#hashtag

Hashtag etiquette is something that people often ignore, with businesses throwing hashtags around with reckless abandon. But should you be so carefree?

Did you know that more than 500 million tweets are sent every day? How about the fact that 1,000 photos are uploaded to Instagram every second?

Those are some pretty mind-blowing numbers, right? And that’s just two social media platforms. With so much content uploaded every second, it’s easy to see just how competitive the social media world is. That’s why so many people and brands often turn to hashtags.

Hashtags are an excellent tool for increasing reach and engaging with new audiences; however, when hashtag etiquette is ignored, you have a potential disaster brewing.

Before you start throwing hashtags around like rice at a wedding, you should consider your goals, audience, strategy, and the particular social media platform you’re using.

Let’s take a closer look at hashtag etiquette 👇

Consider your platform

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or any other social media platform, the ways in which hashtags are used can vary greatly.

Here are some excellent resources for understanding how to use hashtags on some of the world’s most popular social media platforms:

Important: If you’re spending a lot of time posting on Instagram, you may want to reconsider where you’re posting your hashtags.

Common hashtag etiquette

While the rules do certainly vary from platform to platform, there are some best practices to follow that will apply to most hashtag strategies:

Don’t string too many words together

While certain circumstances might require multiple words (#FirstWorldProblems), your hashtags should be punchy, to the point, and easy to read. Your goal, especially if you’re creating branded hashtags, should be to make your hashtags easy to rewrite and repost. If you absolutely must use longer hashtags, then make sure you capitalise each word to make it easier on the reader. #ReallyNeedToThinkAboutShorterHashtags

Don’t tag every word

Tagging every word makes you look like you have nothing better to do with your time, and whilst you really don’t, the world doesn’t need to know that.

Social media is all about trends. Whether you’re setting them or following them, being aware of what’s trending is all a part of finding success in such a fast-paced environment. Tip: most social media platforms have a trending page, so make sure you’re checking in regularly.

Here are the most popular hashtags of all time:

#love (2.1B posts)
#instagood (1.3B posts)
#fashion (972M posts)
#photooftheday (931M posts)
#photography (769M posts)
#beautiful (749M posts)
#instagram (691M posts)
#picoftheday (655M posts)
#nature (639M posts)
#happy (639M posts)

Popular hashtags are great; however, they’re super competitive. Try and find some more niche hashtags that might help you cut through.

Proofread your hashtags

This should already be an existing no-brainer in your workflow, but you must proofread all of your content, including your hashtags. Not only are misspelled hashtags bad hashtag etiquette, but they’ll also make your business look unprofessional.

Your hashtags must be relevant to your content

Let’s imagine that you’re a business that sells artisan honey. The goal of your hashtag strategy isn’t simply to reach as many people as possible, right? While you can certainly throw out as big a net as possible in the hopes of catching the right fish, the better practice would be to throw your net into the area of the ocean where the fish you want spend their time.

A business selling honey has no place in #shoes.

Keep your hashtags fresh

Look, we know how easy it is to use the same hashtags for everything you post on social media. On the surface, consistency is nice. It’s clean. We get it. However, consistency can also be a bit boring, and after a while, you’ll start to notice a did in reach. Keep an eye out for trends, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different hashtags.

Do you have a hashtag strategy?

Like all things in social media, strategy is key. While trial and error certainly plays a part, said trial and error should still be a part of your overall strategy.

When it comes to hashtags, you need to think about where you’re posting them, how many you’re posting, what you want them to achieve, and so much more. You can’t keep track of everything if you don’t have a plan and some form of analytics.

Your goal is to reach more people who are interested in your content, so you need to measure how effective different hashtags are.

Hashtag Etiquette