Social Media Marketing Agency Discusses Hashtag Creation and Usage
Part Two of our #Help series dives into the logistics of hashtag creation, offering four tips to create the best hashtag for your campaign/event. Catch up on “What is a hashtag?” by reading Part One here.
#FYI: Below we answer some common hashtag questions from a social media marketing standpoint, which means the advice could vary if you were approaching hashtag use from a personal standpoint.
How do I make one?
Making a hashtag is as easy as typing “#” followed by words, letters, and/or numbers. Making an effective hashtag has a little more to it:
- Do make it unique to your campaign/brand/event. You want it to categorize a certain initiative, so it should reflect that (think: Charmin’s #TweetFromTheSeat). Of course, you can create a hashtag for your brand itself that can be used from campaign to campaign (Think: hashtagging your brand’s slogan, if it’s short enough).
- Don’t make it too long—social media is all about getting to the point (especially on Twitter), so long hashtags will get lost and will be too much to read. Plus, the longer the hashtag, the more chance for spelling errors. Also, don’t use a hashtag for every word– #no #one #likes #being #spammed.
- Do play to emotions. Whether you want to make your followers laugh, cry, or anything in between, playing to their emotions will boost your chances of follower’s sharing your post and carrying on the conversation.
- Don’t forget to look at it from all angles. Proofread the hashtag and approach it from various social, economic, etc. backgrounds to ensure there is no unintentional offense caused by it.
Furthermore, pay attention to what’s trending, because a seemingly harmless hashtag could be detrimental if deemed insensitive to the time (like the time Entenmann’s tweeted #notguilty about their low-cal snacks at the same time #notguilty was trending for the Casey Anthony verdict. Yikes.).
Summary: A concise, clever, and conscious hashtag unique to your brand/campaign/event goes a long way.
Where do I post them?
Hashtags are used on social media, mainly Twitter and Instagram. However, Facebook has entered the world of hashtags though not to the extent of other platforms.
How many do I use at once?
It depends on the platform. For example, according to Sprout Social, TrackMaven reports that using more than two hashtags on Twitter or Facebook make your engagement plummet. However, Instagram engagement starts booming around seven hashtags, peaks at nine, and can stretch to 15+ hashtags if necessary.
Just be sure not to over-tag a post, because that’s also considered spamming.
Do I need to use capitals?
While hashtags are not case sensitive, utilizing capitals to differentiate words within a hashtag improves readability and therefore the success of the hashtag.
Now that you know how to create and use hashtags, it’s time to use them in your campaigns. Contact Kraus Marketing today to learn how our social media marketing experts can help you take your campaign to the next level with proper use of hashtags. #success