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How to Create a Unique Hashtag Strategy [+Pro Tips]
Remember the #ChipotleLidFlip challenge on TikTok? The goofy challenge that blew up on the platform with over 240 million views? It is the perfect example of a customer-centric (and undeniably interesting) hashtag strategy, attracting new fans, building brand recall and tapping into newer revenue streams.
With endless brands vying for our attention in a saturated digital space, hashtags have emerged as a powerful tool for discovery. In fact, X posts (or tweets) with hashtags get 2x more engagement. The impact is even more dramatic for Instagram accounts with less than 1,000 followers. Their engagement rate jumps to 79.5% when 11 or more hashtags are included in post captions.
So there’s no doubt that a carefully articulated hashtag strategy can help brands achieve success. As such, here’s a guide on crafting one that cuts through the noise, builds brand identity and connects with your target audience so you can ace the art of using hashtags.
What is a hashtag strategy?
A hashtag strategy is an important component of your overall social media strategy. It involves using contextual hashtags, and it takes into consideration your target audience, brand identity and campaign goals.
A strong strategy helps you reach the right audience, increase engagement and build brand awareness. Take Coca-Cola's legendary #ShareaCoke campaign, for example. The hashtag went instantly viral, with teens flocking to find their names on a bottle and sharing photos. The brand’s sales increased by a staggering 11% in the US. That's the kind of social media domination a killer hashtag strategy can deliver.
Types of hashtags
It is important to categorize hashtags to differentiate between types of social media content and increase discoverability on social platforms.
Here is a breakdown of their types:
Niche hashtags
These target specific interests or industry verticals. For example, #Bookstagram targets book lovers and #IndieGameDev is for independent game developers.
Location-based hashtags
They focus on specific geographic locations to connect with people in an area or highlight a particular event. Think #NYCMarathon or #ParisFashionWeek.
Branded hashtags
They cater to the brand identity, company name, a slogan or a campaign tagline. For instance, Nike uses #JustDoIt and Starbucks uses #PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte).
Trending hashtags
These are hashtags that are currently popular on specific platforms. Usually, a social platform’s Discovery or Search tab shows trending content and hashtags based on your interests.
Community hashtags
These hashtags are used by specific online communities to grow and connect with like-minded people. Examples include #ScienceTwitter or #MomLife.
Dive Deeper: How to Find the Hashtags That Actually Work
Why is a hashtag strategy important?
Hashtags can be your ticket to unlocking strategic social media presence. Here are a few more reasons, in specific, as to why your hashtag strategy is crucial to your brand's success:
- Enables social media monitoring: Hashtags like “#XYZBrandName” or “#XYZBrandNameFail” help you track conversations around your brand, industry and competitors. You can also track when people talk about you, even if they haven't directly tagged your account.
- Supports product launches: Remember the excitement around Virgil Abloh X Nike and the trending #TheTen campaign before the official Nike announcement? The launch hype and Nike’s brand value helped sell out the line. A hashtag strategy curated for a product launch piques curiosity and builds launch buzz.
- Encourages UGC: Hashtags can generate user-generated content (UGC), incentivize participation and create brand ambassadors among visitors. Using your branded hashtag, you can encourage people to share their experiences with your product. Take Aerie's #AerieReal campaign, for example. It uses user-generated content with the hashtag #AerieReal to promote body positivity. The company leverages a simple yet powerful hashtag strategy to build a positive brand image and promote a cause.
- Elevates post engagement: X posts (or tweets) with around two hashtags have higher repost rates than those without. This reduces marketing efforts and helps brands reach an audience already interested in their offerings. For instance, take this post by Pepsi. The brand’s clever use of the hashtag #PepsiCOLAogneSweepstakes (highlighting its friendly rivalry with Coca-Cola) helped it improve user engagement to promote its new cologne.
Impact of creating a unique hashtag strategy
The benefits of a unique hashtag strategy are immense. You can use hashtags to speak the social media language and enhance:
Content discovery
Social media users rely on hashtags for content discovery. A well-curated hashtag strategy ensures your brand isn't buried in the algorithm graveyard. It allows users searching for your brand or campaign to find you easily.
Community growth
Hashtags are virtual doorways to vibrant online communities. They connect like-minded people, spark conversations and archive discussions by topic.
Apple's #ShotOniPhone campaign is a prime example. Through this campaign, customers globally share their iPhone-captured moments and feel a shared connection with each other and Apple. The interactive online space is a bonus.
Cross-networking
One of the biggest advantages of hashtags is their pervasiveness across platforms. Use the same hashtag on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to build a cohesive brand experience for your audience. This can even help you simplify your social media management.
For instance, KFC Singapore integrated its #UnboringMorning campaign across TV, radio and social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and even Spotify for an all-encompassing presence and greater brand awareness.
Traffic volume
We already know hashtags help with brand discovery. With time, this translates to social media traffic growth. A unique hashtag strategy will help your brand pop up front and center for those searching for conversations relevant to your niche. Take GoPro's #GoProHero hashtag, for example. With over 3 million user-generated posts on Instagram, the company increased its chances of being discovered and visited by potential customers.
Learn More: Expert Tips to Drive Organic Growth on Social Media
How to create a hashtag strategy for social platforms
Hashtags are a distant social media equivalent of keywords, supporting your brand recall efforts and improving social media ROI. To maximize the effectiveness of your hashtag strategy, you need a tailored roadmap for each social platform. Here's how you can create a winning hashtag strategy across platforms:
Instagram hashtag strategy
- Use up to 3-4 hashtags: Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags on a post. But sometimes, less is better. Use up to 3-4 hashtags to get a more optimal impression rate. Here’s a breakdown of average engagement rates based on the number of hashtags to support our suggested number.
- Use the Discover tab: Head to the Discover tab for relevant hashtag inspiration. Alternatively, start typing in a hashtag using the ‘#’ symbol when you write a new post. Instagram will instantly suggest hashtags based on their popularity. Again, remember, quality trumps quantity, so keep them creative and relevant to your business.
- Focus on community hashtags: To reach a wider audience, focus more on community hashtags. Instead of generic hashtags like #fashion, explore niche communities within your industry. For example, The Vegan Movement uses #vegancommunity along with evergreen hashtags like #news and #memes to tap into a dedicated community of vegans.
- Utilize Stories effectively: Use question stickers and ask your audience which hashtags they associate with your brand. Instagram offers both text-based and sticker hashtags. Tap the sticker icon and choose a relevant hashtag sticker. For text-based, type your hashtag in the text box, starting with #. Underline it to make it clickable!
Pro Tip 💡: Combine UGC and influencer marketing to your hashtag strategy to create a constant stream of high-performing, authentic content. You can collaborate with an influencer and make them prompt audiences to use branded hashtags in social media posts. Not only will this help your brand and product in reaching more people, but it’ll also funnel them to your Instagram page, where they can click through the embedded links to purchase products directly.
To get the ball rolling, you can make use of Sprinklr’s Influencer Marketing Platform, which will help you find the right influencer for your brand and track their posts’ performance as well.
X hashtag strategy
- Utilize the Explore tab: Use the trends found under this tab to identify popular hashtags related to your brand or current events on X (previously Twitter). Jump in on conversations to keep your content fresh and relatable.
- Here’s how Lay’s does it by capitalizing on Pi Day to promote its product:
- Collaborate with brands with similar offerings: After all, you have the same target audience. Take a page from Charmin's playbook. The brand regularly posts sassy X posts with other FMCG brands who have the same audience demographics. This way, you can create virality, generate buzz and watch your content go viral faster.
- Use evergreen hashtags: Evergreen hashtags like #AskMeAnything or #AMA consistently generate greater reach and impressions. This tactic mirrors the strategy of Casper Lab. It uses #AMAs with already established tech groups to connect with blockchain enthusiasts, build brand communities and even share teasers on upcoming projects.
Read More: How to Start a Successful Brand Community (with Pro Tips)
TikTok hashtag strategy
- Use long-term keywords: These keywords should align with the message you want to convey through your post. For example, instead of just using #love, which has 343 million TikToks already, consider using #lovewhatyoudo for a post about career fulfillment or #loveyourself for a message about self-care. This helps you strike up more meaningful conversations.
- Partner with micro-influencers: Pop icon Rihanna's brand Savage X Fenty worked with TikTok influencers to promote a body-inclusive clothing line under the #SavageXMe, #fitness and #bodypositivity hashtags. This generated a massive buzz around the line. The brand went on to conquer not just the industry search terms but also related hashtags.
LinkedIn hashtag strategy
- Embed 3 relevant hashtags: Add 3-5 weekly posts and 3 domain-related hashtags that align with your core keywords. This will help you increase the visibility of your LinkedIn posts.
- Analyze your competitors: Find frequently used hashtags by competitors. Follow those to see their content and analyze user engagement. Find inspiration for your future posts. Stay updated with what’s happening in the industry.
🚫 Don’t drive your LinkedIn hashtag strategy based on guesswork
Most traditional toolkits will leave you with generic suggestions that don't capture the true essence of your branding or may overlook your target audience.
Sprinklr’s AI-powered “smart suggestion” feature, however, analyzes your content in real time. It examines social media trends and user behavior to recommend contextual hashtags. Simply enter a seed keyword or phrase, and Sprinklr AI+ will generate several up-to-date suggestions and ideas for future posts.
The best part?
You can always translate these keywords and hashtag suggestions into 7+ other languages. So there are no more language barriers to reaching your target audience!
Read More: How to Build a LinkedIn Marketing Strategy in 2024 [That Actually Works]
5 tips for a unique hashtag strategy
So you’ve learned how to create a hashtag strategy for different social media platforms. But what would make you stand out? Here are a few tips to create a unique hashtag strategy:
Know your competitors
Effective competitive analysis can increase your hashtag engagement. Take Burnley Football Club’s story, for example. It harnessed the power of Sprinklr to run regular competitor analysis. This intel, combined with insights from social chatter surrounding #football, allowed it to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on emerging trends.
Monitor hashtag performance
Monitor the performance of your hashtags against social media metrics, like reach, engagement and impressions to validate your social media content strategy. Identify the top-performing hashtags for each campaign and embrace continuous improvement.
Use hashtag generators
Leverage TikTok’s Trend Discovery page and Sprinklr’s AI-powered keyword suggestion tool to analyze generated hashtags. Are they relevant to your content and target audience? Opt for a mix of popular and less competitive hashtags to maximize reach and engagement.
Create and automate alerts
Set alerts that notify you of the latest hashtag trends. For example, if you are a fitness brand owner, setting up automated alerts can help you understand up-and-coming workout trends or new diet plans. You can also generate hashtags associated with them.
Leverage a social listening tool
Move beyond surface-level insights and identify trending hashtags brewing in real time before they explode on social media. Make use of a tool like Sprinklr Social, which offers advanced search and query-building features, to uncover insights into niche conversations and consumer sentiment shifts. You can also filter global, regional and historical trends and track their evolution for added context.
Build a winning hashtag strategy with Sprinklr
Remember Dove's #ShowUs project? Its simple yet powerful hashtag sparked a global conversation about body positivity and changed Dove’s brand perception from a soap brand to an inclusive body care product. This was the magic of a unique hashtag strategy rooted in a strong ideal customer profile (ICP), with elevated customer experience to boot. The campaign also proved that a generic approach to hashtags won’t cut it anymore.
To truly connect and build meaningful relationships, you need a centralized platform that acts as your single source of truth for all things social. Sprinklr Social has your back here, as the platform supports:
- Smart scheduling to publish posts with perfectly placed hashtags
- Real-time social media analytics to track performance and refine your strategy
- Powerful social listening to understand what your audience and competitors are up to
It’s time to stop guessing and start optimizing your hashtag strategy. Keen to find out how Sprinklr can help you do just that?
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