How To Use Hashtags on Twitter

Do you remember the day hashtags were made search-able on Facebook? 

Perhaps you don’t, <wink> but I definitely do.

Marketers everywhere were convinced they were going to be a deal changer for the platform.

And then nothing. Not really.

Sure, they make your content searchable but I would argue that they aren’t being widely used on the social platform, at least for searching.

That isn’t the case, however, for Instagram and Twitter.

On those platforms, hashtags are popular and thus it’s important to know how to use hashtags on Twitter!

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag is simply a keyword or keyword phrase without space that has a hashtag in front of it.

For example: #SocialMedia or #ILoveCali.

What does a hashtag do?

Simply put, hashtags make your content searchable.

Hashtags allow you to add your own content to a larger stream of content that is made up of conversations that include that particular hashtag.

So even if Twitter users aren’t connected anywhere, if they are all using the same hashtag their content will be together in that one stream.

The most popular Twitter hashtags often become trending topics, which occurs when large numbers of Twitter users are all tweeting the same hashtag.

Sometimes trending hashtags occur because there is some major national or international event and other times they are completely pointless (you can probably blame bored teens for those hashtags).

Hashtags are great if you are trying to centralize conversations around specific events or campaigns you’re running.

Social Media Examiner does this every year with their annual Social Media Marketing World Event. Their custom hashtag makes it easy for Twitter users to follow and get information from the event, whether they’re present or not.

Best Practices for Using Hashtags

1. Check if it’s original

If you want to tag your content with your own unique hashtag or create a Twitter chat to better engage with your followers, you definitely want to make sure that your hashtag is unique!

Do a search for the hashtag on Twitter search.

Did it come up in the search results? If it does come up, is it being used frequently?

If it does appear frequently you might want to pick something else that’s less common in order to reduce the chances of people who aren’t part of your target audience entering the conversation.

2. Keep it short

If you are creating your own custom hashtag or even if you’re combining industry keywords…make sure you keep your hashtags nice and short.

Why?

So that people can type them into the search field quickly and easily without major risk of typos.

Can you imagine doing a search for #SocialMediaMarketingWorld2015 in Twitter?

And on your mobile phone, no less? Fuhgettaboutit….

3. Pick industry keywords

Use sites like Hashtagify to find keywords that are trending for your niche and choose the one(s) that best applies to your business.

Try to stick with one or two…three max.

It’s completely acceptable to use 10+ hashtags on Instagram…but it’s NOT okay on Twitter.

(And let’s be honest, that many hashtags would probably max out your character limit and make you look like a spammer.)

4. Don’t hijack someone else’s hashtag

Social media etiquette 101. It’s rude to hijack someone else’s audience with the intention of garnering attention for yourself and your company. Don’t do it.

The same is true of jumping on board trending hashtags when they’re trending for sensitive reasons. It’s just in poor taste and will only make you look bad.

Final Thoughts

Definitely take advantage of hashtags and use at least one per tweet.

They increase the likelihood that your content is retweeted, that it’s found by other users searching for great content and it will help you get more quality followers on Twitter.

By following the 4 tips above on how to use hashtags on Twitter you’ll definitely see increased engagement, more followers and better discussions.

Just make sure you keep your hashtags short and sweet and that you practice good Twitter etiquette!