To Hashtag or Not To Hashtag?
Hashtags can be used for: SEO, Marketing & Brand Recognition. So YES! Hashtag away.
What Is A Hashtag and How Does It Work?
Hashtags are used to categorize social media posts by keyword. People use the hashtag symbol: # aka the pound sign aka the number sign, before a relevant keyword or phrase (no spaces) in their social media posts to categorize those posts and help them show more easily in social media search. Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other posts marked with that keyword.
Which Social Media Sites Can I Use Hashtags?
Hashtags can be used on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube.
How Many Hashtags Can/Should I Use?
The simplest way to use a hashtag for your business/site/brand is by using up to five (5) hashtags per post. I say five because there is much debate on using more than five. Some say if you use more than five then your minimizing your posts presence because its relevance per hashtag is being “squeezed.” There hasn’t been any proof of this. But, I say five because that seems like more than enough hashtags, you don’t want to drown your post out with hashtags and you want your hashtags to be true to your posts. If you feel your post is relevant to more than five hashtags, do your research, check the popularity of the keywords and make the decision based on your own judgement.
IMPORTANT TIP:
A way to use a hashtag for your brand recognition or marketing is by creating a custom hashtag for your business and use it ALWAYS. This way, when a social media user clicks on your hashtag, it will keep them interested with the rest of your posts that will follow. Also, Google will associate this custom hashtag with your business which is where SEO comes in. A hashtag can also be used as a backlink.
Happy Hashtagging!