By now you likely know the importance of using hashtags in your social media posts, but are you getting the most out of them? Do you know when it’s appropriate to use hashtags?
Before we dive into the best time to use hashtags, let’s cover a few basics:
- There are no spaces used in hashtags. If you try to use spaces in a hashtag, the search engines will only recognize the letters immediately following the pound sign. The space signals the end of the hashtag.
- Capital letters are sometimes useful when it comes to the readability of your hashtag, but not necessarily essential. #TheSavvySocialista will produce the same search results as #thesavvysocialista, but the capital letters might make it easier for your readers to read and understand at a glance.
- Punctuation marks and special characters are not allowed.
When To Use Hashtags In Social Media
Twitter – According to research by Buddy Media, tweets containing one or two hashtags receive more than doubles the chances of engagement. However, you must be cautious not to over-do it. That same research shows that exceeding two hashtags on a Twitter post actually reduces the chance of engagement by 17%.
Instagram – Studies show the number of hashtags acceptable on a single Instagram post are exponentially greater than Twitter. Interactions on Instagram posts are highest with 11 or more hashtags.
Even though Instagram users do see more engagement when they use a higher number of hashtags, we would never recommend a client use 11 or more hashtags on a photo. The more hashtags you have in a post, the more likely you are to attract spam accounts and people who aren’t your target audience.
A good rule of thumb for hashtags on Instagram is not have more hashtags than actual content in your post. You should also remember to use hashtags relevant to your post, and to your target audience.
Not on Facebook – This platform is surrounded by controversy when it comes to hashtags. Facebook added hashtag support in June of 2013. Since then, the results show Facebook posts without hashtags are much more likely to have interactions than the posts containing hashtags. In this circumstance, hashtags on your posts may hurt your cause more than help.
With proper execution you can use hashtags in your online posts could gain your organization the valuable exposure you’ve been striving.