Hashtags
Hashtags: What they are and how to use them effectively
This article tackles hashtags in social media marketing. It gives you a clear roadmap to using them strategically for reaching your target audience and achieving brand goals.
Reading time 13 minutes
Published on March 16, 2023
Table of Contents
Summary
- Hashtags increase engagement and reach. They help users discover content they care about and guide brands to target audiences interested in their niche. This increases brand visibility and sparks conversations around relevant topics.
- They act as tags that categorize content, allowing users to find exactly what they're looking for. By including a mix of popular and niche hashtags, brands can connect with potential customers actively searching for related products or services.
- Hashtags provide additional context. They provide context beyond captions, making your message clearer and more engaging. This can be especially helpful for visual content like photos and videos on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.
To hashtag or not to hashtag? That’s the question frustrating social media marketers today.
The short answer: Yes, definitely use hashtags. Hashtags are an essential asset in your digital marketing toolbox.
Hashtags impact the overall performance of social media content. Forward-thinking brands use them with specific goals and intentional strategies in mind—whether they’re making their product go viral or leveraging hashtag analytics.
Unfortunately, the confusion surrounding hashtags prevents some marketers from using them to their full potential. This is further complicated by experts who negate the benefits of hashtags or dismiss them as irrelevant.
In this article, we break down everything you need to know to hashtag with confidence. We explore what hashtags are, how to use them and examples of ways brands are successfully ushering in the new era of hashtags.
What is a hashtag?
Hashtags are words and numbers following the # symbol that categorize and track content on social media. You can add hashtags to social posts, bios and comments on most major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest.
What is the history of the hashtag?
So, where did the hashtag come from? The first hashtag debuted on Twitter in 2007 from a product designer named Chris Messina.
“I designed the hashtag to thwart any one social network from becoming the dominant gatekeeper. Think about it: The hashtag is one of the few superstructures that spans across all social media platforms.
Only hashtags allow similarly-interested folks to find each other—whether they’re on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Reddit or elsewhere. It provides a glimpse into what an interoperable, decentralized social web could be like.” — Chris Messina, Inventor of the hashtag
It's likely Chris didn't realize how ubiquitous hashtags would become. We've written more about each network at these posts: Facebook hashtags, Instagram hashtags, TikTok hashtags, YouTube hashtags and Twitter hashtags.
What is the hashtag symbol?
Many social media users and marketers immediately recognize the # symbol as a hashtag, but its official name is an octothorpe. The term was first used in 1971 when telecommunications companies introduced the # symbol to the touch-tone dialing keypad.
However, depending on how you use it, the symbol is called many different names. Before its use on social media, it was most widely known as a pound or number sign (example: #2 pencil). Musicians also use the symbol to distinguish a sharp note (example: F#), while copy editors use it to denote adding a space.
In the early days of the internet, chatroom users referred to the symbol as a “hash,” a word borrowed from programmer culture. That’s where Messina was inspired to repurpose it on Twitter. Since then, the term hashtag has dominated modern popular lexicon.
What is the purpose of a hashtag?
Given the sophistication of today’s social media algorithms, it might be difficult to remember the chaotic social feeds of the early 2000s. Users had limited control over what content they saw and were frustrated by too many uninteresting or irrelevant posts.
Hashtags were invented to help bring order to the social media user experience. Hashtags group together similar conversations to help people find content that matters to them. Once a hashtag is published, it becomes a clickable, searchable link.
For example, when you click on #SummerVibes on TikTok, you can see all videos published on the platform using that hashtag. You can also see the top videos and overall popularity of the hashtag.
What is a hashtag used for?
While organizing feeds was the original purpose of hashtags, their use case has evolved. Now, they empower users to amplify their message. Hashtags have become so powerful they can fuel entire hashtag campaigns and be the spark that ignites social movements (example: #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter).
Hashtags aren’t always a force of social change—some viral hashtags are just plain fun. Like #Gentleminions, a TikTok challenge turned cultural phenomenon that led to record-breaking box office numbers for the Minions franchise.
For brands, hashtags can help social marketers reach niche audiences and build community. We discuss that more in a post about creating your own hashtag.
According to Messina, “Many more people are interested in finding their community—or growing the one they already run. Hashtags provide a tried and true method across nearly every social media platform.”
Hashtags also help social marketers create viral campaigns, increase brand awareness and reach their business goals.
Hashtag examples to spark your next big idea
Now that you know how to use hashtags across platforms, here’s our round up of the best ways brands and creators use them.
1. Reference an internet trend
When Casper heard about #GoblinMode—the latest internet trend that celebrates lazing around—they quickly got in on the fun. As a brand known for selling state of the art mattresses, rest and relaxation is part of their ethos.
If you see a new trend that aligns with your brand, use it to inspire your next Tweet. Don’t forget to use the trending hashtag.
2. Use a hashtag for your Q&A
Orgain hosted a live Q&A event and posted their responses to Twitter using #OrganicSummer. The hashtag made it easier for their audience to follow along and engage with their content. It was general enough that it reached a lot of people, but specific enough to attract the right audience.
Are you hosting or participating in an event soon? Be sure to use that event’s hashtag in your promotional content. If there isn’t a hashtag yet, create one.
3. Combine branded and general hashtags
Jenna Kutcher, host of the Goal Digger podcast, is known for her online marketing savvy. In her LinkedIn posts, she uses hashtags that are specific to her brand (example: #GoalDiggerPodcast) and general hashtags her audience might use (example: #Entrepreneurship).
If you’re looking for inspiration for your branded hashtag, consider using the name of an existing campaign, tagline or content series your brand currently uses. The keywords are already associated with your brand, so they’ll be a natural fit.
4. Tag your location
Myles Apparel knows their customers are just as nature-obsessed as they are. Which is why tagging their Instagram images with #Donner makes sense. Donner Summit, California, is a highly-Instagrammable location made for outdoor enthusiasts.
If you’re at a location that’s significant to your audience, add it to your post or Story as a hashtag.
Frequently asked questions about hashtags
Are hashtags worth using?
Hashtags are still relevant and absolutely worth using. If you want quantifiable proof that hashtags have an impact on your social posting strategy, learn more about how to use hashtag analytics.
How can I use hashtags on Instagram?
The easy answer is to include them in your posts and comments, buf if you’re looking for more information we suggest you check out our entire article on Instagram hashtags for brands.
How can I use hashtags on Facebook?
While we briefly covered how to use hashtags on Facebook in this article, if you’re looking for more information we suggest you check out our entire article on Facebook hashtags for brands.
How can I use hashtags on TikTok?
Hashtags are critical for TikTok. So much so that we wrote a separate article on how to use hashtags on TikTok.
How to find trending hashtags?
The two main ways to find trending hashtags are to go to each social network’s unique ‘explore page’, or to use a hashtag tracking tool.
Each has its own benefits and shortcomings. While visiting each social network to find hashtags is free, it’s time-consuming and you won’t necessarily see the hashtags most relevant to your brand.
Hashtag tracking tools can aggregate the most popular hashtags across all networks. You can also pair hashtag tracking with hashtag analytics tools to find the most relevant hashtags for your particular company.
Additional resources for Hashtags
TikTok hashtags: How to use the best hashtags for more views in 2024
250+ Instagram Reel hashtags to boost engagement for your brand
Instagram hashtags: How to find best hashtags for Instagram [+ list]
Hashtag analytics: Your complete guide to tracking hashtag performance
How to use LinkedIn hashtag analytics to boost content reach
LinkedIn hashtags: The complete guide for 2024 [+ trending hashtags]
How hashtags on Facebook still work for businesses in 2024
Hashtag holidays that need to be part of your strategy in 2024
Hashtags: What they are and how to use them effectively
Halloween hashtags to kickoff spooky season
YouTube hashtags: The complete guide for marketers
A guide to hashtag campaigns for marketers
Twitter hashtags: How to find and use the right hashtags
How to create a hashtag for your brand