Nowadays, hashtags have become near synonymous with social media. They’re a neat way to categorize pieces, enhance exposure, or simply lend context to your post. Nearly every platform has a hashtag component. Whichever social media platform your business uses, hashtags are something worth considering. 

Hashtags have gained real traction in the marketing world. They now play a crucial role in online brand discoverability – provided they’re brand-relevant. You can’t include trending hashtags that have nothing to do with your company. The likelihood of your post being reported and banned is too high, and no one needs that kind of exposure. In this case, bad publicity can’t be good publicity if your content is banned! The risk is too high; avoid this practice like the plague.

By tagging your posts with hashtags, your content is easier to find when doing a general search. ‘Trending’ hashtags are the popular, heavily trafficked topics that internet-dwellers find the most interesting or important at the moment. Capitalize on well-timed posts that coincide with related hashtags. Doing so encourages natural, organic growth by making your presence known!

However, trends change faster than the wind blows. Having a dedicated digital or social media marketing is the best way to navigate what’s popular online to get the most out of your hashtags. This is an easily outsourced task, too! 

If your business goal aligns with a trending hashtag, jump on it! Ensure you do your research first though because it wouldn’t do any good to involve your company with a controversial hashtag. 

The right hashtags are the ones that have been thought about prior to posting. Industry research and keyword analysis will help you create the best hashtags for your company – checking out the competition is the best place to start. This article has a great explanation for narrowing down the topic of hashtags to ensure your content reaches your ideal audience. 

Certain content works best on certain platforms as well, and you should keep this in mind when generating hashtags. It’s important to know the difference between the influence of a hashtag on Twitter versus Facebook, and what posts suit each platform. HIPPO has a piece on what’s best for each social media platform right here. 

If you take care with your hashtags, they can work brilliantly for you.