Hashtag marketing tips
Posted by Matt Hayden on Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Hashtags are used on many social networks. But the sites where they seem to have most effect are on Twitter and Instagram. I haven't gotten into the latter site yet. But I've certainly used the former a lot, and have employed them there. So the following list of observations about how to use them for marketing relates to my experience on that platform. They have most relevance to it, but I'm sure you can apply them to others.
First observation: People do tend to think that hashtags are more powerful than they actually are. So sometimes they include six or seven or even more of them in a tweet! Obviously that's overdoing it, especially on Twitter since you've got no space left to say anything ... So, I would only use one or two, three maximum. But of course you should be thoughtful about the ones you do choose to use.
You should definitely keep an eye out for trending hashtags, and if they are appropriate then be sure to include them.
Relevance is key here, of course ... Let's say the hashtag for your city or suburb is trending because of some newsworthy event such as a crime or accident. Some people who have local businesses might want to take advantage of that. But it's a bit ghoulish. And I don't think it would help anyway. People just wouldn't be interested.
Remember that each TV show usually has its own hashtag. If you use it while the show is being broadcast you can get your tweets seen by a far greater number of tweeps.
Obviously this isn't an ideal fit with more locally oriented marketing, because most TV shows are Australia-wide. Still, if you're aiming at people city-wide in Sydney, a big chunk of the TV audience is from that city. So, it's definitely worthwhile. (Examples include #Sun7, #Studio10, #TheProjectTV.)
Radio stations also have their own hashtags. Including these can be beneficial, especially if you are marketing something relevant to a specific geographic area. For example, in Sydney you can use #2GB, #ABCRadioSydney, #2SM. You can include these when you're offering your two cents on an interview related to what you're promoting.
Still on local marketing: Obviously just the location hashtags such as #Sydney and #SydneyNSW and #SydneyAustralia can be relevant and worthwhile ... Also, remember suburb names like #Balmain, #Bondi, etc. There are many variations such as #ILoveSydney #SydneyLife, #Sydneywork that are popular too.
If you're in hospitality industry then you can use #Sydneyeats, #Sydneyfood, #Sydneycafes, etc. Needless to say, there are many other useful niche and career specific ones.
These more specific hashtags can be a good choice because they seem to be moderately -- as opposed to extremely -- popular. So, rather than just getting buried under the avalanche of all the other hashtagged tweets in an hour or so, yours can hang around in the "Top" (ie most popular) section for days, if not weeks.
First observation: People do tend to think that hashtags are more powerful than they actually are. So sometimes they include six or seven or even more of them in a tweet! Obviously that's overdoing it, especially on Twitter since you've got no space left to say anything ... So, I would only use one or two, three maximum. But of course you should be thoughtful about the ones you do choose to use.
You should definitely keep an eye out for trending hashtags, and if they are appropriate then be sure to include them.
Relevance is key here, of course ... Let's say the hashtag for your city or suburb is trending because of some newsworthy event such as a crime or accident. Some people who have local businesses might want to take advantage of that. But it's a bit ghoulish. And I don't think it would help anyway. People just wouldn't be interested.
Remember that each TV show usually has its own hashtag. If you use it while the show is being broadcast you can get your tweets seen by a far greater number of tweeps.
Obviously this isn't an ideal fit with more locally oriented marketing, because most TV shows are Australia-wide. Still, if you're aiming at people city-wide in Sydney, a big chunk of the TV audience is from that city. So, it's definitely worthwhile. (Examples include #Sun7, #Studio10, #TheProjectTV.)
Radio stations also have their own hashtags. Including these can be beneficial, especially if you are marketing something relevant to a specific geographic area. For example, in Sydney you can use #2GB, #ABCRadioSydney, #2SM. You can include these when you're offering your two cents on an interview related to what you're promoting.
Still on local marketing: Obviously just the location hashtags such as #Sydney and #SydneyNSW and #SydneyAustralia can be relevant and worthwhile ... Also, remember suburb names like #Balmain, #Bondi, etc. There are many variations such as #ILoveSydney #SydneyLife, #Sydneywork that are popular too.
If you're in hospitality industry then you can use #Sydneyeats, #Sydneyfood, #Sydneycafes, etc. Needless to say, there are many other useful niche and career specific ones.
These more specific hashtags can be a good choice because they seem to be moderately -- as opposed to extremely -- popular. So, rather than just getting buried under the avalanche of all the other hashtagged tweets in an hour or so, yours can hang around in the "Top" (ie most popular) section for days, if not weeks.
