If you want your online shop to gain not only reach but also customers, you have probably long since incorporated social media into your marketing strategy.

There are, however, certain strategies that you should take a closer look at. This also includes the use of hashtags in your posts on social media. In this article, we are going to show you how you can improve your social media marketing with hashtags!

What is a hashtag anyway?

A hashtag is a word (or a series of words) preceded by a hash sign (#).

Hashtags are used for communication on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Users and companies that use these platforms often add hashtags (e.g. #TrustedShops) to their posts.

In this way, the reach of the post can be increased, as these tags can be clicked, similar to links.

In addition, users can search for specific hashtags on social networks.

By clicking on such a hashtag, you will be redirected to an overview page on which all posts are displayed that contain the same special term as a hashtag.

Usually, these are displayed in chronological order or a different order.

Many users use this type of search function to discover new content that matches their interests, location, etc.

Most social media shows you which hashtags are currently used the most by users.

In this way, you can determine which content and topics are enormously popular and are increasingly being discussed in a certain country, region, or group.

The most popular social media platforms that use hashtags are Twitter (the creators of hashtags), Instagram, and Pinterest.

But they also use LinkedIn and Facebook to a lesser extent.

What do I need hashtags for?

If you integrate the relevant hashtags in your posts, you will reach significantly more potential new customers for your online shop.

People who are not yet following your social media profile could come across the hashtags you used in your posts and visit your store’s profile afterward.

Including good hashtags in your social media marketing strategy is an effective way of getting more people to follow your online store’s profile.

This in turn improves your presence on social networks and at the same time increases the awareness of your brand.

So think of hashtags as a combination of SEO and targeting strategies.

By focusing on a range of keywords (which hashtags, in essence, are) your online store can be discovered when your posts appear on the hashtag summary pages.

This can be compared to how your website is displayed on a Google search for a specific keyword or search term.

Three types of hashtags

There are three different types of marketing strategies when using hashtags:

• Brand and campaign-specific hashtags
• Trending hashtags
• Content hashtags

Brand and campaign-related hashtags

These types of hashtags are probably the most interesting to you.

You can use these to promote products, slogans, campaigns, or your brand in general.

Get people on social media to use these hashtags too (e.g. with a photo contest)!

That way, people even promote your business with their posts!

About You, an online retailer that sells fashion and clothing products adds branded and campaign-related hashtags to its social media posts. This encourages customers to use these hashtags as well.

#Creativebeing #and memorable

Trend hashtags

As you’ve probably guessed by now, the trending hashtags are based on topics that are currently particularly popular on social media.

Whenever you come across a trending hashtag that could be associated with your company or product, be sure to include it in your posts.

Posts that contain these types of hashtags are potentially more likely to be seen by the general public.

Of course, there is a risk here that you might jump onto a rather controversial topic or trend.

This is possibly the riskiest strategy for a company as it has the greatest potential for public backlash if your intentions seem insincere.

Content related hashtags

These types of hashtags, as the name suggests, relate to the content of your post.

With this, you sort your contribution into a certain category or a certain topic.

If possible, this should be a topic or keyword that users are specifically looking for.

With these types of hashtags, you get in direct contact with your followers (or rather your target audience) so that they are of great importance to you and your company.

For example, if you sell tea in your online shop, you can hashtag images of your products like #coffee.

Of course, you can also get more creative and use hashtags like # KaffeeKräzchen or #KaffeePause.

Tips for creating the best hashtags for your social media marketing

While creating hashtags for social media marketing, consider a risk management approach. Research potential associations and implications of hashtags. Avoid controversial or offensive terms. Test hashtags for engagement and relevance. Monitor feedback and make adjustments if needed. A thoughtful approach ensures effective hashtag campaigns.

Here are some hashtag tips and tricks.

Do some research on your target audience

Before making a hashtag public on social media, find out what your followers and target audience are talking about.

Check what your followers are posting to find out which hashtags are best for your posts.

Go through your list of followers and try to find out what topics or wishes they share: what hashtags do they use in their posts?

Perhaps you can include some of these ideas, or even these very hashtags, in your campaigns or specific posts.

Even if you choose not to use the same hashtags, doing research will help you better understand your followers (and potential customers).

The research may even lead you to completely change your campaigns or posts.

This strategy is especially true for companies that are implementing a specific business strategy or want to specifically advertise certain products on social media.

Bet on both “longtail” hashtags and popular hashtags

We already indicated that you can of course also target popular and frequently used hashtags.

However, just like SEO, popular keywords mean a lot of competition.

The concept of long-tail keywords is simple.

Short search terms with just one word (e.g. coffee) can trigger millions of search queries.

That’s a lot of viewers, but it also means that hundreds of companies are competing for a high ranking for the word “coffee”.

Search queries for a word like “coffee love” may be less extensive, but the people who search for that term will be more engaged and more likely to be coffee enthusiasts – your ideal customers.

In other words, if you find less popular hashtags, you could end up with a small but highly engaged niche market.

Sure, they may have fewer posts on these keywords, but the ones that search the hashtag are most likely your target audience.

This is what your hashtags should look like

Now that you’ve done your research, it’s time to create posts that contain hashtags.

It’s best to think of some that are both simple and memorable.

For better readability, you can capitalize the first letter of each word. (#BetterToRead)

Remember that your social media marketing strategy and associated hashtags should be based on the platform you are using (Instagram, Twitter, etc.).

For example, on Twitter, you should only use one or two hashtags per post, while on Instagram a good number would be between eight and ten.

On the other hand, with Facebook and Linkedin, you’ll likely narrow it down to one or two as well.

What to avoid when creating hashtags on social media

Don’t post a hashtag without researching it first.

Try to keep your hashtags as short as possible, otherwise, there is a risk that they will not be remembered by your target audience. (#This is not easy for the reader)

But don’t use every single word as a hashtag (#no one # wants to #read #sowas #).

At best, try to add hashtags to the post at the time of posting (not after).

If you do this afterward on Instagram, for example, your post will still be displayed on the overview page according to the original time of publication and not only after you have added the hashtag.

This makes it harder to find your post.

Avoid using ambiguous hashtags – they could confuse your followers and future customers.

Conclusion

Including hashtags in your social media posts can increase your reach on social networks and your posts will be seen by more people.

It is also easier to reach potential customers.

This is why hashtags are a great way to promote your online store on social media!

#Much success trying out new #hashtags!

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