Do Hashtags Even Make a Difference?
When you tag something, it adds it to a collective topic that users can then search for.
#Me? #Relatable? #Mood? Yeah, hashtags didn’t really exist about ten years ago, and so it can be easy to fall out of the loop. That’s fair. If you aren’t a social media person, you don’t exactly need hashtags in the first place. They’re a beautiful little tool, very meaningful, but occasionally hard to decipher. If you’ve been throwing around twelve of them on every post you make, you’re missing the point of what they really do. Read on to get caught up on how the ‘#’ works.
Where are they relevant?
Not every social media benefits from hashtags. We know, it’s confusing. The ones that really use them as a part of the site’s integral experience are Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr. As we discussed last week, Tumblr isn’t the best platform for advertising. They’re sometimes used on Facebook and Google+, but for the most part, people aren’t looking at tagged posts on those sites.
How do they work?
When you tag something, it adds it to a collective topic that users can then search for. An example: if you tag your picture on Instagram as #sunset, you’re going to show up whenever users search “sunset” on the whole app. This works the same on Twitter. Since Facebook and Google+ are more about social interaction with people you know, it doesn’t quite work the same way. People on Instagram are actively looking for pretty pictures of sunsets, but people on Facebook are looking at their friend’s recent posts about a party, which they have immediate access to. If they want to look up pictures for the last comic convention they went to, they’re going to search #BaltimoreComicCon2016 on Instagram.
When should I use them?
Sally from Sally’s Pavement Blog should not be tagging #pavement. No one is going to search the pavement tag on Twitter. On the other hand, Jack, the manager of a restaurant, should certainly tag #food when he advertises. People are uninterested in pavement, but are very interested in food. Jack shouldn’t be tagging #restaurant because no one will be looking for it. You’ve got to get inside the heads of your audience–what would they actively be looking for? Will they be searching for #pools or #Summer2016? Will they search for #health or #vegetarian? It’s really up to your own discretion, and you can always experiment, noting on your Google Analytics page when certain hashtags spike your activity.
Sound too confusing? Adventure Web Interactive can make it easier.
We offer a wide variety of social media services, and can find the most relevant hashtags for your business. If you want to advertise on some of the best platforms out there, but aren’t quite sure where to begin, Adventure Web can do that for you. Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Google+ are all awesome platforms that, when used correctly, can reach the widest audience possible.
To view a full list of services Adventure Web offers, visit us here! Call us at (410)-358-9892 to learn how to get started or fill out our online contact form here.
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