How to Hashtag Your Way to Prominence

In the world of technology and social media, one thing has reigned true from the very beginning. A certain symbol has stuck around since the dawn of the internet, only growing in importance as each day passes. We utilize this symbol so much, it has made its way into the English language as an everyday part of conversation when the context calls for a point of emphasis. Known formally as the “pound sign” or “number sign” or my personal favorite “tic tac toe board,” the hashtag has become a pillar on which we, as social media users, lean on to get our message out there. And there is one thing that can be said about these hashtags:

Hashtags. Are. Crucial.
If there is one thing that new-to-the-scene social media users need to know, it’s that hashtags can grow your profile (personal or business) quickly if you do it right. A tweet with the right hashtag can go from just being seen by your immediate followers to being viewed by thousands or even millions of people around the world. Now before you start #hashtagging #every #tweet, #status and #picture, it is important to understand what social media platforms are more privy to hashtag usage and what ones don’t necessarily require hashtagging to be successful. Here are the three titans of social media; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and how they can be successfully navigated with hashtags.

Facebook
The big kahuna known as Facebook has been a reverent power of the social media industry since its launch in 2004. While it is certainly handy when you’re organizing your 20-year high school reunion or sharing pictures from a family vacation, it is also essential for building a business brand. Using hashtags on Facebook is crucial in gaining interactions and impressions but also a very delicate process. Unlike Twitter and Instagram, where hashtags are more prominent, Facebook hashtagging is far more concerned with quality than quantity. To gain the most impressions, selecting the right one or two hashtags is the way to go. As the hashtags increase, the impressions decrease. Be wary of overusing hashtags on Facebook, it can keep you from growing your page.

Twitter
This social media giant offers “real-time” development that is updated as fast as your mouse can click or your finger can drag. Hashtags are also much more prevalent here, pairing trending topics with hashtags to allow users to jump right into conversations about what they are locked on in at the moment. More frequent hashtags are acceptable here, using 1-3 per tweet offers the greatest results in regards to greatest number of impressions. Using a hashtag on Twitter that is in direct correlation with a hot topic or current event (i.e. using the hashtag #SuperBowVII during the Super Bowl) can send your tweet into the hashtag world for all of the Twitterverse to see.

Instagram
As far as social media platforms go, Instagram is the place that inspires extensive hashtag use. On any given post, you can see as few as one or two hashtags and as many as 20 or 30 plus. Instagram is all about finding popular keywords and pairing them with hashtags to gather impressions from anyone searching that particular hashtag. As a business wanting to increase the number of followers and impressions you gain on any given post, finding relative hashtags and adding them to your image description allows all sorts of exposure on the internet. On this social media platform, quantity is just as important as quality.

The presence of hashtags has changed the way we search, advertise, market and converse on social media platforms. If you are a business looking to grow your social media presence, consider looking into different hashtags people in your realm use in order to build your brand. We at Stellar Blue are constantly looking to build our following and hashtags are a critical element of our marketing strategies. If you’re looking for fun and creative ways to use hashtags in your social media strategy, contact the team today!

And remember, have fun and get creative with hashtags. Maybe you’ll create the #nextgreatesthashtag.