1. Don't reinvent the wheel.
Trying to get your audience or customers to start using a whole new hashtag is a whole marketing campaign in itself! Instead have a look at accounts who target the same people as you and see what hashtags they are using. Plus look at people who already engage with your account and see what hashtags they like to use!
2. Think about how your audience ACTUALLY behaves.
Much like Google search words - are real-life people even using the hashtags you are? For example, I had a client who was running some family art workshops. But when was the last time you saw a parent using the hashtag #familyartworkshop even if posting from a workshop? Whereas #parentsofinstagram #mumlife and #whatson are used a lot by this group so by using them too your much more likely to reach these people. Try to think about your audience rather than your product or service when thinking of hashtags.
3. Find common ground.
A good quick win when it comes to hashtags and even creating content is to use ones which are consistently trending week on week. For example, #ThrowbackThursday or #MondayMotivation . Have a look out for ones relevant to your sector too, for example Comms Kick is a small business that targets small business so by joining in with #smallbusinesssunday we often reach new potential clients.
4. Ask Ask Ask.
If there's a hashtag you want your brand to be associated with, then ask your customers, clients and colleagues to use it when posting about you. If you don't tell them, who will? For example, if you're a clothing brand you could ask customers to use #ootd when posting about your products. This is much more relevant and do-able to your customers, both current and potential. There's more on getting your customers or clients to talk about you online in this video.
5. Check - it!
Finally, if you are using a hashtag you haven't used before just quickly type it into the search function and check how other people use it. Sometimes hashtags can take on a new meaning or become connected to other things that you might not want your brand associated with. Just search #humpday and you'll see what I mean!
And that's it! There will be plenty more where that came from in Drop Kick - Comms Kick's new newsletter. Subscribe now to get tips exclusively for subscribers to your inbox.
