What are hashtags?
Hashtags are useful in organising content online, especially since a thousand of images are published every minute on all social media platforms. It can be indexed by the social network so it can be discoverable to everyone, even if they’re not a follower or fan. This ‘#’ originated from Twitter but is now widely used to greatly broaden the reach of social media posts to thousands of potential followers or customers on Facebook and Instagram.
Now that we’ve explained what hashtags are, you may be tempted to simply slap on a # related to your product like, #food or #burgers. Keep in mind that there are a million posts tagged to generic hashtags like these and your chances of being noticed is very slim. That’s why you should choose a unique hashtag for your products but also a more generic one for people who may be looking for related products. You can also make your # more localised by adding ‘SG’ at the back i.e. #GerberSg for Gerber Singapore.
In this article, we explore hashtags on Instagram and how you can optimise your hashtag campaign.
Trending Hashtags in Singapore
You might be asking, so what are the top 30 hashtags of all time? Here’s the list:
- #love
- #instagood
- #me
- #cute
- #tbt
- #follow
- #followme
- #photooftheday
- #happy
- #tagforlikes
While having more than two hashtags on Twitter makes your tweet look like spam, some studies show that eleven hashtags are the most hashtags you can add to your photo before Instagram detects it as ‘spam’ and irrelevant for followers.
Why are hashtags important?
While one of the key benefits of using hashtags is having your profile discovered and ultimately obtain more followers, hashtags are very important because they can help you generate UGC (user-generated content). However, be very careful as hashtags are used differently on Twitter compared to Instagram. Twitter hashtags can help you engage with an audience and encourage engagement like a forum. On Instagram, more specific hashtags can help build a bigger audience. You can look at the hashtags your audiences are already using and connect your hashtags with those. When you use general hashtags like #food or #love, you are not likely to get many engagement as your photos may not stand out as much in the sea of photos.
With the UGC generated from a hashtag, you will be able to look across your category to understand the ways your audiences use your product and the cultural meaning attached to your products. This may reveal that your brand needs to rethink your equity to crack new opportunities and create new content that people love and want to share.
Successful hashtag campaign
The most successful hashtag campaigns are meant to expand on a conversation that triggers sharing, add context, or channel it in a more meaningful way. It should not be slapped onto your ad to integrate social into your marketing campaign. Instead, it should place social thinking at the heart of the ad. Some great examples of successful hashtag campaigns include:
Aerie -#AerieReal
Brands that support a belief that its customers also believe in can get a huge perk in loyalty. Aerie’s #AerieReal campaign is a great example of that. During a time where women are upset about unrealistic expectations placed upon them by the media, Aerie took the opportunity to market to women in a way that is uninfluenced by society’s expectations and turned its hashtag into a way for women to proudly share their photos.
Adidas – #ORIGINALis
In 2017, Adidas Original managed to secure it’s position as a thought leader and fashion icon with its hashtag #ORIGINALis. The aim of the hashtag, according to Adidas was to inspire its consumers to redefine the meaning of originality. The feature on symbolic artists like Stormzy and Dua Lipa helped the brand establish itself as the key fashion figure in hip-hop industry.
Tarte Cosmetics – #TrippinWithTarte
Tarte Cosmetics realised that its target audience takes more photos when travelling and decided to get involved in their outdoor experiences. By flying a gang of fitness and makeup influencers to a vacation destination and planning a bunch of outdoor activities for them, they showed consumers more opportunities to share their makeup photos where ever and whatever they’re doing. This campaign fully highlighted the versatile nature of Tarte as a company.
Mashwire’s Tips & Tricks
Starting on a hashtag campaign? Here’s how you can create a better hashtag campaign.
- Make it actionable and relevant for the community.
- Use the language of the community by identifying terminology shared by the community.
- Introduce a cause if you can.
- Check the hashtag to ensure that it is original.
- Don’t just make the hashtag entirely about your brand.
- Not more than 3 words combined together.
- Get someone to review it.
