Social media is used by everyone these days, and the entrepreneurs of today are starting their businesses in a culture of intense social media activity. Whichever social media platform you choose to use, you'll find that the one thing that they all have in common is the hashtag. The hashtag, a ubiquitous pound sign that's followed by a key word or phrase, is part of the social media language. Who better to use hashtags than entrepreneurs? We've put together a list of great reasons why as an entrepreneur you should use hashtags, and where to use them.
Why Use Hashtags?
Many entrepreneurs wonder why they should use hashtags, and if they were to use them what good would come out of it. Thankfully, there has been a lot of research carried out on the science behind hashtags, and here are a number of great reasons why you should start using hashtags today.
- Hashtags are universal - Everyone on the social media network will be able to see your hashtag and click on it to view and explore it.
- More traffic - Tweets with hashtags tend to get twice as many clicks, retweets, favourites and replies than tweets which do not have hashtags.
- An opportunity - In spite of their proven benefits and proven ability to obtain greater engagement, only 24% of all tweets have hashtags.
They may not seem like much, but hashtags are a simple, honest, free and explosive way to increase your engagement with your target audience as an entrepreneur.
Where Should I Use Hashtags?
Every major social media platform allows hashtags, so even if you don't use all of the social media platforms you will be able to use them on the ones that you do have an account or page on. Here are some general tips and advice for using hashtags on popular social media networks.
- Facebook - Most Facebook users aren't used to pressing the hashtag key as it is a relatively new concept in Facebook. If you're using Facebook to advertise and engage with your customers, it's important to realise that the hashtag is still trying to catch on. However, don't let this keep you from using them! One or two hashtags is about right for Facebook, and it will still improve your engagement.
- Pinterest - Hashtags will only work in the pin description, and there is quite limited hashtag searchability.
- Google+ - When using Google+, hashtag use is an absolute must. The great thing about this social media platform is that you are able to use hashtags in both comments and posts, meaning that you get double the engagement opportunities.
- Twitter - The mother of all hashtagging social media networks, Twitter will allow you to hashtag to your hearts content, with nothing off limits. However, for optimum engagement on Twitter keep in mind that the best amount of hashtags is two, and any more than that may diminish engagement opportunities.
- Instagram - Go crazy with Instagram hashtags. The best engagement comes from using around 10-11.
Hashtags are incredibly powerful, and there really is no reason why you shouldn't be using them. Try implementing them in your next campaign and make a note of the difference. It will surely surprise you.
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