Hashtags. Here’s what we do know about the beauty of these elusive text additions: they are crucial in content creation across social media channels. Yes, if you want to stay relevant in the mix of millions of photos and videos uploaded daily to Instagram’s platform, then you must participate in the hashtag games. While there certainly is a correct method to the madness (no one needs to see 15 hashtags), there isn’t necessarily a magic formula. You can, however, maximize the effectiveness of your content by strategically selecting the hashtags that will win you engagement. We’ve compiled some fool-proof tips for choosing the right hashtags for your content:
Short and sweet
A cardinal rule of choosing a hashtag is to make it no longer than a word or a short phrase. Brevity will make the hashtag easier to remember and will make it effortless for the target audience to follow along and engage with the brand.
Community or Branded
It’s up to you to decide what the goal of your campaign will be. Community-geared hashtags will increase the reach of your content. Prior to content creation, you’ll want to complete some research on the brand and its target audience. You can establish a theme, and you’ll be able to create an authentic, branded hashtag the audience will want to connect with. Note: not all branded hashtags have to include the name of the company.
Make it memorable
Depending on your goals for the brand in question and its individual channel, your hashtag strategy should be unique. For example, Jurlique would be correct in hashtagging the name of their brand, as well as hashtagging any terms associated with their beauty line.
Make it conversational
For the sake of making your hashtags versatile, it would be in your best interest to make them conversational. This means creating a short enough hashtag that could easily be written into a blog post or a tweet. Bonus points if it’s unique to the brand.
Utilize popular terms or phrases
This approach is intended for gaining reach and visibility. If there is something going on in the world that’s incredibly relevant to the target audience or the brand, you’ll want to jump on that bandwagon. Word of advice: avoid anything too controversial that would reflect poorly on your audience or your brand.
