Using hashtags to express your messaging

Hashtags are simple tools to use on social media platforms to increase reach and engagement. It is important to spend a little time to plan a hashtag strategy or approach to your usage in order not to project randomness or appear as spam.

Using hashtags is a simple way to connect your content to a topic, event, discussion or conversation taking place on a social media platform (such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram). Platform users (like the audience you want to reach out to) can use hashtags to discover posts and conversations happening around the hashtag theme or topic. Platforms identify hashtags as a topic and provide access to the conversations through the search function (usually the search bar within the platform).

Some general tips using hashtags include:

· Good hashtags are usually short and easy to remember

· Find words that are easy to understand and relevant/specific to your topic. Going too far off tangent or using words that are difficult to understand can limit effectiveness

· Do not use too many hashtags in a post, unless you want to be regarded as the equivalent of email spam

· Hashtag content can be seen by your followers, or any platform user if your account is public

· Hashtags do not use punctuation, spaces or symbols

In earlier posts, we have shared about the importance of adopting a strategic communications mindset and framework when it comes to positioning and messaging. The social media platforms you use are examples of channels that you express your messaging through. This extends to your use of hashtags as well.

Used well, the right set or combinations of hashtags can provide clarity and support your messages. It can also provide your brand with a digital personality depending on the tone your hashtags are used when combined with the rest of the copy.

Hashtags can help your brand share your messaging in the following manner:

· Taking part in relevant conversations when your brand can add value to the recipients. This increase social media engagement.

· Driving conversation with a branded hashtag can help serve as another customer channel to solicit feedback, provide product/service updates or to address issues.

· Provide context to your message when there is limit to caption space, or when platform users do not have the time or attention span to read long captions

· Help new-to-you audiences find you based on the value you are adding to the theme or topic

Here are some tips on using hashtags to share your messaging:

· Monitor your competitors, related adjacent companies and social media influencers or KOLs to find out the combination of hashtags, and the frequency that they post. This will help you identify which hashtags can work for your brand, and who it might reach out to.

· Consider using related hashtags. These can be found through the platform (e.g. Instagram Explore section) or through monitoring other brands’ use of hashtags. They might point to more targeted audiences that you can reach out to. Examples of related hashtags are #travel x #travelpictures or #marketing x #marketingstrategy.

· Track your hashtags and analyse which posts are popular; and see if you can attribute the success to the hashtags. If there are hashtags that seem to be associated with popular posts, then you might want to include them ongoing in posts.

There are tools available to help brands monitor and track the effectiveness of hashtags. Some of them include Hashtagify that rates hashtags on Twitter and Instagram for popularity and Hootsuite that uses search streams to determine popularity and effectiveness.

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We are Brand Utility is a business consultancy. We work with brands in the corporate, retail, travel and technology spaces.

We offer strategy and tactics to support growth outcomes - revenue, scale, regional expansion and market entry – for our clients.

Areas of support include:

· Strategic communications: Approach to market, brand concept and map, positioning, messaging, story and narrative, thought leadership

· Marketing: Campaign/programme planning, story-based marketing execution, digital marketing, community amplification, content planning and production, go-to-market execution

· Lead generation: Digital advertising, social media advertising, social commerce, e-commerce

· Integration of marketing with business operations: We plan and execute as a seconded marketing and/or PR lead for your brand

Discover more about our services at our website or book an exploratory consultation through this link.

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