How to Properly Use Hashtags for Social Media Marketing
Hashtags are useful for helping people discover your social media posts. Twitter was one of the first social networking sites to make good use of hashtags. But, they’re now an important part of all social networking sites, including Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
While hashtags are useful, they can also have a negative impact on your marketing efforts. You need to be careful with how you use hashtags in your posts. So, with that in mind, you should learn how to properly use hashtags for social media marketing.
The Basics of Hashtags for Social Media
First, let’s make sure you understand what a hashtag is and isn’t. You can think of hashtags as keywords. That’s a hashtag in a nutshell. It’s a keyword or keyword phrase without any spaces and it includes the pound sign at the beginning of the phrase.
The reason that you should use hashtags is that they’re used by social media search engines. When a user performs a search, the site finds relevant posts based on hashtags. And, hashtags are now used by almost every major social media site, including:
- Google Plus
- Tumblr
- Flickr
So, you know the basics. Next, find out how to properly include hashtags in your posts.
The Correct Way to Use Hashtags
If you can remember what hashtags are used for, it should be easy to use them properly. Here’s a quick look at the correct use of hashtags:
- Use up to 3 hashtags per post
- Make sure they’re relevant to your post
- Use local terms to increase local marketing
Generally, you’ll only use 2 or 3 hashtags per post. Adding too many hashtags shows that your posts don’t have a clear focus. Instagram is an exception to this rule. For example, Instagram posts with the highest engagement typically have 4 or 5 hashtags.
When choosing hashtags, make sure that they’re relevant to your post. Don’t include a hashtag simply because you think it’ll attract more users. You can take a look at trending hashtags to find examples, but don’t add them to your post unless they actually make sense in your post.
You can also use local terms to help increase local marketing. For example, when posting about an event, you can include the name of the city where the event will take place. The same applies to posts about local businesses.
The Incorrect Way to Use Hashtags
It’ll also help to learn the incorrect way to use hashtags. These are methods that you should avoid:
- Using too many hashtags
- Including hashtags in your message
- Using the same hashtags every time
Remember, don’t use too many hashtags. Unless you’re using Instagram, you should only use up to 3 hashtags. Otherwise, they’re no longer helpful.
Also, don’t include hashtags in your message. Don’t use them to replace words. This makes it hard to read your message. For example, you wouldn’t say, “check out our latest #SEO #service.” Place them at the end of the message.
The final tip is to avoid using the same hashtags every time. Mix it up. Using the same hashtags will only help you continue to attract the same people. Do you use the same keywords on every single page of your website? No. So, use a variety of relevant hashtags to appeal to more people.
As long as you follow these tips, hashtags should help you gain more followers and improve your social media marketing. In addition to these tips, if you’d like even more marketing suggestions, as well as a way to generate conversion-ready marketing prospects each month, then click here to learn about my done-for-you system.
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From Owning a Paper Clip to a Two-Story House
Have you been held back from doing what you really wanted to do because you lacked the resources?
If so, listen to Jan Marie tell the story of the “Red paper clip Guy”:
Have you ever heard of him? Do you know how he got his nickname?
He was a guy who had a red paper clip that he traded online for a fish-shaped pen back in July 2005.
From there he traded the pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob that he then traded for a fully fueled Coleman camp stove. In September 2005 he traded the stove for a Honda generator that he later traded for an “instant party” (commitment to fill an empty keg)…
But it didn’t stop there!
He traded the “instant party” to a comedian in exchange for a snowmobile and he traded the snowmobile for a two person trip to British Columbia!
From there he traded the trip for a cube van.
In February 2006, he traded the cube van for a recording contract in Tokyo which he traded to Jody Gnant for a year’s rent in Arizona. The year´s rent he traded for an afternoon with Alice Cooper which he later traded for a KISS motorized snow globe.
The snow globe was then traded to Corbin Bernsen for a role in “Donna on Demand”, and that role was traded for a two-story farmhouse in Kilpling Saskatchewan!
All of this was done inside of one year!
So, what can you learn from this story?
Think about it! If this man could take a paperclip and turn it into a two-story farmhouse in less than year, what heights could you reach in your life with the help of some added resourcefulness?
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