Many small businesses find it difficult to know how to use social media correctly. Using the right hashtags and where to use them appropriately is a challenge for business owners that don�t have a social media manager due to the small size of their operation.
Here are a few quick tips on how to use hashtags correctly in business.
Using the Right Hashtag
When using the right hashtag, a business catches the eye of people interested in that topic. When randomly coming up with your own hashtag, the messages from your business fail to be seen by most people interested in the topic. For instance, the Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley recently posted a selfie on Instagram (Daisy Ridley no makeup) using the #nomakeup and #nofilter tags. If the actress had used #filterfree and #makeupfree, her post would have likely been seen by fewer people searching for interesting social posts by hashtag.
The same rule applies to businesses. If you wish to use a social media presence to gain followers and pull them over to your site, then your posts must cut through the din of other businesses and individuals trying to do the same thing. By using the best hashtag, you give the business the best chance of succeeding in this goal.
Look at What Hashtags are Trending
A business can appear to be staying on top of what�s happening on social media by looking at sites like Hashtagify every so often. Using this type of site, a business can participate in a discussion by tweeting or posting a relevant Instagram image and attached notes for followers using a trending hashtag. This can either be directly related to their business or something that will be of interest to a reasonable percentage of their followers.
For instance, an energy business can put something up on social media using an appropriate hashtag at a time when the cost of gasoline at the pump has recent spiked and is a hot topic. Doing so demonstrates that the company and its staff are keeping abreast of matters of interest to their customers and likely will attract non-customers to their brand too.
Search for Hashtags by Location
When running a local-based business that relies on doing business in the town, city, or state, using social media hashtags that are trending in the area is more important than chasing trending topics on a national or global level. Use a site like TrendsMap to find relevant topics for your zip code, town or city.
Check What a Hashtag Means Before Using It
To avoid using the wrong hashtag by misunderstanding what an acronym means, check TagDef. Here you can enter a hashtag and many times get an understandable explanation of the meaning behind the hashtag. This way, your business can avoid trending for an inappropriate hashtag that doesn�t gel with your brand image.
Being smart about the use of appropriate hashtags with social media activity for your business not only saves your company embarrassment from mistakes, but it also stands a chance of gaining new followers. Some of these new followers will likely eventually become customers and vocal fans of the brand.
