Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
You’ll hardly ever see a post on social media without a hashtag or ten. They’re equally popular with brands, marketers, and influencers alike. These little icons connect conversation themes, topics, and events. We need to use hashtags that drive traffic.
Wondering how to rock your social media to not only drive traffic but also grow your following? We’ve researched several relevant pieces plus the best selfie hashtags strategies & examples and combined it for you in this article.
Related Links
We’ve also considered current trends in social media, plus we throw in some practical tips to get your content trending too.
The Social Media Landscape
Recent social media user demographics show that 72% of the US public regularly interact with social media in some format. Several reported that they engage and connect at least once a day, and often on more than one platform.
It’s most popular in the age groups between 18 to 34, with Facebook globally still the most prominent platform. You’re literally competing for airtime with global icons, celebrities, and your friends too.
So, how do you stand out in such a massive crowd? Hashtag it. You can’t, however, just flood your posts. You’ll need a plan and set some goals.
Before you set some goals, we recommend reviewing the specific area of the social media landscape you’re playing in. Health, wellness, or beauty related accounts will need a different approach to an educational or financial service narrative.
Know what you stand for and where you fit in without completely conforming to the humdrum of hashtags out there. This awareness helps you remain on point.
Goals To Get Noticed
It’s not only big corporations that need a strategy. If you want to get noticed and get ahead, you’ll need to apply some methodology.
Be Specific
First, decide what your objectives are and what you want to achieve. Do you want to grow brand awareness for yourself or a company? It could be to drive traffic to your website or an eCommerce platform to convert sales.
Perhaps your aim is purely to gain more followers or build your own community or tribe of like-minded people. Hashtags will be particularly helpful in getting your accounts noticed and followed.
Prepare And Plan
Your plan should include research on the type of content you’ll post, and when you’ll do it. Once this has been established, you can decide on the copy that will accompany your imagery and the relevant hashtags to add.
It’s constructive to draw up a content calendar well in advance and use scheduling tools to auto-post your accounts. It’s ideal for those with specific set hashtags where you don’t need to include a daily trending ‘news’ angle.
If you do need to make changes, you can. The beauty of social media is that while it’s instant, you can also edit posts. It shouldn’t be your go-to response to keep fiddling with what’s already out there. However, it’s helpful to know errors can be fixed, and updates are possible.
Keeping Track
When you’ve got goals, you can track your progress. Social media insights will help you measure how much headway you’re making. Be sure to keep your targets realistic, specific, and time-bound.
So don’t just state, “I want to grow my following.” Add the relevant details like “I want to increase my Instagram followers by 500 before the end of the year”. With that in mind, you can set up a detailed plan for reaching this goal.
It’s also advisable to decide upfront which metrics you’ll use, and stick to it for a long time to analyze the data. Most platforms offer their free built-in tools to track traffic sources, conversion rates, engagement, and reach.
How To Rock Hashtags That Drive Traffic
When you’ve determined your main or brand ‘persona’ hashtag, ensure that it’s visible in your profile. You can also add it to other marketing collateral that you use. Include it in your bio, online and in print.
Find and follow hashtags related to your industry or causes you support. Look out for those of your peers to ensure you participate in and connect with topical online conversations.
Know The Differences
Keep in mind that each social media application has its purpose. The look and feel, layouts, and formats are also different.
Instagram is highly visual, so create hashtags that substantiate your imagery. On Twitter, you’ll have limited characters but can participate in live debates and offer running commentary.
LinkedIn is more professional and ideal for B2B traffic. You’ll be able to publish longer opinion pieces.
Find the ones that best suit your style and the content, don’t post the exact same thing to all your platforms. Follow best practices for each channel, and you’ll soon see results.
Don’t Reinvent The Wheel
Sometimes it may be helpful to be a bit more mainstream and use hashtags that already exist. There are specific favored and trending themed ones out there like #instagood, #selfie, and #photooftheday bound to create worthwhile connections. These are hashtags that drive traffic.
You should, however, balance out these extremely popular ones with your own localized and personalized tags. A quick search on the medium using the search bar is the easiest. Or take a glance at the trending topics using the magnifying glass icon.
It’ll help you understand what people are talking about and tagging about. It’s also important to not confuse a trending topic, meaning what they’re talking about, with a trending hashtag. Remember that hashtags categorize info and make it easier to find.
Another way to stand out is to be creative and follow your own style. Keep in mind that trends will change to match the location, season, and current affairs. Remember to match it to your goals and what you want to be known for.
It’s essential to stay on brand and have flair. However, you should mix up your posts and the combination of hashtags you use, so it’s not dull and predictable. Some social media algorithms may even penalize you if you continuously use the same grouping of tags
every time you post.
Key Takeaways
You can cleverly use hashtags that drive traffic in order to stand out in social media and connect you with like-minded peers and followers. Set up smart goals to ensure you follow a plan rather than do a random posting. Keep track of what’s worked plus met your goals in the past.
Measure your success with predetermined metrics. Don’t become complacent. Review, rework and adjust to remain current. Don’t be boring. Mix up some of the trending topics with your unique pizzazz, and you’ll soon be rocking the online social scene.
Contact Matchbox Design Group Today!
If your website could use a refresh or you’re looking to drive more traffic to your site, fill out the form below and we’ll contact you to learn more about your digital needs.
