Have you ever wondered how to effectively use social hashtags (#) to increase the reach of your business’s social media posts?
Well, a new study by TrackMaven, an integrated marketing analytics software company, looked at this and found some useful social hashtag best practices on Twitter.
Best Hashtag Strategies for Social Media
According to TrackMaven, hashtags allow people and brands to contribute to social media discussions about specific topics or create conversations around a specific event or a category.
“On Twitter, social media marketers use hashtags to create Twitter chats or regularly scheduled conversations around a particular topic, often held by a leader,” said Rebecca Lee White, Community Manager at TrackMaven, in an article announcing the new report on the official TrackMaven marketing blog.
So, what are some of these hashtag best practices revealed in the report?
For example, how many hashtags should you use on Twitter to reach the widest audience beyond your existing followers?
How Many Hashtags Should you use for Best Results?
TrackMaven analyzed more than 65,000 social media posts to find hashtag best practices for three social media platforms, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. He found that:
- On Twitter, the best number of hashtags to use is one. Tweets with more than one hashtag reduce engagement, which correlates with the number of hashtags used. 4,444 Twitter hashtags with 18 characters gave the best results, while tweets with longer hashtags showed a sharp drop in engagement.
- On Instagram, posts with 9 hashtags perform the best. 4,444 Instagram hashtags with 21 characters work best, but engagement drops for posts with 25-character hashtags.
- On Facebook, posts with a hashtag perform the best.
- Six-character Facebook hashtags work best. 4,444 10–17 character Facebook hashtags also work well, but engagement is starting to drop for longer hashtags.