Influencer marketing has become a popular method for firms trying to raise brand recognition and acquire new consumers. Yet, with the expanding number of social media platforms, it might be difficult to separate out from the throng and reach your target audience. This is where hashtags come into play.
Hashtags are a strong tool that may help businesses improve their social media marketing efforts by making their content more discoverable to potential consumers. In fact, hashtags are essential for SNS marketing, particularly on Instagram and Twitter, where they are becoming increasingly mainstream.
But what exactly are hashtags, and how can businesses use them to achieve the desired results? In this article, we’ll provide an easy-to-understand guide on the basic usage and know-how of hashtags. We’ll also provide examples of how individual businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines can use hashtags effectively to increase their online visibility and attract more customers.
Why should you use hashtags effectively on Instagram?
Instagram is all about visually stunning content and quick, punchy captions. Its popularity as a social media platform is undeniable, as evidenced by the buzzword “Instagrammable” being named the word of the year. As a visual-centric platform, Instagram is ideal for conveying information at a glance. However, its lack of a post-sharing function and limited reach can be a challenge. This is where good hashtag use comes into play; by utilizing relevant hashtags, you can broaden the reach of your postings and boost your exposure to a larger audience. If you want to increase your Instagram presence in the Philippines, you must use hashtags.
What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is a symbol represented by the “#” sign and is used as a label when posting on social media platforms. By adding relevant hashtags to your posts, you can categorize your content and make it more discoverable to your intended audience. For example, if you’re posting about gourmet food, adding hashtags such as “#Gourmet / #Yakiniku / #Ramen / #French / #ShibuyaItalian” will help emphasize that your post is about gourmet food.
Hashtags first emerged in 2007 when Chris Messina started using keywords with hashtags on Twitter. Over time, hashtags have become linked, and when a hashtag is clicked, all posts that include the same hashtag are listed in a group. This makes it easier for people to search for specific topics and discover new content.
Hashtag use has become so widespread that many people, especially the younger generation, now search for content using hashtags. While Google is still the go-to for gathering information, tagging via hashtag searches is growing in popularity. To maximize the reach of your social media content in the Philippines, incorporating relevant hashtags into your posts is a must.
The Importance of Hashtags on Instagram
Hashtags Are Essential for Instagram Users
Hashtags are a crucial tool for Instagram users, particularly among millennials who prefer using them for searching rather than Google. Hashtags are useful when looking for accounts that post about common hobbies, interests, or products and services, making them an important tool for influencer marketing and information dissemination on Instagram.
Boost Your Exposure with Effective Hashtags
Instagram’s weak diffusion power makes it challenging to spread information compared to other social media networks that have post sharing and retweet functions. While followers can repost content using reposting and regramming, it requires a dedicated app and is time-consuming. Hence, to increase exposure, it is essential to use effective hashtags when developing web marketing strategies on Instagram.
Many Women Make Purchases from Hashtag Searches
According to Cyber Buzz, a media advertising business, about 40% of female Instagram users purchase products and services directly from hashtag searches. Moreover, posts with hashtags have higher engagement rates than those without, making them a valuable tool for companies to promote their brand and increase sales.
Benefits of Hashtags on Instagram
Expand Your Reach and Boost Your Follower Count
Hashtags help increase your Instagram visibility as your posts are seen by users searching for a particular keyword. This means that your content and account profile are viewed more frequently, leading to more followers. Plus, the hashtag follow function helps spread your ads beyond your corporate account.
Create a Buzz Around Your Campaigns with Effective Hashtags
Set and display relevant hashtags for your promotion campaigns to encourage users to engage with your content. By strategically placing hashtags in your comments, users are more likely to check out your content and potentially become your next customers.
Stay on Top of Trends and Keep an Eye on Competitors
Hashtags categorize posted content by keyword, allowing you to quickly check real-time trends and reviews. Use hashtag searches to also check out popular competitors and to conduct an ego search for your own company.
Find Influencers That Match Your Brand
Hashtags make it easy to identify popular influencers who are engaging with your target audience. Search for posts with a lot of engagement, such as likes and retweets, to find the perfect influencer for each hashtag.
Get Valuable User Feedback and Reviews
Use hashtags to gather user feedback and reviews about your products, services, campaigns, and events. Instagram’s user-friendly platform makes it easy for users to share their opinions, so take advantage of this feature to gain unbiased insights into your brand.
Downsides of Using Hashtags on Instagram
Using too many promotional hashtags can seem too salesy and turn off potential customers.
Consumers don’t want to feel bombarded by ads. Listing too many hashtags, such as product names and events/sales, can be perceived as intrusive and off-putting.
Hashtags can get lost in the noise and fail to reach the intended audience.
Popular hashtags can generate a vast number of posts, and it can be challenging to get noticed amidst the sea of content. Even if a post appears on a user’s timeline, it can be challenging to grab their attention since it’s likely to disappear quickly.
How to Choose Effective Hashtags on Instagram
Influencer marketing is a powerful and cost-effective strategy to acquire customers and drive revenue on Instagram. But, in order to fully realize its potential, it is critical to select the appropriate hashtags. You may boost the exposure of your post, generate more likes, and earn more followers by using the appropriate hashtags. This post will show you how to pick successful Instagram hashtags.
Choose hashtags that match your product or service
For example, if you’re marketing a yakitori menu, look for popular hashtags linked to it, such as “yakitori bento” or “charcoal-grilled chicken.” Adding these hashtags might enhance the visibility of your post and attract more views. Additionally, create your own brand hashtags for a unique identifier.
Use a good balance of large, medium, and small hashtags
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, so it’s important to use a good mix of large, medium, and small hashtags. Large hashtags are categories with a high volume of posts, while medium hashtags describe your product or service. Small hashtags are unique to your brand, like your product or brand name, with less than 10,000 posts.
Analyze popular hashtags by category
Instagram has communities for each category, so analyze popular hashtags that match your brand’s category. Check out posts and accounts in your industry and see which hashtags they use.
Check hashtags used by influencers
Influencers can be powerful brand ambassadors, so see which hashtags they’re using. Look for influencers in your industry and see which hashtags they’re trending. You can also search for popular hashtags related to your brand.
Final PopStar Tip:
In conclusion, hashtags are an essential tool for businesses looking to enhance their social media marketing efforts, particularly on Instagram and Twitter. They help businesses make their content more discoverable to potential customers and increase their online visibility. Businesses may classify their material, broaden the reach of their postings, and boost their exposure to a larger audience by adding relevant hashtags. Hashtags are extremely important for influencer marketing on Instagram, since they aid raise visibility and engagement rates. Hashtags are an effective method for businesses to broaden their reach, remain current with trends, and gain vital customer feedback and reviews. But, adding too many promotional hashtags might make you appear excessively salesy and drive off potential clients.
Send us a message or contact our Team at contact@pop-star.me for more information on how PopStar can help you in your Instagram marketing here in the Philippines.