How does it work
You can follow the hashtag in the message or use the search bar. Issue is formed in two categories:
- channels that contain the word from the tag (even if you are not subscribed to them);
- all incoming messages with a label (from channels, conferences and private conversations).
You can also start searching for a specific channel or conversation.
What is the use
Hashtags in Telegram are convenient to use as rubricators. At the same time, you don’t need to worry that someone will accidentally use your tag and get into the search results: when searching, the content of channels that the person is not subscribed to does not appear. Therefore, the probability of “random” publications in your rubric is small.
Trick: You won't be able to advance. You will not appear in searches for popular hashtags if they are not contained in the channel name.
YouTube
Restrictions: It is better not to use more than 15 hashtags for one video.
How does it work
Tags are located in the description of the video. You can navigate from it or the search bar. The issue is formed in two categories: the best videos (by popularity) and new videos (in chronological order).
What is the use
On YouTube, people are looking for themed videos. Therefore, the topic of the tag is more important than popularity here. The audience of the site is wide: from children who are interested in cartoons to businessmen who watch webinars and other educational videos. Research which videos on your topic are popular and include the same tags in your content. So you reach a large audience that will be targeted.
Trick: You need to selectively promote commercial pages using popular hashtags on YouTube. People need a specific topic for which they came.
Classmates
Restrictions: No.
How does it work
Hashtags appeared in Odnoklassniki at the end of 2016. Users use very general or very personal tags (#my #mycollages), in other words, these are rubricator tags.
You can navigate from a post or a search bar.
What is the use
Managing your community with hashtags will become easier if you have a lot of diverse content. But the tags must be thematic, otherwise you will get lost in the posts of users who publish their work on this social network.
Trick: According to the feed, which consists of random posts in popular groups, it is clear that hashtags are used a little - out of 10 posts, 2-3 will be with tags. This happens because OK users are not yet used to hashtags or do not know how to use them.
Restrictions: No more than 30 hashtags under one photo.
How does it work
If you search for a hashtag in the general search, then, in addition to the desired one, it will show similar tags. From 5 to 10 tags are in the visibility zone, depending on the screen size of the device.
Now each hashtag is designed as a separate page that you can subscribe to. New publications will begin to appear in the user's general feed.
What is the use
It’s real to follow popular hashtags on Instagram: it will bring a large number of likes and followers. But labels need to be segmented. If you sell shoes only in Yekaterinburg, then the general tags #shoes #sneakers and the like are unlikely to bring target customers - the audience is too wide. The hashtag #shoes will be much more accurate.
Instagram tags can have two useful functions:
- Hashtag rubricator.
So subscribers will be able to sort your publications in the direction they need. For example, for a product. Don't forget that the category hashtag must be unique, otherwise other people's photos will get into it.
- Hashtag generator.
Generating UGC with Instagram is easy if you motivate your audience. It can be a competition or a discount on a product. But don't force your followers to repost your posts. Such posts do not exist for long: they are deleted after the contest. In addition, this function is not built into Instagram, which creates additional inconvenience. Let people post their own content. So your mention will stay in their feed for a long time, and you will get ideas and material for your own publications.
Outcome
To promote a commercial profile in most social networks, you can and should use a hashtag. And it has two main functions:
- Rubricator for the community. It is used so that subscribers can easily find posts with the topics they need.
- Free attraction of the target audience. Hashtags on social media work just like keywords on search engines. Even if they are not looking for your posts, you may be noticed because you are in the search results.
To attract a live audience that will grow into customers, use popular tags that are directly related to you. This is especially important for the B2C segment: the more specific the query, the better. It is unlikely that they will buy ballet shoes from you in Moscow if they are looking for #sandalsSPb.