Hashtags remain a useful tool for brands seeking to generate engagement when delivering campaigns on social media. Your marketing campaign won’t succeed or fail off the back of a hashtag – but using hashtags effectively will help enhance your campaign’s presence across your chosen platforms.
Whether you’re a small business, content creator, or large brand, using a dedicated hashtag helps keep your messaging consistent, and leveraging hashtags can enhance visibility and engagement on social media. Sports teams, for example, often use specific hashtags to bring their fans together and create a sense of community.
In this guide, we’ll take you through the process of creating hashtags – from research through to delivery – on platforms such as Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop a branded hashtag that reinforces your brand, gets your audience talking through its usage, and connects you to a wider following.
In this guide:
Why hashtags matter
Hashtags are important for brands because they offer a means of connecting with audiences – and they have more functions than you might think. They play a role in social media communication, enhancing brand reach and coherence across multiple platforms.
Generally, they're a way to group social media posts focused on the same topic. As a brand, it’s easier to see how people react to your product or service if they use the same hashtag. However, hashtags can also be used to stress the importance of words or ideas in posts. You might use branded hashtags to attract an audience’s attention.
If used correctly, your hashtag can help increase the visibility of your content, drive more traffic to your website, and reinforce your brand. Movie studios use hashtags when they release new movies to generate hype and keep all content in one place. For example: #CaptainAmericaBraveNewWorld.
The right hashtag can complement your marketing strategy and help you achieve wider reach and impact across your social media activity. However, you must understand the basics of hashtags before you start creating them, including how many hashtags to use for optimal engagement.
Understanding hashtags: The basics
A hashtag is a word or phrase that has a "#" symbol in front of it. It then becomes a link within your post that will direct the reader to any other posts that have used the same hashtag.
X (formerly Twitter) launched hashtags in 2009 as a means of grouping similar posts. Users would click on a hashtag or search for one to see what others were saying on that topic. So, a user might post something like this:
"Had a great time Downtown with the girls tonight! #NYC"
The #NYC tag groups thousands of posts about New York in one place, which is great for interaction.
Over time, some hashtags have become fairly generic – such as #NYC, #love, and #blessed – and brands struggle to feel the benefit of using these tags.
Instead, a great hashtag is one that stands out, resonates with a specific audience, and aligns closely with your brand. You could choose to mix popular hashtags alongside your own unique ones – just don’t overload it, as this affects the algorithm in making your content discoverable.
Great examples of successful hashtags
Before we explore the steps to creating a hashtag, it’s worth having some inspiration. Below are three successful hashtags that were created with different goals in mind.
Increasing brand awareness – #ShareaCoke: A classic branded hashtag that was very successful in increasing brand awareness for Coca-Cola and encourages massive user-generated content across Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Direct promotion – #NoMakeupSelfie: It might sound cliche these days, but in 2014, Cancer Research UK came up with an innovative hashtag to promote their fundraising campaign. The #NoMakeupSelfie asked people to publish selfies without makeup and donate to Cancer Research. It raised £8 million.
Audience engagement – #YesWeCan: Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign was one of the first to truly embrace social media. #YesWeCan was ambitious and forward-thinking, without being too specific. It was the right slogan for a presidential candidate seeking a second term.
These are examples that show how you can boost brand awareness, drive traffic, or foster community engagement with the help of a hashtag.
How to type a hashtag
Here's how to type the "#" symbol on your computer or smartphone:
- Mac: Hold "Option" and press "3"
- PC: Hold "Shift" and press "3"
- iPhone and iPad: Press "123," then tap "#+=" in the bottom-left corner of your keyboard to find the "#" symbol
- Android handsets: Press "?123" in the bottom-left corner of your keyboard to find the "#" symbol
Steps to create a hashtag
The most effective hashtags are those thoughtfully created and strategically implemented. So, let’s walk through the process of generating a new hashtag that works for you.
Step 1: Brainstorming early ideas
Define your hashtag objective
You need to think about what the purpose of the hashtag is in your marketing campaign. The aim could be to increase audience conversation, build your brand, or drive traffic to your website.
Either way, establishing a clear objective will help you create a branded hashtag that aligns with your strategy.
Gather multiple words and phrase combinations
Take time to write down as many ideas as you can. This will allow you to experiment with different words or phrases and establish what your perfect hashtag might be. A good hashtag needs to be memorable, short, and aligned with your brand.
Incorporate your brand name
A branded hashtag could be as simple as including your brand name (e.g. #NYPizzaPlaza) but you could add a creative twist to it. Perhaps you could go with:
- #SlicePlazaNYC
- #NYSlice
Incorporating at least part of your brand name into your hashtag is ideal for reinforcing your brand and helping your followers quickly associate it with your posts.
Avoid special characters
A key thing to remember with hashtags is that you cannot use special characters or symbols such as exclamation points or dollar signs. This makes the hashtag invalid and won't appear as a link.
By this point, you should have a list of strong ideas. Now, you just need to decide on the perfect hashtag for your strategy.
Step 2: Defining your hashtag’s purpose and strategy
Once you have a basis for early ideas, now it's time to think about the real purpose behind your hashtag.
Marketing campaign alignment
A branded hashtag should directly align with your marketing campaign. For example, if you’re running a competition, you might use a unique hashtag such as #BrandNameBigGiveaway.
Target audience considerations
Your target audience is crucial because, ultimately, they are the ones who'll engage with the hashtag. Use social media analytics to better understand your audience and create a hashtag that efficiently resonates with them. This is important for all social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok. Make sure your hashtag aligns with your audience's interests and encourages them to use it in their own posts.
Brand voice and consistency
A branded hashtag needs to mirror the feeling of your overall brand. This is important whether you're a creator, big brand, or corporate business. Consistency is always key. A successful hashtag will feel natural and encourage community engagement.
Simplicity and memorability
Whilst a lot of thought should go into a hashtag, keeping it simple and memorable is important for audience engagement. A good hashtag should immediately make sense to your audience so that they are more likely to share.
By doing this, you'll create hashtags that not only catch the eye but also encourage conversation amongst your followers and increase the visibility of future marketing campaigns.
Step 3: Researching and refining your hashtag
Once you are past the brainstorming stage, research should be conducted to really refine your specific hashtag. Use that data to make informed decisions. Here are a few ways to do it.
Use the search bar on social media platforms
An ideal first place to start is the search function on social media sites. The likes of Instagram, Facebook, and X all have good search engines to efficiently look up other hashtags and see if your ideas are already in use.
Whilst your ideas should be unique, it's worth looking at what's performing well to see if there's anything you can incorporate into your own strategy. Look at trending hashtags and see if they align with your ideas.
Check for unintended meanings in your hashtag
Write your hashtag using only lowercase letters to spot any unintended word combinations or misinterpretations. A specific hashtag should be free of confusing or accidental word mashups or punctuation errors.
Get feedback from a wider audience
Before you decide on a hashtag, share your ideas with a group that accurately represents your target audience. They can provide feedback, help refine your hashtag if necessary, and help you create a hashtag that resonates across a wider base of your audience.
Test using social media analytics
When you have a refined list, you should use social media analytics to track the performance of similar hashtags. This will give you a good idea as to whether the chosen hashtag will have its desired effect.
Step 4: Implementing your hashtag across social media
Once your branded hashtag is finalized, it’s time to integrate it into your content. Before you do this, you’ll need to double-check the hashtag isn’t being used for anything else. You don’t want to hijack someone else’s campaign. Then, get started with these steps:
Incorporate the hashtag into your social media posts
Begin to use your hashtag in social media posts. This could be on Instagram, Facebook, X, or whether you plan to share branded or user-generated content. Make sure that the hashtags you add complement your posts.
Mix it up with multiple hashtags
The branded hashtag you come up with should remain at the forefront of your social media output. However, you should still have a few relevant hashtags set aside to add to certain posts.
For example, a sports team might use their branded hashtag on all posts but also add #GOAL or #Champions for specific posts.
The best posts don't overload on hashtags, as this affects the algorithm and how visible your post becomes.
Encourage community engagement
When implementing a new hashtag, invite your followers to use it. This could be done with a simple sign-off to your post saying "Join in the conversation by using #YourBrandName." Or, you might interact specifically with followers who have used the same hashtag, which encourages more people to do the same.
Community engagement often centers around events and particular dates. Read our dos and don'ts of using hashtags at events for more guidance on how to do it well.
Integrate across social media channels
Like most things with social media, consistency is key – the same goes for hashtags. Use your hashtag in every piece of branded content across your channels to increase visibility and continue driving traffic.
Step 5: Tracking and analyzing hashtag performance
Measuring a specific hashtag’s success is crucial, not only for understanding current performance but for improving engagement through future hashtags you choose to create.
Here’s how to track and refine your hashtag approach over time:
Monitor with social media analytics tools
Analytics tools are ideal for monitoring how branded hashtags perform over time. Take a look at metrics such as engagement, impressions, and the number of posts that have used your hashtag. This data will give you a better understanding of whether the hashtag is effective or if it needs adjustment.
Evaluate across different platforms
Algorithms for hashtags and posts in general differ across social media sites. As a result, a hashtag that works well on Instagram might not work as well on X. You should analyze these differences to tailor your hashtag strategy for each channel.
Adjust based on feedback
Don't be afraid to refine your hashtag if the data analysis suggests it needs changing. Come up with some hashtag variations that you can utilize until you find the one that successfully meets your goals.
Engage with your audience
Hashtags are the perfect way to start and encourage conversations with your audience. It's crucial to your brand awareness and demonstrates whether your followers are actively engaging.
Best practices for creating hashtags that work
To make sure your hashtag stands out and reaches the desired outcome, keep these best practices in mind:
- Keep it simple: Only use multiple phrases in your hashtag if you deem it necessary. Good hashtags are easy to remember and aren't confusing to the eye.
- Be consistent: A branded hashtag needs to appear consistently across social media channels to reinforce your brand.
- Research thoroughly: Before you ultimately decide on a hashtag, use the search bar across social media sites to see if there are any similar hashtags widely used. Run your hashtag through analytics software like Brandwatch for more meaningful insights.
- Track and tweak: Always track the performance of your hashtag with analytics tools so you can adjust if needed.
- Use capital letters: If your hashtag is a phrase or a string of words, then capitalizing the first letter of each word helps make it recognizable. For example, #ThisGirlCan is more readable than #thisgirlcan.
Create your own hashtag today
Crafting unique hashtags takes more than a quick brainstorm – it requires thoughtful planning and research. If you follow our guide, you’ll have a roadmap to achieving success with hashtags that can contribute to your wider social media strategy goals.
From generating your early concepts to refining the hashtag through research, implementing it across your posts, and tracking its performance, every step in this guide is designed to help you make the most of your hashtag and grow your brand's visibility.
The key thing to understand is that a hashtag is more than just a word or phrase, it’s a crucial part of your marketing campaign. When you do it right, it not only boosts engagement but also connects your brand to a wider audience. It'll become integral to your social media strategy. From one little hashtag, you can build a robust online presence.
Now it’s time to go out and put these steps into action. Create a hashtag that stands out, inspires community engagement, and increases the awareness of your brand. Happy hashtagging.
