How to use hashtags effectively on social media posts

One of the most powerful social media tools that engages the audience and makes a post more visible is hashtags . If you need to increase the reach of your social media handle, you need to learn the art of understanding and utilizing hashtags effectively.

Defining hashtags
Any word or phrase preceded by the symbol # is known as a hashtag which assists in categorizing the posts under similar topics and being discoverable to the target audience easily. To exemplify it, if you add #beauty to a post, it will be visible with other posts related to beauty.

Advantages of using hashtags
1. Increases engagement - When you add a certain hashtag to your post, the content becomes visible beyond your immediate followers and those who search for some related hashtag will easily access your post.
2. Great marketing aid - Hashtags work wonders for their application in any sort of marketing campaign by increasing engagement and reach on your post.

3. Brand promotion - In order to promote any brand, if you consistently use branded hashtags, it aids to increase the brand recognition. Users of social media get better engaged with a brand post its promotion.



Tips to using hashtags effectively
1. Well researched hashtags - While choosing any hashtag for your post, discover the popular and trending hashtags in your niche. This will help you to gather more audience.

2. Use mixed hashtags - If you not only want a wider engagement but are also interested in targeting a specific group, use a mix of popular and niche hashtags.
3. Keep the frequency of hashtags minimum - Overusing hashtags won’t be of any help, rather choose the number wisely according to the social media handle. Any Instagram post needs 5-10 well-chosen hashtags while for X (formerly Twitter), one or two hashtags are sufficient.

4. Choose simple and relevant ones - For a good result, choose hashtags that are simple, easy to spell and pronounce.
5. Timely adjustment - You can make use of certain tools such as social media analytics to know about the performance of your hashtags. Analyzing the ones that gather maximum engagement, adjust the hashtags usage in the next post.

Hashtags are one of the most potent tools of using any social media handle and by knowing to use them wisely, you can raise engagement on your post and make it more visible.

Authored by: Dharam Bhayani, Founder Leading Edge media and social media development coachHow to use hashtags effectively on social media posts