How to Use Hashtags Effectively in Your Social Media Posts
Do you know how to make full use of the hashtags you seem to see everywhere on social media, particularly on Twitter? If you’re using a social media content writer who isn’t using hashtags in your posts, you could be missing out on a large amount of traffic. Creative content writers know how to manipulate this feature of a good social media marketing plan to ensure more people see your posts and you get the traction you’re looking for.
Join the Conversation
The primary purpose of hashtags is to create search terms that will attract your target audience. When you include hashtags in your social media posts, these posts will show up if anyone enters that exact term into the search engines. This is particularly important for Twitter. Without using the hashtag, your posts won’t show up in the searches. This element of Twitter is designed to help users see what others are saying about a specific topic. The use of appropriate hashtags enters your posts into that conversation so more people will see it.
Increase Engagement
One of the biggest reasons your social media content writer should be using hashtags is to increase the level of engagement you experience from your readers. In fact, when you use hashtags, you are likely to see up to two times more engagement from users. However, it’s important not to use too many of them. Using just one or two hashtags will produce 17 percent more engagement than if you were to use three or more. In your social media marketing plan, less is more in terms of hashtags.
More Retweets
Twitter makes it easy for users to share the content they like by allowing them to retweet anything they find interesting. The use of hashtags can increase the likelihood people will retweet your posts. In fact, Tweets that contain at least one hashtag are 55 percent more likely to be retweeted than a post that doesn’t include any hashtags. The more people retweet your posts, the larger your reach will become.
Stay Relevant
Hashtags are a great way to keep your company relevant and in front of your target audience. While it’s important to create branded content for your blog, it isn’t necessary to brand the content you post on your social media sites. Instead, you need creative content writers who are able to research hashtags and determine which ones will put your business at the forefront. Because social media sites like Twitter are already branded when done correctly, all you need to do is use hashtags to bring readers right to your doorstep.
Keep It Simple
A social media content writer may be tempted to create elaborate hashtags in an attempt to stand out. However, this isn’t the best way to handle this aspect of social media marketing. The entire focus of your social media marketing plan should be on keeping it simple. While it’s okay to come up with your own hashtags, it’s often more effective to find hashtags related to your business that others are already using so you can enter existing conversations and get more attention.
Don’t Overdo It
Have you ever read a social media post and become annoyed because every other word is a hashtag? If so, you aren’t alone. Too many hashtags can clutter up the post and cause it to lose attention instead of attracting readers. For this reason, it’s important not to overdo it. In fact, you don’t even have to include a hashtag in every post. When you do use them, limit it to one or two per post. This will give you the search traction you’re looking for without creating a muddled post no one will want to read.
Your social media marketing plan needs to accommodate hashtags, especially if you’re using Twitter. Learning how to use these hashtags effectively will increase your traffic and help you gain the exposure you need to succeed. Hiring creative content writers can help you choose the right hashtags to use and ensure your posts are still engaging for the best results.
If you’re looking for help with your social media posts, contact us. We can provide posts that include hashtags so you can get the recognition you want.
