If you use social networks a lot for your business, you will know that, one of the first things that your posts should contain are hashtags. But have you ever wondered what a hashtag is?
These came out several years ago, and many applied them in their social media strategy because "it was new, fashionable, etc." But, if you are really able to master them, you will achieve much more. Why don't you take a look at this guide that we have prepared for you?
what is a hashtag
We could start by telling you that a hashtag is a keyword that is inserted in posts on social networks. so that this publication appears in a large repertoire of related posts.
In fact, in the Oxford dictionary, there is a definition that says:
“word or phrase preceded by a hash symbol (#), used in social networks and applications, especially Twitter, to identify messages on a specific topic«.
To make it easier for you. Imagine you have a real estate business. You have published a text where you have put a hashtag to “home”. In this way, that word does not appear in "normal" text but in blue and is automatically converted, just by putting the hash symbol, in a hyperlink.
Where does it take you? To a part of the same social networks in which all the posts that have used that keyword are collected. This implies that you will compete with posts from people, companies and different sectors, with which you will jump from the visibility of only your page or profile to that of the entire social network.
Whether it's important or not It will depend on the use of social networks that you are making. And it is that it is common for them to be used without further ado, but damaging the strategy more. For example, imagine that real estate. And, to give more visibility, use another hashtag, the dog one (due to the fact that it rents houses that allow pets). In general, that keyword does not care if what you are doing is congratulating a day, or putting a house up for sale (if you buy it, you decide who enters). Therefore, appearing in a compilation of that word can be counterproductive because it will not serve you.
When to use hashtags
Now that you know what a hashtag is, it's time to delve a little deeper and, above all, know when to use it.
Hashtags are used in almost all social networks. due to the enormous visibility potential they have. But it does not mean that each and every one of the publications you make should carry it. There are "moments" and moments.
En general, When the publication emphasizes your products and/or services, you should include them. But if it is to congratulate a day, to give the result of a raffle or similar, you can ignore them because they are not really going to be highly influential searches to attract followers.
How to use hashtags
As you will have seen when we have explained what a hashtag is, these keywords (which can be a minimum of one term and a maximum of as many as you want (although we do not recommend it)) are preceded by the hash symbol (#). This means that, In order for them to do their job, they have to carry that symbol in front. For example: #house, #Lake #real estate.
Now, it is not enough to know that to know how to use them. Sometimes bad practices ruin our social media strategy and, for this reason, below we are going to give you the keys so that you know how to work with them in your business.
Bet on keywords related to the post
You are not always going to put the same post, right? The normal thing is that you vary, and that also affects the hashtags. Forget about always having the same ones, it is better to use custom ones for each post because that way you can reach more people and at the same time you won't saturate the hashtags with your posts.
Less is more
At first, when the hashtags came out, people started to put in a lot (to the point of using the 30 limit on Instagram). But the normal thing is to put only between 3 and 5, no more.
Keep in mind that, if these work as an indexer, the fact that you are in many does not bode well for you to get better results because Most likely, many will consider you "spam" or that you have nothing to do with what interests them.
Be careful with putting together too many words
One of the common mistakes when using hashtags is applying it to many words together. Normally one or two words are used, but sometimes, for the "grace" of a phrase, it is put together so that people are encouraged to follow the thread.
The problem is, when you put so many words together, the only thing you get with it is that it is more difficult to read. And if you repeat that several times in the same posts, it can make them ignore you or not read you in the end.
An example, think that you put #becauseyolovalgo. It is something that can have its own hyperlink. And it can be understood, but if you put #because I am worth it and I have to take care of myself and pamper myself, things change. If you pay attention, it will cost you more to read it and that is precisely what you do not want for the users of your social networks.
Review the hashtags and their impact
By this we mean that when we put a word with a hash, the social network gives us suggestions, and we can see the search level of each word. Betting on those with the most searches is a mistake, because there will be too much competition; but those with average searches can be your objective to position yourself well.
Create your own hashtags
Imagine that your company is called "Variopinto". And that when you go to put the hashtag it tells you that there are no searches or that there are less than 10. It is normal, it is not a word widely used to index. But It can be great for you because you are going to create that index with all your publications.
And because? Because This is how you collect all the posts you make for that keyword And it gives rise to that, when they start looking for you, they can have that list (even without reaching your page yet).
As you can see, knowing what a hashtag is is easy, as is its use. But the most important thing is not to trust 100% in that strategy for social networks but to go further. Is it clear to you or do you have any questions that we can solve for you?