Are hashtags…dead?
A recent client inquiry got me thinking, “Are hashtags really useful anymore?
I (finally!) landed the client project I had been working on for months. They needed a social media strategy + content plan—stat! I got to work and presented my proposal with sample content for them to review, and then I heard it.
“But hashtags aren’t really relevant anymore, right?”
My immediate reaction was, “Of course they are!” But I work in digital marketing and am probably biased. It’s a good question, and one I think, frankly, deserves another look.1
Every influencer out there has been telling us for as long as I can remember that we should be using all 30 hashtags on our Instagram posts. Until now. According to a recent dialogue with Instagram staff, using all 30 hashtags can actually confuse the algorithm. Instead, we should only use 8-15 hashtags per post.
Okay, but why?
Like a little kid, my first question is always why? Why do we use hashtags in the first place? Said differently—
What is the actual point of a hashtag?
Hashtags are a way to make content discoverable and reach more people.
We use hashtags to engage in conversations that are already happening. For example, when I use the hashtag #carbonsteelpans for my client, I’m helping their content show up in feeds that are relevant to a very niche audience that wants to know more about carbon steel cookware.2
Did you know that people can follow hashtags on social media? So for folks that follow #carbonsteelpans, there’s a chance they will see my client’s content.3
You could argue a number of other reasons why we use hashtags, but I don’t want to veer too far off-topic. You get the gist. If you’re looking for more reasons, I invite you to check out this Hootsuite post.
Assuming we can get on board with why they are used, the next logical question should be—
Do they work?
I guess this depends on your definition of “work.”
The best and easiest way to see if hashtags are “working” for your brand or business is to enlist the help of a social media management/listening tool. But these tools cost money, so I’ll gift you with the cheapest way to understand the impact of hashtags—native platform insights.
Below is an example of insights from a recent post I did for a client. You can see this information by tapping “View Insights” on any post from a business account.
Consider that this client is a growing business with less than 315 followers. Without hashtags, their content may have only been seen by a fraction of their 315 followers. By leveraging hashtags, this client doubled their reach. If even one of these people converted to a sale, it would make the time it took to add relevant hashtags worth it—agreed?
Okay, so back to the question that started it all—
Are hashtags dead?
No.
It takes only minutes to do a little research on adding hashtags for the opportunity to get seen by more people without paying to be seen. If one of those new people converts to a follower, you’ve got a chance to nurture them to conversion through your content. And if they convert right away, well that’s just a cherry on top!
The bottom line is this—Hashtags are one tactic in your nearly unlimited digital toolbag to reach your audience. To get the most out of hashtags (or any tactic), you need to understand its intended purpose and connection to the marketing plan (and greater business goals).
One tactic isn’t going to make or break your conversion goals. You need to integrate, measure and optimize all of your marketing tactics for the best chance to reach your target audience and grow your business.
…And should you need help putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together, you know where to find me—hello@modernmoxie.co. 😉
Footnotes:
Instagram is the only channel I recommend using more than 1-2 hashtags per post on, so this post is aimed at hashtag use on Insta.
ALWAYS research the hashtags you’re using to make sure you’re not inadvertently engaging in a conversation you don’t want to be a part of or using a hashtag that has been banned.
Part of researching hashtags is understanding how many times a hashtag has been used. Hashtags with over 500K uses are frequently used, which means there is a lot of competition for your content to be seen. I like using a mix of hashtags—meaning, I like to use some hashtags with <10K uses, some with 10-200K uses and some with >200K uses for a range of opportunities to be seen/heard.
