Hashtags are everywhere on social media. You’ll see them tacked on to the end of Instagram posts, incorporated into the body of a tweet, and sparingly used on Facebook. They’re key for discovering and organizing social media posts – they make it easy for you to find additional posts on a related topic so that you can more easily contribute to the conversation on a topic.

 But, why should you start your own hashtag(s)? The easy answer is to group your posts together so that people can find more of your content. However, you don’t want to start randomly making hashtags with no rhyme or reason – that will only confuse people and further bury your content.  

Let’s dive into the why – and when – you start your own hashtag. 

The why

Some hashtags are overused -- meaning they get a lot of reach – but after a while the content associated with them may turn into spam. Piggybacking off already popular hashtags can help get you a lot of reach, but your posts may also get lost in the shuffle. 

By creating your own, you can help convert a follower of a more general topic (for example, #marketing), into someone that follows you (#hueandtone). When people discover your content using a general hashtag, the theory is that they’ll want to see more, leading them click on your branded hashtag to see what else you have to offer.  

By creating your own hashtag, you’ll be able to: 

• Stand out from the crowd

• Cement credibility and establish authority

• Increase your engagement and reach

• Create cross-channel awareness (if you use it consistently) 

• Be able to track posts other people make about your brand
  

The when

While there should be a solid reason beyond creating a new hashtag, we also suggest you have fun and play around with them. See what sticks before making it part of your brand identity. As an example, #ShareACoke, has become a staple part of Coca Cola’s social strategy. It works well, because it encourages recurring interaction and tagging. 

That said, some popular reasons for creating custom hashtags include:

• Launching a new product, service, or campaign

• Posting live updates from an event

• Hosting a live chat or Q&A session

• Running a competition

• Establishing a general hashtag for your brand 

In each of the above instances, using previously and frequently used hashtags can cause havoc. Not only do they make it difficult for you to monitor, but it can confuse your audience. You don’t want to put your followers in the position of having to scroll through irrelevant content just to find what they’re looking for. 

How to create a hashtag in 5 simple steps 

1.  First things first, define your goals. Some fairly common ones include increasing:

• Brand conversations

• Visibility

• Total link clicks

• Total reach

• Mentions

• Followers

• Likes

Behavioral patterns vary on different networks, so if you’re using your new hashtag across multiple social channels, you should set goals specific for each one.

2.  The fun part - get creative! But make sure your hashtag’s the right balance between engaging and easily understandable -- if people don’t instantly grasp it, the effect’s kind of lost.

Here are some simple tips to start you off: 

• Keep it short and snappy

• Make it easy to remember

• Ensure it’s relevant to your brand

• Don’t make it too generic

• Check it doesn’t have any obscure double meanings -- let’s not forget the #susanalbumparty fail!

3. Do your research. Make sure it’s not already in use on anysocial media networks, and double-check it doesn’t, for whatever reason, have any potentially offensive roots or connotations. 

4.  Make it actionable. At the end of the day, every marketer’s end goal is to drive revenue. Even if your hashtag’s goal is to increase social follows, the bigger picture is more sales. So, if you can, put an actionable spin on your new hashtag -- ask a question, play on an emotion, encourage engagement, or incite urgency, for example.

5.  Last but certainly not least, triple check your hashtag for typos and post it! See what kind of reaction you get, and if you feel like the tag falls flat after a handful of posts, then don’t be afraid to try out a new one. 

---

Hue & Tone Creative: SOCIAL MEDIA Services for Greensboro and beyond

Struggling to keep up with the comments, likes, and mentions on your posts? Can’t come up with a creative hashtag? Stumped for original content ideas? We can handle all of that for you. From multi-channel audits to content generation and social media monitoring, Hue & Tone is the solution for all your social media woes.

Everyone knows that hashtags and pictures go together like PB&J. But not everyone knows how to correctly utilize hashtags.  When it comes to helping people find your company and products on Instagram, hashtags can play a big role -- but only if you're using the right ones. 

Today, we're going to run through the two main types of hashtags, and then cover how to find and use them properly.

Types

Before you start collecting hashtags, it’s important to understand which ones you should be using. There are two main types to choose from: community and branded hashtags.

Community hashtags are popular on Instagram, but they don’t really have anything to do with brands. For instance, #tbt or #cat could be used by anybody, it’s not exclusive to a company. These are great for helping people discover your profile -- but you'll want to be specific and primarily use hashtags that directly relate to the mission of your brand.

Unlike community hashtags, branded hashtags are for… you guessed it, brands! Usually companies use a consistent tag featuring their name, but you could also make one for a promotion, competition, or product launch.

Branded hashtags are awesome for supporting user-generated content campaigns (UGC) because they help people connect with you and show their love for your brand. 

Where to Find Hashtags

Although it would be easy to throw on a couple of hashtags and call it a day, you really need to your homework if you want to be discovered. 

Save your hashtags tags in Google Docs or a spread sheet so that you have on hand when you need them. 

We recommend thinking like your audience. Dig around and find out which influencers and hashtags are popular with your followers. It also helps to zero in on the more specific community hashtags because they have a smaller following. For example, #artistsoninstagram has over 3 million posts, but if you narrow it down to #inkdrawing, you have about 820,000 posts to compete with. Less competition = more exposure for you.

Speaking of competition, it may also help to scope out what tags they’re using. If they’re posts are getting a crazy amount of attention, hunt around for the right hashtags to spark some likes on your own page. 

Instagram Pro tip

Keep your post clutter free by hiding your hashtags. 

1. Open Notes in your phone.

2. Type a dot and hit return (Repeat this process 5 times).

3. Add all the hashtags you want to use after the 5th dot.

4. Copy all the dots and hashtags.

5. After you post your picture in Instagram, hit the comment button and paste all your dots and hashtags.

6. When you look back at your post, all the tags should be hidden!

Need a few hashtag ideas to help you get started? Here are some popular ones for some of the top industries and the Triad:

Fitness:
#fitlife
#getoutside
#eatclean
#fitspo
#fitnessgoals 

Greensboro & the Triad:
#gso
#gbo
#sogso
#wsnc
#gatecity

 Marketing:
#digitalmarketing
#advertising
#entrepreneurship
#influencermarketing
#marketingstrategy

Restaurants:
#delicious
#locallygrown
#eatlocal
#treatyoself
#hungry

Nonprofits:
#volunteer
#change
#dogood
#socialgood
#socialimpact

---

Social Media Marketing in the Triad: Hue & Tone Creative

Does managing all your social media accounts feel like a chore? We can give you a hand! Whether you’re looking to expand your list of followers or boost your amount of likes, the digital marketing pros at Hue & Tone Creative can give your accounts the attention they need.