A hashtag is a useful social media tool that helps to tag different posts as being related to the same topic. Hashtags are a great way to promote your idea, event, or brand on social media. They provide a creative way of engaging a target community, or of starting conversations with people from around the world. Coming up with your own hashtag can be a daunting task, but finding one that sticks is worth the effort.
Coming up with Ideas
Decide the purpose of your hashtag.
Determine if you will use your hashtag for marketing your company, promoting your personal brand, bringing attention to an event, or supporting a specific cause. The more clarity you have on the goal of your hashtag, the easier it will be to create.
- Ask yourself clarifying questions like, “do I want my hashtag to be funny?” “Am I trying to inspire my community?” And “do I want my hashtag to advertise a product or event?”
- Think about the reach of your hashtag. What communities are you trying to target? Is your hashtag just meant for friends and family, or are you working on branding for a larger company?
Brainstorm a list of ideas.
Use a variation of short words, phrases, or numbers to write out 10-15 different hashtag ideas. Try to keep your hashtags short, between 1-3 words to make sure they are easy to read and understand. Keep your hashtag focused on your goal, whether that’s advertising an event, celebrating a wedding, or sharing an idea.
- Try using actionable words to engage the readers with your marketing campaign, like Nike’s #justdoit motto and hashtag.
- Consider using a common phrase or location in your hashtag, such as the hashtag #GetTogetherAlready used by Tostitos. That way users will be more likely to tag their regular photos with your hashtag.
- Avoid using special characters like exclamation marks or dollar signs.
- Use abbreviations and shorten words where you can, like using #tbt in place of #ThrowbackThursday, or shortening the name #Nicholas to #Nick, for example.
Include your brand name.
It’s a good idea to directly use your brand name in your hashtag to direct users to your product. If your hashtag starts trending, this can help put your company’s name on the map.
- You can either use your whole brand name like in #BeatsByDre, or focus on your products, like in Coca-Cola’s hashtag #ShareaCoke.
Use numbers to make your hashtag stand out.
If your event happens annually, consider including the year in your hashtag. Alternatively, you can include the number of times an event has occurred, such as #superbowl50 for the 50th Super Bowl game.
- For annual events, try writing out the full year or an abbreviation, such as either #Coachella2018 or #Coachella18.
- Using a year in your hashtag gives you the chance to create a new variation on it the next time the event takes place, like using #Coachella2019 or #Coachella19.
- Using a year can add clarity to a hashtag, but makes it harder to reuse. This is something to consider when you’re deciding on whether to include a number or not.
Perfecting Your Hashtag
Check that your hashtag is unique by searching for it on social media sites.
Search on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr to see if your creation is already in use. Be sure that your hashtag is not already associated with a brand, idea, or community. It’s good to have your hashtag stand out, and you don’t want to risk confusing your message when users search for your hashtag online.
- Be thorough in your research. The last thing you want is for your hashtag to take off, only to find out afterwards that it’s already associated with something you don’t want attached to your brand.
- If your hashtag is already in use, move to a different option on your list, or change the hashtag enough to make it unique.
Verify that your hashtag doesn’t spell out any unintended words.
Check with a friend that your hashtag is clear and easy to understand. Be sure to check whether the hashtag spells out multiple words other than what you intended, for example you could interpret the hashtag ‘#thatcher’ as spelling out the word ‘that’ and the name ‘cher.’
- Sometimes it can be hard to tell that your hashtag spells out multiple words when you write it using capital letters. Try writing your hashtag out in lowercase letters to better tell if it spells out any unintended words.
Check that your hashtag doesn’t have a double meaning.
Many words and phrases can have multiple meanings which can confuse the message of your hashtag. The hashtag #friends for example could refer to a group of friends, or the popular TV show Friends. If you can come up with multiple meanings for your hashtag, try adding more detail, like a date or location, to clarify its meaning.
- Ask a family member or colleague to read over your hashtag and help you write down a list of its possible meanings. Sometimes getting a second opinion can help you notice mistakes and any unclear language in your hashtag.
Check in the news for words in your hashtag.
Search the words or phrase in your hashtag on a local news website. Be sure that any names or phrases you’re using have not been used in recent news stories or to describe major events. Unless you’re trying to reference these people or events specifically, be sure to avoid names that have shown up on the news.
- If you want to use a name similar to one in the news, try abbreviating the name, using a nickname, or adding a first or last name or initial to your hashtag for clarity.
Promoting Your Hashtag
Ask your friends and followers to use your hashtag.
For unique hashtags, start getting the word out by asking friends and family members to use it in their personal posts. Write a post about it on your own social media accounts to get the word out to your followers. Consider writing a blog post to promote the hashtag, and linking it in your social media posts.
- To further your hashtag even more, consider asking a social media influencer to use it in their posts. This will get even more eyes on your hashtag.
Use your hashtag on multiple social media sites.
Promote your hashtag across multiple social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Facebook and Twitter posts, limit yourself to using 1-2 additional hashtags in your post. On Instagram however, include your hashtag alongside 5-10 other hashtags to gain the most views.
- Be mindful of the different audience on each platform. On Instagram, try using an inspirational picture and other trending hashtags to promote your own. Focus more on the written content in your Facebook and Twitter posts.
- Make multiple posts on each account to keep your hashtag at the top of the newsfeed.
Advertise your hashtag in person.
If you have a physical store, display your hashtag on a sign in the window to encourage users to look it up. Try using extra space in your store to set up a photobooth and have your hashtag in the background to promote it on Instagram.
- Get creative with your marketing. You could make a cut out version of your hashtag for visitors to hold up in a picture, or make a bumper sticker with your hashtag on it for your car.
Track the usage of your hashtag with an analytics tool.
Search for your hashtag on different social media sites to see how well it’s performing. Add responses to posts that use your hashtag to encourage more community engagement. Use an analytics tools like Keyhole or Tweetreach to get data on the success of your hashtag.
- Pay attention to the audience that your hashtag is reaching, and specifically the age group. Think about what content you can post to gain a bigger following in other age groups or communities, and how to keep the attention of the followers you’ve already attracted.