How To Use Hashtags Correctly To Gain Targeted Audience?

Introduction

If you are scrolling through Instagram or TikTok and wondered why some posts are blowing up there and rest are flopped? It is not any mathematical theorem or a science law, its very simple to understand. You should know that on Social media, hashtags are the main players. These simple words according to your posts with a “#” before words can do wonders for your social media accounts.

Do you want to know about the correct use of hashtags?That’s like casting pearls before swine. In this article we’ll read how to use hashtags in a correct way. It’s not a piece of cake to use hashtags in a correct way. You should read this article completely to understand the possibilities and methods to use hashtags correctly for any of your social media channels.

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What Are Hashtags? What is The Appropriate Use Of Hashtags?

Hashtags are the words following the hash “#” sign. Over social media, Chris Messina first suggested hashtags on Twitter. These are actually the labels to make groups of similar content over the social media platform.

It helps people to find the hashtag related content. Later, other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok encouraged their users to use hashtags correctly. It increases the better reach and targeted audience.

It has become very easy after hashtag use to find the required topic and content. You can find topics of your interest, join trending talks, and even spark user created content. These are actual search boosters on all social media platforms now.

By using the correct hashtag and following the correct strategy of hashtags you can connect your target audience and increase your followers. If you mess with hashtags, your account can easily ruin.

What Makes Correct Use Of Hashtags So Powerful In Social Media Marketing?

Using Hashtags correctly can increase the power of your social media posts. For instance, if someone searches on social media “#digitalMarketing”, you used a hashtag in your any post correctly, then your post can pop up in the suggested list.

Many people use it for brand awareness, driving traffic to their accounts, driving traffic to their websites etc. It drives the targeted traffic to your social media account and builds your community of like minded people. The real and true engagement of targeted audiences happens only if you use hashtags correctly.

Importance Of Using Hashtags Correctly

If you are using platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, hashtags encourage their algorithm to push your posts and stuff for as many users as possible. For instance, if you add a hashtag, “#Minecraftfloweringplant”, it will pull minecraft flowering lovers to your account. It is a micro niche hashtag and drives good traffic. If you use big niche category such as “#Travel” its a macro niche and your posts might get lost in the millions of posts with big accounts.
If you are running a campaign and you want to tell people about the campaign then hashtags will do wonders. You can use the related hashtags of your campaign and encourage followers to join you. It can increase the thrill in the campaign and you can lock your goal when using hashtags correctly.

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Do’s That Nail Your Strategy For Correct Use Of Hashtag

You should make some good strategy that help you in getting reach of targeted audience on your all posts. There are some good methods to nail your hashtag strategy.

Correct Strategies Of Using Hashtags	Example
The correct beginning always leaves its marks. A simple, correct strategy of using hashtags gives a blow to your posts and social media accounts. Relevancy with correctly using hashtags brings a magical effect on your social media account.	For instance, sharing a dinner recipe, use “#EasyDinnerRecipes”, “#QuickDinnerRecipe”, #CookDinner”, or “#EasyDinner” etc makes a better strategy than use of “#Dinner”, “#Food”, #Cooking etc. It will give a boost to your post when someone searches for Dinner to make it faster to save time. It ultimately increases the chances for likes, shares and followings.
You should keep the hashtags readable, it makes it easy to understand. Use hashtags correctly by adding capitalizations in the hashtag word combination.	For example, use “#DinnerRecipe” instead of “#dinnerrecipe”. The first hashtag is easy to read and understand in the blink of an eye.
Don’t forget to make your brand hashtags. If you are running a business or some campaign, then brand hashtags are easy to reach.	For instance, you can create “#MyBrandAwareness” or “#BrandStrategy” etc to build a loyal community of targeted audience.
Another good strategy is to post on trending topics or special events etc.	For instance, if its a women day then you should do posts related to this global event by using “#WomenDay”. Create good posts with the main hashtag and related hashtags.
Following the competitors’ strategy who are ranking and getting good followers is another excellent and easy to do strategy.You should keep a check on your competitor’s strategy to see what they are doing. Read their planning and do more than them.	For example, “#NewYorkTravels” is the keyword your competitor is using in his posts. You should check this micro niche hashtag and use it accordingly in a correct ratio.
Lastly, you should track your hashtags, dive deep into the hashtags reach and performance.	For example, You should keep an eye on the database and graphs of ranking hashtags that bring views, follows, and targeted audience.

Mistakes That Can Fail Your Hashtag Strategy

There are certain mistakes that can destroy your hashtag strategy. These mistakes often occur when you misuse hashtags.

It is better to add one to two important hashtags than adding dozens of weak hashtags. If you add too many hashtags your content may look spam and hurt the visibility of your social media channel or page.
Another common mistake that people usually make is to add a sentence in the hashtag or too many words. For instance, “#ThisIsWayTooLongAndHardToReadAndUnderstand” is a bad strategy to add hashtags. These clearly signal spamming to algorithms of any social media platform.
The third mistake you should avoid is using irrelevant tags. If something is trending but your post is not creating any relevancy to it. You use trending hashtags because these are trending. It is not a correct use of hashtags in any way.
Overusing the same hashtags in every post is irrelevant, spamming, boring and ineffective. Add fresh and relevant hashtags to avoid the red flag to your account. Also remember, quality over quantity is the winning strategy always.

Recommended Use Of Hashtags On Different Social Media Platforms

As we all know, all social media platforms don’t work on the same algorithm. For each platform you should do some tweaks to use hashtags correctly. In the following we’ll be discussing some important and famous social media platforms.

Instagram

It is recommended to use up-to 30 hashtags for Instagram to get best results. Use approximately 3 to 5 hashtags in caption and first comment.

You should mix trending hashtags such as #ViralVideo with your niche hashtags. Hashtags help in discovering stories and reels.

TikTok

TikTok is a hashtag game only. Its algorithm loves hashtags for trending challenges. If you use hashtags appropriately on TikTok you can get fame within days.

To achieve your goal, it’s good to go for 3 to 5 hashtags per video including the viral ones. If you talk about For You page, its algorithm always favors relevancy and correct blend of hashtags. On TikTok, research what is trending and viral through the Discover tab.

Facebook

On Facebook, hashtags should be less. You should use 1 to 2 hashtags only. Facebook algorithm works on connections and followings than searches. If you only focus on latest news and events it will be a good strategy for Facebook.

X (Formerly Twitter)

On X, use 1 to 2 hashtags. The X works on the latest news on trending hashtags. Its algorithm purely works on hashtags and people join conversations and live events via hashtags.

Therefore, use of trending hashtags on X is a better strategy. Don’t overleaf the tweet on X with hashtags only.

LinkedIn is a famous platform for professional tags. Keep the platform professional and use only related hashtags such as #Leadership, #CareerAdvice, #SuccessGoals etc. On LinkedIn, keeping 2 to 3 hashtags per post is better for you to expand your professional profile.

YouTube

On YouTube, use hashtags in description and video title. It is recommended to use 3 to 5 hashtags in description and title together. You should keep the relevancy on YouTube, otherwise its algorithm is strict and can flag your Video if hashtags are misleading.

Pinterest is a premium platform. Using hashtags correctly on Pinterest you can enjoy the better reach to your Pinterest account. It is recommended to use descriptive hashtags on Pinterest because people use this platform for ideas.

BlueSky and Threads

These platforms are new but you should go with the balanced strategy for these platforms. Use relevant hashtags is better than spamming on the platforms.

Ways To Research To Find The Best Hashtags Related To Your Content

It is not a child’s play to use hashtags correctly. It is not a guessworking. On any social media platform, it is better to do proper research to find relevant and correct hashtags. You can search on the platform using a keyword, find the relevant posts, check their reach and then find the hashtags. You can find the hashtags and the counts as well with them. If the hashtag has high volume, it shows high competition. The better strategy is to find and use medium and low volume hashtags.
Another important thing you can do is to look for the influencers account related to your niche. Find their tags and use the less competitive from their tags. You can also use hashtag generators to find the hashtags based on your keywords. For example, on hashtag generator, you added a keyword “Fitness Tips”. You get the ideas such as #HealthyLiving #WorkoutWisdom #FitnessJourney #FitLife #ExerciseMotivation.
You should do social media analysis. Find the tags that drive the audience and better post engagement to your posts. Also, doing the competitor analysis to find the niche related better hashtags. Search your competitors, find the related tags and use those hashtags in your posts too but always in a correct way.
There are many tools that help you find hashtags. You can use such tools on a social media platform to give a boost to your page, post or profile.
It is recommended to do the manual research to get the best approach. With manual research you can find better results and use hashtags correctly. AI-powered tools are for the help purpose only but don’t over rely on these tools for long term results.

Conclusion

It is recommended to use hashtags correctly to gain popularity, fame and reach to the targeted audience. The manual approach to find the niche relevant hashtags is following the trends and competitors. You should use low competitive hashtags from the search on the platform. High volume hashtags result in bad results because of high competition on these hashtags.

Also, consistency is the key to get rankings in any social media channel. You must have to avoid flagging your account by misusing hashtags. Spamming and misleading hashtags can damage your account especially if you do it on your business posts and pages. It will destroy your business on social media platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

On Instagram, use 3 to 5 niche related hashtags. You can use these 3 to 5 hashtags combination on your Instagram caption and then use it on your first comment. Focusing on niche relevancy is the key instead of irrelevant use of hashtags.

It is focused on your hashtag strategy. It is related to 3 main questions, firstly, “What is your product or service?”, secondly, “Who is the targeted audience for your product or service?” and thirdly, “the pain point of your product which means the problem it is solving”.

Yes, hashtags are one of the most important keys to find the targeted audience on any social media platform. People use keywords to find the related posts. Also, people click on the hashtag and reach the posts using the same hashtag.

First, find your competitor and reach the audience. Observe their hashtags, enlist them, find their competition and volume, use the relevant hashtags. If your account is new, use less volume and less competitive hashtags. Add branded hashtags to your posts as well. Track the performance, to find the hashtags bringing the reach to your account.