For laypeople it certainly sounds odd from time to time when they listen to some online marketing people: “Did you hashtag that well too?” “Which hashtags do the influencers use on Insta?”…
You do not always have to understand everything, but what “hashtags” are is quickly explained. Namely search terms. And a hash sign is added in front of them.
Whichever post you write on social media, hashtags make sense when they sum up the content of that post in useful search terms. And if you then search Instagram for “tomate”, for example, all posts on the topic “tomate” are listed, provided the post was marked with the hashtag #tomate.
Image source: Shutterstock
So it is actually perfect for finding your way in the wide world of social media. Above all because this “hashtagging” now works on all the major social networks: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and so on.
But which “hashtags” actually make sense? And how many should there be?
Hashtags should always be created at least in the language the post text is written in. So if I write in English, because I sell internationally or have an international target audience, then you should also use English-language hashtags. In addition, you can add hashtags in your native language (for companies, in the language of the company headquarters).
Hashtags should of course always fit the topic. If I write about tomatoes, then I also use the hashtag “#tomate” and not “#aubergine”.
The same applies to the number of hashtags: as few as possible. And as specific as it can be.
You should not try to use a high-reach hashtag such as “#foodporn”, but address your target audience very precisely. Otherwise you get lost in the crowd.
Image source: Instagram
Try to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. Which search terms would they search for?