Hashtag Strategy in 2022

December, 2021

Hashtags! You probably know that you should be using them and you may have an idea of what they do. But do you know how to make them hustle for your business? Hashtags evolve every year and so does your business. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about hashtags in 2022.

First, let’s start with what hashtags are:

• A hashtag is anything that looks like this #hashtags or this #LoveMeSomeHashtags

• Can be used on any social media platform

• A hashtag indicates to a person and a platform’s algorithm that the post associated with the hashtag belongs to a specific category

• Hashtags aggregate posts so people who don’t know about your brand can discover you

Here’s what hashtags are not:

• Hashtags are not solely a branding tool

• They aren’t for spamming

• Hashtags are not meant to be obscure, unless you’re being ironic

• Sentences are not hashtags

Use Hashtags to Bring In New People
When it comes to social media and hashtags, think of it like a social gathering where there are multiple conversations going on all around you. The hashtags a potential customer is overhearing are their indicators as to what conversation they want to be a part of. Let’s go with a person who wants to start doing more yoga in 2022. The conversation that includes #yoga is cool, but the one next to it that has #yogamornings attached to it and that seems like exactly what one segment of your target audience needs to get their new year's resolution kicked off.

Now, the same post can have both the #yoga and the #yogamornings hashtags, but this potential client is more drawn to the #yogamornings hashtags for a myriad of personal reasons.

Use Hashtags as a Branding Tool
In the #yoga and #yogamornings conversation room is also your own branded hashtag #RedsStudioVT. In this example, your target audience wants to start a morning yoga practice, they aren’t new to yoga, but they’ve never heard of your business, so, most likely, they aren’t going to click on the #RedsStudioVT hashtag to see more of your content.

Creating a branded hashtag that is your business name, your tagline, or something that is uniquely yours is a good idea, but it’s not required. Most small businesses aren’t going to go viral with this kind of branded hashtag nor are people going to start using a branded hashtag. Larger companies, sports teams, and national brands do well with branded hashtags. If you’re working on a specific campaign, using a hashtag for just the duration of that campaign can serve your business well.

But overall, a business does not need to be including their #CompanyName as a hashtag on every single post. In fact, that can look spammy. Here’s what to remember: Hashtags are meant to bring people in who may not know about your business and may not even know about the specific services you offer.

In the yoga example, most Americans know what yoga is. Those that have never tried yoga may feel like it’s not for them, so they completely ignore all social media posts about yoga. Let’s say they are, however, interested in beaded earrings. There is a market called yoga jewelry that specializes in natural crystals, fibers, and beads adornment. For #RedsStudioVT they also have a small boutique that sells yoga jewelry so they use hashtags like #yogajewlery #crystalmacrame and #magick in their posts. These hashtags are meant to bring in a segment of their potential audience that is wider than the #yoga hashtag.

Use Hashtags that People Follow
On Instagram and LinkedIn people can follow hashtags that interest them. Using a few of these popular hashtags is a great way to cast a wider net. #RedsStudioVT also partners via Zoom with yoga studios in other countries. For one of these international class options they included the hashtags #europe #germany #italy #yogatraining #mindfulness #meditation.

While the post was specific to a class in Italy, they included Germany and Europe in there because those places are also on their rooster. They included mindfulness and meditation because, while not specifically related, both those practices are intrinsically connected to yoga.

Think about popular hashtags that are indirectly connected to your business. Do any of these resonate:

#happy
#nature
#picoftheday
#love
#training

Use Hashtags with Ethics in Mind
Don’t, for the love of Yancey, use hashtags to spam people. Hashtags like #followme #followforfollow and anything that feels like you’re asking for something inauthentic is something you want to avoid. Remember, on the other side of the screen is a human reading your post. Connect with them authentically.

Create a Social Media Hashtag Marketing Strategy
This can seem like a big marketing to-do, and it is. Here are a few quick and dirty tips to help you get started:

• Check out what your competition is doing. Maybe they’re hitting the mark, maybe they are flopping. The least you want to do is to know what’s going on.

• Keep a document of hashtags that is organized by category (yoga, poses, studio, location, etc.) and add new hashtags to this document.

• Research your hashtags by checking in on the types of posts they pull in. Make sure your hashtags aren’t pulling in porn or banned topics.

• Review your posts to try to determine which hashtags are working the best.

Now, if that seems like a bit too much, we can help. If you haven’t noticed, every December we write about hashtags and how they are evolving for the next year. We do this because there are right ways and wrong ways to use hashtags. Here at Yancey Red we spend a lot of time educating our clients on social media best practices. If you’re a business that already has a social media presence or is just getting started and you’re wanting a little more social media education, we can help.

We offer custom social media marketing training sessions that are specific to your business, industry, and your specific marketing goals. Send us a note and let us help you.