Twitter is a remarkable platform where anyone can find like-minded people or clients. It does not only enable individuals and organizations to build their brand on a personal or business level, but it also allows them to market their products and services.
Despite this fact, it might be difficult to succeed by being among 330 million active users. Hashtags have proven to be a very effective instrument for increasing your visibility across this platform. In this article, we will see why hashtags are crucial in Twitter marketing and what you should do to take the most advantage of their use. Let’s dive in!
What are Hashtags?
A hashtag is a word or phrase with a “#” sign. Hashtags act as a means of classifying and grouping tweets according to the relevance of a particular topic or subject. They help users to find tweets that are relevant by filtering them using keywords or phrases.
As soon as a user clicks on a certain hashtag a new page with all the recent and popular tweets using the same hashtag is opened. As a result, they are the best instrument for Twitter marketing as they let you find people with similar interests and grow your customer base around your business.
Nevertheless, everything comes down to the selection of the proper hashtags.
How to Choose the Right Hashtags?
Hashtags have become so common on Twitter that people just automatically add them to their tweets without even thinking. Hashtags give your tweet context and they are an important tool to attract new Twitter followers. That’s why it’s important that you choose the right tags and use them correctly.
The first step in choosing the right hashtag for your brand is research. Observe what hashtags your competitors are using. Also, find out what hashtags your potential customers or audience are using.
You can use Twitter’s “explore” section to find the most used hashtags on Twitter. There are many third-party apps that tell you which hashtags have high volumes, which have less volumes, which ones have more engagement, and which hashtags have less engagement. These insights help you wisely select relevant hashtags.
Using Hashtags in Your Tweets
To make your Twitter campaign successful, it’s important that you understand how hashtags work and how you can use them correctly. Following expert tips can help you make the most out of hashtags and Twitter campaigns.
Use Hashtags in Every Tweet
Sounds obvious, right? But still, we’re repeating this as a lot of people forget to use hashtags in their social media or marketing plans.
Use Relevant Hashtags
Use the hashtags that are relevant to your niche and industry and the ones that your target audience uses. Don’t use irrelevant hashtags as you don’t want to attract users who are not inserted in you or your business.
Also, be selective. For example, if you’re tweeting something about “increasing Twitter followers”, you should be using hashtags like #twitter, #twitterfollowers, #twittergrowth, etc. Using #instagram, #facebook, and other irrelevant hashtags won’t attract the audience interested in your original content.
Avoid Hashtag Stuffing
Use two to three hashtags in each of your tweets. Don’t stuff them with all the hashtags related to your business. Doing so might increase the visibility of the tweet but you might come across as a spammer. People don’t like tweets with excessive hashtags.
Create Your Own Hashtags
Instead of using pre-made hashtags all the time, try to create your own ones too. Your hashtags can deliver a unique message related to your brand and help build a community around your brand, boosting your visibility.
While coming up with your hashtags, make sure they are distinct, easy to remember, and most importantly, relevant to your business.
How to Monitor Your Hashtags
To analyze the performance of your hashtag and make sure that your hashtag strategy is effective, you can set up Twitter search streams. It’s a great way to keep an eye on the conversations happening around your brand or industry.
Another way is to use third-party hashtag tracking tools like Sprout Social or Hootsuite to analyze the performance of existing campaigns or plan for your new campaigns.
Hashtag analytics also help you determine which hashtags have the most reach within your target audience and what type of content they’re interested in seeing from you. Let’s dive deeper into this concept and see how to create a stellar hashtag campaign.
Tips for Creating a Hashtag Campaign
- Create a content calendar.
- Choose a catchy hashtag.
- Ensure that your hashtag is easy to spell and pronounce. Don’t forget to add some personality in there.
- Use visuals like photos and videos while tweeting your hashtags.
- You can use humor to stand out from the crowd but avoid being too edgy or offensive.
- Promote your hashtag on social media or through paid ads to get people to start talking about it.
- Encourage your followers to use your hashtag in their social media content.
- Monitor the success of your campaign regularly. See how many people have used your hashtag, how many views have those posts got, and how many new followers have you gained. This data can come in handy for your future campaigns too.
- Promptly respond to the questions and comments from your followers. You need to build trust around your audience and authority in your industry.
Examples of Successful Hashtag Campaigns
There are many examples of successful hashtag campaigns that have been very profitable in terms of both following and profit. #ShareACoke is one of them. It was launched in 2014 and made the internet go crazy. According to estimates, it generated around $1 billion in sales for Coca-Cola.
Another example is #Don’tRushChallenge launched by Procter and Gamble. The aim of this campaign was to promote Pantene hair products. The campaign got them over $100 million worth of earned media and increased their sales by 10% within a year.
Another example is #LikeAGirl, a hashtag created by Always Sanitary Pads. It was a part of their campaign aimed at spreading positive messages about femininity and female empowerment. And yes, it worked.
Final Words
The hashtag is an important weapon for branding on Twitter, reaching new followers, encouraging engagement, and raising brand awareness. The essence is to take full advantage of them tactically and routinely.
In a tweet, keep the hashtags to two or three only and stay relevant and specific. Avoid hashtags that are irrelevant to the content and hashtag stuffing. Another idea is to try coming up with your own hashtags that are exclusively tailored to reflect your brand identity.
Hence, put the hashtags to use in your campaign on Twitter today and you will find your community and brand awareness widening soon.
