Using Hashtags to Build Your Business

You’ve started your business, and it looks like it has the potential to take off. Now you’re looking for ways to increase sales. If you haven’t already considered it, you should be looking at hashtags as a means of building your business. While there are many other means of building your personal brand, the use of hashtags is easy and effortless.

How do hashtags work?

A hashtag is a label that is used on words or phrases on social media. They can be phrases or acronyms. These categorize together specific content, filtering your social media posts so that they are both linkable and searchable. When you click on a hashtag, you are immediately brought to a page that has all of the posts utilizing that same hashtag, allowing users to search for posts with relevant content under a common topic. As a result of the filtering process and the discovery of related content, users that search for a hashtag associated with your business or brand will come across your account page. With any luck, they will begin engaging with you and eventually become a new follower and customer.

Because of this hashtags are critical for small businesses in particular because they attract consumers to your site and grow your company’s online presence. They allow you to increase your social media engagement with both loyal customers and brand new consumers. As a result, the use of hashtags can allow you to facilitate relationships and build upon the interest people have in your product or service. Social media users who are interested in a particular field, industry, or business are more likely to search for hashtags related to it. Use your hashtags to generate likes, and you will draw consumers to your site.

How do I make hashtags work for my business?

Start by creating a hashtag that is unique to your business or brand. Using something generic like #bestcakes will filter thousands of other posts that are not linked or related to you. Be more specific and include your brand or business name, or think about what is special about your cake that separates them from others. The goal is to find something that markets itself to your users so that it filters their posts about your store, product, or service.

Make sure that the hashtag is easy to remember. If the hashtag is too long and complicated, followers won’t remember it and won’t use.it. Find something that is easy, unique, and related to your business so that it will link all posts related to your brand on all social platforms and will allow your customers to engage with one another. When using the hashtag, be sure to add it to your posts instead of just throwing it out to your followers without context.

Avoid hashtagging a million different things in one post. While Instagram allows for up to 30 hashtags in one post, it is often overwhelming for consumers to see more hashtags than words in your post. Twitter allows for only two. Remember that the goal is to show up in the right searches, so be sure to hashtag relevant keywords, phrases, or photos that will bring new customers to your business page. Avoid using multiple hashtags unless they are very relevant to your post, and try to avoid repeating the same hashtag multiple times in one post, as it does not increase the effectiveness of the hashtag.

How can I do more than use hashtags for likes?

Many businesses who host promotions, giveaways, are sales use hashtags to announce these events over social media. Bakeries might use #bestcakescleveland to entice customers who are looking for the best cakes in their area. Fitness centers might use a hashtag that announces a weight loss challenge or promotes a local marathon. Small businesses, like landscapers, might choose to use hashtags when they host contest giveaways or special deals for homeowners looking to make changes to their yard.

Remember that there are many kinds of hashtags. From branded hashtags to community hashtags, you can find many ways to engage your followers and increase consumer interest by mixing up what you do. By researching your competitors, you may find hashtags that are generating interest in your field or industry and decide to capitalize on those. Remember that the goal is to find areas that represent untapped markets and pockets of interest in your product or service, so using Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook business tools may help you research what these are.

What are some ways you’ve seen hashtags used effectively? Are there any creative ideas you have for building a business using hashtags? Feel free to add your thoughts here.