Are Hashtags Still a “Thing”?

The answer varies across Social Media Platforms, so here goes:

✅Instagram: Hashtags remain very important on Instagram. They are a primary way for users to discover content and for accounts to increase their reach beyond their followers.

➡️How to use them effectively: Use a mix of relevant niche hashtags, broader popular hashtags, and branded hashtags. Research popular and trending hashtags within your niche. Don’t overuse them (around 5-11 is a sweet spot for many, but test what works best for you), and avoid spammy, irrelevant hashtags.

✅Twitter (X): Hashtags are still relevant on Twitter, especially for following trends and participating in conversations. They can help your tweets get seen by a wider audience.

How to use them effectively: Use 1-2 highly relevant hashtags per tweet. Focus on trending topics and industry-specific conversations.

✅TikTok: Hashtags are crucial on TikTok. The algorithm heavily relies on hashtags to categorize content and show it to users who might be interested.

How to use them effectively: Use a mix of trending hashtags, niche-specific hashtags, and “For You Page” related hashtags (like #FYP, #ForYou). Research what’s popular in your niche and experiment to see what works.

✅LinkedIn: Hashtags are increasingly important on LinkedIn for improving content discoverability and reach. They help categorize your posts and make them searchable.

How to use them effectively: Use 2-5 relevant hashtags per post. Focus on industry keywords, skills, and topics related to your content.

✅Pinterest: Hashtags on Pinterest work as an additional way to surface content in search and can help increase visibility. While keywords in descriptions are still the most important, hashtags act as a supplementary tool.

How to use them effectively: Use up to 20 relevant hashtags in your pin descriptions, but prioritize keywords first.

🚨Where Hashtags Are Less Important (or Not Used)🚨:

🤔Facebook: Hashtags have declined in importance on Facebook. While they technically work, they don’t significantly impact reach or engagement. Facebook’s algorithm favours other factors. They can help group your own content, but they are not essential for use in every post.

🤔YouTube: Hashtags are not a major factor in YouTube’s algorithm, though they can be used in video titles and descriptions for additional context. Keywords in your title, description, and tags are much more important for search visibility.

✅Overall Importance of Hashtags✅:

Discoverability: They are still a powerful tool for increasing the discoverability of your content, especially on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Categorization: They help categorize your content and make it easier for users (and the platform’s algorithm) to understand what it’s about.

Community Building: They can be used to connect with others interested in the same topics and build a community around your brand or niche.

Campaign Tracking: Branded hashtags are useful for tracking the performance of marketing campaigns.

👁️👁️The Bottom Line👁️👁️:

Hashtags are not dead, but their golden age might be behind us on some platforms. They remain a valuable tool for organic reach and engagement, particularly on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and increasingly LinkedIn.

The key is to:

✅Use them strategically: Don’t just throw in random hashtags. Research relevant and trending ones.

✅Prioritize quality over quantity: Use a few well-chosen hashtags rather than a huge list of irrelevant ones.

✅Adapt to each platform: Understand how hashtags work on each platform and adjust your strategy accordingly.

✅Don’t rely solely on hashtags: They are just one part of a successful social media strategy. Focus on creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience, and using other platform features as well.

In short, hashtags are still relevant, but their use requires more thought and strategy than ever before. Use them wisely, and they can still be a valuable part of your social media toolkit.

Until Next Time