On a Monday morning when you scroll your Twitter account, you must have noticed #MondayMotivation trending. Ever wondered why most users resort to using hashtags when posting an image or text? Let us first understand what hashtags are.
A hashtag is a word or key phrase preceded by a hash (also called pound) symbol i.e. #. It is widely used on social media to help those who may be interested in a particular topic and allows them to find the topic by using a hashtag followed by a keyword. This helps in drawing attention to a post and encourages interaction.
Why are hashtags used?
Hashtags or # help expand your reach beyond your immediate followers. With the use of hashtags, one can start, tap into, and engage with new conversations on various social media platforms. Moreover, hashtags also help join conversations and participate in trending topics. This helps create a sense of community and encourages engagement.
Some of the benefits of using hashtags are listed below:
- Enhanced discoverability: Hashtags will allow content to be found easily by people who may be interested in the topic. When a user searches for a particular hashtag, they can view posts that include the searched hashtag, making it easier for users to find your content.
- Branding: Hashtags help users promote their brand and create brand awareness. Through the use of a unique hashtag, one can increase the visibility of their brand across a number of social media platforms.
- Driving engagement: Through the use of relevant hashtags users can drive their engagement rate on their social media posts. By using # with posts, users can attract more followers, drive likes and comments, and encourage people to share their content.
- Tracking campaigns: Hashtags help with tracking the success of a social media campaign. By designing a unique hashtag for a campaign, one can track the total number of posts, likes, and shares related to that campaign.
- Trending topics: Using hashtags help join conversations around trending news, events, and topics. Using a relevant hashtag can help users attract traffic to their page and boost visibility.
From the above, you may have understood that hashtags have emerged as a key social media marketing tool. Yes, they are relevant and will continue to be so in the times to come as they serve as a way to categorize content and make it more discoverable to those who may be interested in a particular topic. They are effective in driving reach, and connecting people around shared causes and interests.
So what hashtags do you use regularly? Do tell us in the comments.
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