Hashtags can be confusing if you're new to using social media for brand awareness purposes. Whether you're trying to establish or grow your brand, you'll notice different people, using them in different ways on different platforms. Which begs a few questions — and these come up a lot in social media workshops — about how to even get started, such as:

How do hashtags work?
How do I decide which hashtags to use?
How many hashtags should I use?

Check out this super simple explanation of what hashtags are and how you can use them to increase awareness and reach for your business's social media profiles.

Hashtag: The History and Purpose

Waaaay back in the day, when Twitter first launched, it became apparent that there were quite a few conversations going on and no one was really sure how to find each other.

Think of it like walking into a large ballroom and there's just a bunch of people standing around talking...to themselves.

Enter Chris Messina and his suggestion of using the hashtag (#) as a means of categorizing conversations.

From that suggestion, Messina became the "inventor" of the hashtag, and now that ballroom full of disconnected people is groups of people, standing in circles, engaging in conversations they find meaningful, on topics they care about.

Since then the hashtag continues to be used organically by social media users to:

Spread information — Hashtags have played a huge role in connecting people in the Me Too, Black Lives Matter and other social movements.
Help others get the information they need — In the case of natural disasters — or even man-made destruction — hashtags are a way to quickly disseminate information related to where people can seek shelter, get medical help or access clean water.
Find other like-minded people — Hashtags are a way to label ourselves online, so whether you’re looking to share your funny blunder years photo through a #TBT or connect with others in your city by using #yourcityname, it’s a great way to documentwho you are, where you are and what you stand for.

Hashtags for Your Business’s Social Media

If you’re just getting started with using hashtags for your business, grab a notepad and pen — or a Google doc — and get ready to make a list.

Now, each social media channel differs from the next in terms of content, purpose, demographics and reach. For this purpose, you’ll just want to get list of hashtags to start with.

You can fine tune by each channel — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. — by tracking your best performing posts and spotting trends in which hashtags help boost your posts' performance the most. Start your hashtag research by going through each of these short exercises:

Exercise 1 - What are some of the top-used hashtags by all users that fit with your brand?

If you use Instagram or Twitter for personal use, you’ve probably seen some of the most popular hashtags: #TBT (throwback Thursday), #selfie, #mondaymotivation, for example.

Scroll through your existing feeds and write down what Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest users are already using, and ask yourself:

“Would it make sense for my brand to use this hashtag?”

For example, if you have a brand voice that’s more conservative and professional — i.e. doesn’t use slang, isn’t overly excited — then you’re probably not going to use hashtags like #mondaymotivation or #hellyeah.

Don’t try to make a hashtag work for your brand.

If it doesn’t fit with your voice, or vision or mission, then leave it off your list.

Exercise 2 - What are seasonal events or holidays that fit with your brand?

In this exercise you’ll think about industry-specific and national events when your brand can “join the conversation,” as we say in digital marketing speak, on social media by posting content and engaging with users.

For example, if you promote agriculture best practices, or make and sell ice cream, it would make sense for you to join the #NationalDairyMonth conversation in June.

Like this example:

If, however, you make and sell candles, it probably doesn’t make sense for you to plan content related to National Dairy Month.Other opportunities for hashtags here are big, BIG, national events and holidays.

If you’re in the U.S., you can check out this content calendar that outlines some of the big events.

During these times, it’s probably safe for your brand to post or Tweet using #HappyNewYear, #HappyMothersDay, etc. These types of posts help humanize your brand, and can be simple.

Add those to your hashtag list just to keep them in mind. If you have a documented content calendar (congrats if you do — it’s a great way to implement your marketing strategy!), then you can add these hashtags to the appropriate campaigns later.

Exercise 3 - What are your top competitors using?

Check out what your competitors are Tweeting and Instagramming.

If they have posts or Tweets that consistently get a lot of engagement — likes, comments, responses — see if you can spot a trend in the hashtags they use. Do any stand out? If so, add them to your hashtag list.

Exercise 4 - What do hashtag tools say you should use?

There are a boatload of social media tools out there — and yep, even a few free ones for figuring out which hashtag you should use. Here are a few highlights:

Rite Tag — A free tool that shows you how often a hashtag is used on Instagram and Twitter
Trends Map — With a free trial, and $25 after the trial ends, this tool allows you to get real-time trending hashtags by location, so this is great if you do a lot of local marketing
The native platform — You can also just type in the hashtag you’re curious about into Twitter or Instagram and get an idea of how often it’s used. Here's a screenshot of what you would see if you did this on Instagram.

Hashtags on Twitter

Now that you understand how hashtags are used on social media and you have a list of hashtags your brand could use, it’s time to implement.

Twitter holds a lot of opportunity for businesses to increase awareness of their brand. Most people, and brands, keep their accounts public, and adding hashtags allows users and potential customers to find you.

According to Buffer, tweets with hashtags get TWICE the engagement than tweets without hashtags. So you should definitely use them on Twitter.

For example, if you sell sneakers, you can upgrade your tweet from:

Rihanna was wearing our sneakers in New York last weekend!

To

#Rihanna was wearing our sneakers in #NYC last weekend! #fashion

And with those few hashtags, you’ve joined all the Twitter conversations about Rihanna, fashion and New York City.

As a general rule, keep your hashtags on Twitter limited to two hashtags per tweet. Some research has shown that any more than that actually decreases engagement. Hashtags are a great way to grow your Twitter following, too.

For a much more in-depth look at how to grow your Twitter following organically, check this out.

Hashtags on Instagram

Like Twitter, a lot of Instagram users keep their profiles public and use the social media platform as a way to connect with others and well, show off. On Instagram, the sweet spot is eight to 10 hashtags.

This means you can be a little more liberal with your hashtag selection.

For example, an Instagram caption can go from:

Great day for driving a sweet car!

To

Great day for driving an #Audi.

#cars #carsofinstagram #audi #audicarsclub #audilover #carswithoutlimits #germancar #carstagram #sportback #audiinternational #audicarsonly #audiautomotive #audia7

Those hashtags then help that post join all those other conversations about Audis and cars.

Here’s an example of a brand using hashtags that help them connect with their target audience.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/BjnYXTHDfp_/?taken-by=lorealmakeup[/embed]While some of it is branded — e.g. #lorealparis — some are organic, like #wokeuplikethis, meaning L’Oreal didn’t just invent that hashtag; they used it because Instagram users already apply it in their posts. It’s a way for the brand to connect and say, “Hey, I get you,” to Instagram users.

Hashtags on Facebook

Using hashtags on Facebook could help boost your post — maybe. As long as your page is public, it would indeed help your posts show up in Facebook's search results. Many users keep their personal profiles private, however, so you may not be able to see the full extent of hashtag uses by searching through Facebook. Another important note to make is that in mid-2017, Facebook applied updates that some speculated would make it competitive with Google’s search engine.

Then in March 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit, and Facebook came under, and is still under, an enormous amount of scrutiny by lawmakers and users alike. What does that mean for marketers and business owners?

It means that Facebook may be slowing down on all the features it offers to businesses in terms of data, analytics and targeting. But, you can continue to publish your content and move forward with your content mix and strategy. And if you want to see if hashtags increase your posts’ performance — more engagement (“Likes,” shares, clicks, etc.), then go try one to two hashtags.

Here's an example of a brand using two hashtags on Facebook: one branded and one that would help searchers find their content on Facebook even if they don't follow the page.

Hashtags Pinterest

Pinterest is a huge — and growing — opportunity for content distribution. Basically, if you have a blog for your business, you want a Pinterest account. In 2017 alone, businesses sold $473 million worth of merchandise through Pinterest. And the platform is currently growing faster than Twitter and Snapchat, so now is the perfect time to set up or optimize your business account.

For hashtags on Pinterest, use between one to three hashtags. This is in addition to your pin description. Be careful with overusing hashtags on pins, though: Pinterest has said that too many hashtags can negatively affect your pin’s ranking in search results.

This is a great example of Pinterest being used to promote blog content, with a compelling photo, plus a pin description that gives the user more information about what they can expect from the blog. And hashtags.

Keep in mind that these hashtags should help people find your pins and content, so keep the language simple and use what your target audience would use. Hashtags can also help you grow your Pinterest following. To learn how to grow your Pinterest following (for free), check out this guide.

Next Steps for Using Hashtags on Social Media

Start your hashtag list using the exercises above. Use the hashtags.Monitor the hashtags’ performance. Keep the hashtags that are associated with higher engagement, reach and/or impressions. Get rid of the ones that don’t perform well.