HASHTAGS – THE DOS AND THE DONTS

In a world full of social media many people increase their engagement and following using hashtags. A hashtag, first of all, is a keyword or phrase preceded by the hash symbol (#), written within a post or comment to highlight it and facilitate a search for it. It began on networking platform twitter and has since become most popular on instagram. The hashtag itself automatically pushes a post to the top of a search page on the platform when searched by a user. This will then show all posts/image that have used the corresponding hashtag.

However when hashtagging, how do you ensure this is appropriate to your business, your brand, your mantra and of course your followers? Here at iSalon, we are delighted to share with you the dos and don’ts to achieving success when using hashtags.

Do

• Create your own hashtag, simple yet effective. A branded hashtag is always recommended as it refers specifically to your business, event or show that you are promoting. Something as simple as the business name is recommended,
• Join in with the trends. The top trending hashtags can be found in the twitter and instagram explore pages, therefore if appropriate, link in with these. It could be in reference to a celebrity, news story or something as simple as the weather. Link wherever you can!
• Use capital letters. Many people tend to group together words, and often the hashtag can be misconstrued. By using capital letters for each word it makes it much easier to read and becomes much more apparent.
• Use 3 hashtags – the maximum. Each individual hashtag exposes your account to a variety of potential follower and clients. The more exposure the better – as long as this is relevant!

Don’t

• Do not use hashtags that are irrelevant to your and your brand, this will put people off. They will quickly realise you are not following a theme on your page.
• Don’t copy your competitors. Set yourself apart from them and create something unique.
• Don’t use hashtags that are too long. Followers search for easy one or two word hashtags and rarely search for anything over four to five words.