The power of business hashtags: Tips and tricks to get your clients noticed on social media

Marketing | June 16, 2023 | 12 min read

In today's digital landscape, the power of hashtags cannot be underestimated. As marketing agencies, we constantly strive to create and leverage effective hashtag strategies to help our clients stand out in a crowded social media space. Whether it's Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, hashtags are essential to amplify a business or brand's message, foster engagement, and drive traffic.

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But how do we find those perfect, relevant hashtags that resonate with our target audience? How can we optimize our clients' hashtag strategies to ensure maximum visibility and engagement? This guide will explore the power of business hashtags, providing valuable tips and tricks to get your clients noticed.

Table of Contents

The importance of finding the right hashtags for businesses

Hashtags play a critical role in the success of any business’s success on social media. Using the right ones can help make your client’s social media content more discoverable, increasing their reach and visibility to connect with their target audience and foster community-building around their brand or products.

Increases reach & visibility

Making your content easily discoverable with users who are searching for or following particular hashtags can help enhance reach and visibility on social media. Using hashtags for your client’s businesses makes sharing their content easily discoverable by users searching for or following particular hashtags.

This increased exposure allows businesses to connect with a larger audience, boosting their online presence and amplifying their message effectively.

Encourages community building

Building community and connections with target audiences who are interested in the same products and topics is easier when using the correct hashtags. By using relevant hashtags, businesses create opportunities for meaningful interactions and foster a sense of belonging among followers, ultimately strengthening brand loyalty and advocacy.

Increases user engagement

By incorporating hashtags, businesses can tap into trending conversations and capture the attention of a wider audience. This heightened visibility leads to more interactions, driving traffic to their website or other online channels and ultimately contributing to the overall growth and success of the business.

Also, helping your clients with building engagement by offering them white-label social media management is an effective way to add to your income streams.

Enables market research

When it comes to monitoring trends and conversions within a business’s niche or industry, Hashtags are invaluable market research tools. By following relevant hashtags, businesses can gain insights into customer preferences, emerging topics, and competitor strategies, all of which contribute to informed decision-making and effective marketing campaigns.

Promotes brand identity for branded hashtags

On top of social media reputation management, branded hashtags are essential for businesses seeking to establish a unique identity and enhance brand recognition. By creating and promoting a distinctive hashtag, businesses encourage followers and customers to engage with and share their content within their networks.

This fosters brand loyalty and amplifies the brand's presence, making it easily identifiable and memorable in the crowded social media landscape.

Helps with campaign promotion

Using unique and relevant hashtags, businesses can generate buzz and excitement among their audience, encouraging them to engage with and share the content. This increases visibility and maximizes the campaign's impact, helping businesses reach their marketing objectives and drive desired outcomes.

How to find the right hashtags for your client’s business

Aside from providing social media ideas for businesses, you can maximize your client’s businesses’ social presence and engagement, start by researching industry-specific hashtags, examining popular accounts in the same sector, and analyzing competitors' hashtag usage.

Utilize hashtag research tools like Hashtagify, RiteTag, and Tagboard to gain insights into hashtag popularity and related suggestions.

The key to social marketing is to remember to experiment with a mix of popular, niche, and branded hashtags to identify the most effective ones for your client's business. Continuously analyze the performance of these hashtags to refine your strategy and drive better results.

Research industry-specific hashtags

Identify the most relevant industry-specific hashtags by examining popular social media accounts within the same industry and taking note of the hashtags they use. This approach helps you discover trending and effective hashtags that resonate with your client's target audience, enhancing their social media presence and engagement. Examples of popular hashtags in different industries.

Here are five industries and ten top hashtags for each.

Small Business Hashtags

#SmallBusiness

#SupportSmallBusiness

#ShopSmall

#SmallBiz

#Entrepreneur

#BusinessOwner

#Startup

#LocalBusiness

#SmallBusinessTips

#SMB

Boutique

#Boutique

#BoutiqueShopping

#FashionBoutique

#ShopLocal

#BoutiqueFashion

#BoutiqueStyle

#UniqueFinds

#Fashionista

#StyleInspo

#Trendy

Online Business Hashtags

#OnlineBusiness

#Ecommerce

#DigitalMarketing

#OnlineStore

#InternetMarketing

#OnlineShop

#ShopOnline

#DigitalBusiness

#EcommerceTips

#OnlineRetail

Local Business

#LocalBusiness

#ShopLocal

#SupportLocal

#CommunityOverCompetition

#BuyLocal

#SmallBizLove

#LocalLove

#NeighborhoodGem

#HometownHero

#LocalEconomy

Food

#Foodie

#FoodPorn

#InstaFood

#Yummy

#Delicious

#Foodstagram

#FoodPhotography

#Tasty

#HomeCooking

#FoodLover

Analyzing competitor hashtags

To uncover suitable hashtags for your client's business, analyze their competitors' social media accounts and observe the hashtags they employ. By examining these hashtags, you can gain figure out which hashtags resonate with their audience.

You can then use tools (see next tip) to gain insights into how those hashtags perform along with their relevance. Use that information to adapt your hashtag strategy. To stay ahead in the game, research and monitor competitor hashtag changes regularly.

Using hashtag research tools

To streamline finding the right hashtags for your client's business, utilize hashtag research tools like Hashtagify, RiteTag, and Tagboard. You can identify your client’s niche and main keywords to begin research, as well as analyze hashtag popularity, relevance, and engagement levels to pick the most effective ones.

Leveraging these tools, you can find related hashtags that expand your client’s reach and diversify their content. The best way to use tools like these is to monitor trending topics within your industry and incorporate those hashtags.

Experimenting with different hashtags

Finding the right hashtags for your client's business involves experimentation with various types. Combine popular, niche, and branded hashtags to gauge their effectiveness in driving engagement.

Monitor and analyze these hashtags' performance to identify which resonates best with your client's target audience. Continuous assessment and adaptation ensure that you consistently utilize the most impactful hashtags, optimizing your client's social media strategy for success.

How to create branded hashtags for clients

Creating branded hashtags for clients offers numerous benefits, such as enhancing brand recognition, distinguishing them from competitors, encouraging user-generated content (UGC), boosting visibility and engagement on social media, and enabling campaign success tracking. Because of these benefits it’s another service you can offer when selling social media management packages.

Benefits of creating branded hashtags

  • Branded hashtags enhance brand recognition and differentiation from competitors.
  • They foster user-generated content (UGC), promoting brand advocacy and creating a sense of community.
  • They boost visibility and engagement on social media platforms, ensuring that content reaches a broader audience.
  • They provide a means to track and measure the success of social media campaigns, enabling businesses to refine their strategies for optimal results.

Tips for creating effective branded hashtags

  • When creating effectively branded hashtags, it's essential to keep them short, simple, and easy to remember, as this increases the likelihood of adoption by your audience.
  • Aim for a unique and memorable hashtag that stands out from competitors and aligns with your brand's messaging and values.
  • Encourage audience participation and user-generated content to foster a sense of community and brand advocacy.
  • Hit maximum reach by consistently promoting the branded hashtag across all relevant social media channels, seamlessly integrating it into your online presence.

Some examples of successful branded hashtags include:

#ShareACoke

#JustDoIt

#Shotoniphone

#ShareYourEars

#MyCalvins

Using hashtags for different social media platforms

To harness a hashtag's full potential, it's crucial to understand the best practices for using hashtags on each platform. There are tips and strategies for incorporating hashtags effectively into your social media marketing campaigns, ensuring you maximize reach and connect with your target audience.

Hashtags on Twitter

On Twitter, hashtags play a vital role in joining and initiating conversations. Utilize Twitter's advanced search to identify popular industry-specific hashtags. Limit yourself to one or two hashtags per tweet for optimal engagement.

Participate in Twitter chats by incorporating the chat's hashtag, fostering connections and boosting your brand's visibility. By strategically using hashtags on Twitter, you can effectively engage with your target audience and enhance your brand's presence in relevant discussions.

Hashtags on Instagram

Hashtags are essential on Instagram, often featuring multiple tags in a single post. Studies indicate that posts with 3-5 or more hashtags receive higher engagement levels (Snappa). Use relevant and specific hashtags tailored to your brand and target audience to maximize your brand's impact. By incorporating well-researched hashtags on Instagram, you can effectively boost visibility, engagement and connect with potential customers on a visually appealing platform.

Hashtags on Facebook

Although hashtags are less prevalent on Facebook than on other platforms, they remain valuable tools for connecting with new audiences and participating in conversations. To optimize hashtag usage on Facebook, limit them to one or two per post and be sure to use good judgment.

By incorporating relevant hashtags strategically and sparingly, you can enhance your brand's visibility on Facebook while maintaining a polished and professional appearance, fostering meaningful engagement with your target audience.

How to incorporate hashtags into your overall social media strategy

Incorporating hashtags into your social media strategy boosts visibility and engagement. Here are some key points to consider when integrating hashtags effectively:

  1. Select appropriate hashtags that resonate with your brand’s identity and the content you’re sharing, which ensures effective communication with the right target audience and fosters meaningful interactions.
  2. Be aware of the ideal hashtag count for each platform. For instance, Instagram allows up to ten hashtags each post, but Twitter recommends one to two hashtags per tweet to maintain a polished image and prevent overwhelming your followers.
  3. Integrate hashtags thoughtfully within your posts. On Instagram, standard practices include adding hashtags in the caption or as a separate comment immediately after posting. For Twitter, insert hashtags at the en of your tweet to preserve readability.
  4. Avoid using excessively generic or ambiguous hashtags. They might attract interactions from users who are not genuinely interested in your client’s content or business niche. For example, #shoes is generic, which may translate into little to no engagement from people who want your custom shoe designs business.
  5. Steer clear of incorporating irrelevant or spam-like hashtags. They more often than not damage your brand's credibility and negatively impact social engagement.

Following these guidelines, you can create a well-rounded social media strategy that effectively utilizes hashtags to enhance a brand's online presence, connect with their target audience, and drive meaningful interactions across various platforms.

Best practices for using hashtags

By mastering these best practices, you'll be well-equipped to harness the power of hashtags and elevate your brand's (or your client's) online presence.

1. Keep it relevant

Maintaining relevance in your hashtag usage is crucial for effective social media engagement. Only relevant hashtags that align with your brand or post content can dilute your message and detract from your intended audience. Instead, use hashtags pertinent to your industry, target audience, and the content you're sharing.

Keeping your hashtags relevant ensures your posts reach the right people, fostering meaningful connections and boosting engagement with users who share a genuine interest in your brand and its offerings. This targeted approach ultimately contributes to the growth and success of your brand's online presence.

2. Mix it up

Variety is essential when it comes to hashtag usage on social media. Repeating the same hashtags can lead to monotonous content, causing your audience to lose interest and disengage. Mix up the hashtags you use in your posts to keep your content fresh and engaging.

Experiment with different combinations of popular, niche, and branded hashtags relevant to your brand and target audience. This diverse approach helps you discover which hashtags resonate best with your audience and ensures that you consistently capture their attention and maintain a dynamic, captivating online presence.

3. Stay up to date

Staying up to date with the ever-changing social media landscape is vital for optimizing your hashtag strategy. Hashtag trends can be fleeting, so staying informed about what's popular and what's losing traction is essential. Regularly update your hashtag repertoire to ensure you're tapping into current conversations and interests.

4. Use hashtags to connect with industry influencers

Utilize hashtags to connect with industry influencers and potential customers, as this can expand your brand's reach, foster valuable relationships, and increase your credibility within your niche.

  • Research popular and trending hashtags within your industry or niche.
  • Identify key influencers by examining who frequently engages with or uses those hashtags.
  • Use relevant hashtags in your client’s business content to increase visibility among influencers and their audience.
  • Engage with influencers by commenting, liking, or sharing their posts that use the same hashtags.
  • Create unique branded hashtags and encourage influencers to participate in campaigns or contests.
  • Monitor hashtag performance to refine your social media marketing strategy and strengthen connections with influencers over time.

5. Have a strategy for your branded hashtags

Consistently using branded hashtags across all your social media channels boosts brand recognition and enhances engagement by creating a unified and recognizable presence online.

Encouraging user-generated content (UGC) with branded hashtags is another way to stay current and generate buzz around your brand. UGC increases engagement and strengthens brand advocacy as satisfied customers and followers share their positive experiences with your products or services.

Frequently asked questions

What are some common mistakes to avoid when using hashtags on social media?

Some common mistakes to avoid when using hashtags on social media include the following:

Using irrelevant or spammy hashtags, overusing hashtags in a single post, utilizing overly broad or generic hashtags, repeating the same hashtags in every post, ignoring platform-specific hashtag best practices. Avoiding these pitfalls can optimize your hashtag strategy and enhance your brand's social media presence.

How many hashtags should I include in my social media posts?

The ideal number of hashtags varies across different social media platforms. For Instagram, up to 10 hashtags per post, although some studies suggest that 3-5 or more hashtags can maximize engagement. For Twitter, limit to 1-2 hashtags per tweet to maintain readability and avoid overwhelming your audience. For Facebook, stick to 1-2 hashtags per post, as excessive use may appear unprofessional and reduce engagement.

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About the Author

Lawrence Dy is the SEO Strategy Manager at Vendasta. His career spans from starting as a Jr. Copywriter in the automotive industry to becoming a Senior Editorial Content Manager in various digital marketing niches. Outside of work, Lawrence moonlights as a music producer/beatmaker and spends time with friends and family.

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