What is a hashtag? How Is It Used Most Effectively?

I think we all have an idea of ​​what a hashtag is, but having an opinion about something is not the same as understanding it. For this reason, what is a hashtag, how it should be used and what tools we can use in this regard, all in this article!

What is hashtag?

Hashtag is the name given to phrases that are used with the (#) symbol, written without spaces, and that make the content reach more people. For example, the most used hashtags (popular tags) in the past year are: #love, #instagood, #photooftheday, #fashion.

When you think of hashtags, #tbt is one of the first hashtags that comes to mind. If you ask what is #tbt: Throwback Thursday, that is ‘Back to Thursday’. Although it started on Instagram, this hashtag, which is also used on Facebook and Twitter, is used when sharing out-of-date photos. If you’re wondering what Tb is, this hashtag is used when outdated posts are made outside of Thursday, and it means throwback.

The most used hashtags vary from industry to industry. For example, the hashtags that a business that appeals to travelers should use are: #travel #photography #nature #travelphotography #travelgram #wanderlust #instatravel #travelblogger #trip #adventure. For an entrepreneur, the hashtags that will get the most engagement are: #businessowner #smallbusinessowner #beyourownboss #entrepreneurial #startups #entrepreneurspirit. The industry you are in, the segment you are addressing and the platform you use will affect the hashtags and the number of hashtags you will use.

Hashtags serve to appropriately tag content so that users can easily find posts related to a topic of interest or a specific person. It is most commonly used on Instagram and Twitter to categorize shared content, although it is also used on Facebook.

The hashtags we know today have only been around for a few years. Although it was used to categorize items on chat sites used in the 90s, the concept of hashtags has been on the rise in the last few years. Its addition to the Oxford dictionary in 2014 proves how widely this word is used.

So, are you wondering when hashtags started to be used outside of the category purpose? The hashtag owes its growing popularity to a 2007 tweet:

Shortly after this tweet by designer Messina, who suggested that hashtags be used by groups, people started using hashtags to spread information about the 2007 San Diego wildfire. Although the fuse for the spread of the hashtag was ignited here, its popularity came when Twitter turned English hashtags into clickable links in 2009, allowing users to view relevant tweets. In 2013, Facebook also started to support hashtags. Now, hashtags can appear almost everywhere.

Why Should You Use Hashtags?

Using hashtags is one of the best ways to increase your followers, promote your brand and connect with your audience.

Hashtags, by their nature, make the shares easy to find, and indirectly, this helps you gain more likes and followers. As the reach of your share increases, the number of people who like and follow your share also increases.

Hashtags allow you to add your comment to an existing story. You can join a trending topic on Twitter using the hashtag used. You can also create series by using hashtags and announce your updates regularly.

Using Hashtags on Twitter

Hashtags that increase your interaction when used successfully can negatively affect your sharing. For example, a study by TrackMaven showed that tweets with more than two hashtags dropped engagement significantly. Tweets with a hashtag have the highest engagement, with an average of 90 interactions.

Use of Hashtags on Instagram

Unlike Twitter, the more hashtags you use on Instagram (Ig tags), the more interaction you get. However, after 10 hashtags, there is a possibility of losing the interaction you have gained.

Instagram’da 30 hashtag hakkımız var ancak bunun tamamını kullanmak içeriğimizin gücünü kaybetmesine sebep oluyor, TrackMaven’a göre kullanmanız gereken optimal hashtag sayısı ise 9. 

Using Hashtags on Pinterest

In Pinterest, which has increased its influence in digital marketing in recent years, it is recommended not to use more than 20 hashtags on Pinterest’s website, another study says that the optimal number of hashtags is 3.

The use of hashtags on special days can double or even triple the results you will get, and it can also cause all your effort to go to waste. These days, you should follow the trends, use the most accurate hashtags and include the full name of the special day in your sharing.

How to Find the Best Hashtags

The use of relevant and powerful hashtags is more important than the number of hashtags you use. We have many tools at our disposal to find the most popular and successful hashtags related to your content. All Hashtags shows the most used hashtags based on your chosen keyword. The site, which cannot offer suggestions for words with Turkish characters, can make successful hashtag suggestions when you make a change such as small-small or use a word that does not have Turkish characters, such as traveler.

Another site that helps us find hashtags is Photerloo. When using this site, all you have to do is upload the photo you will use to the site and let it create the most appropriate hashtags!

For other questions about the use of hashtags, you can contact us by commenting! 🙂