We all want more people to read our posts online. Thankfully, there’s one little tweak you can implement in your social media marketing to reach beyond the people who are already following you.
Hashtags.
Sure, those little pound symbols aren’t new, but are you using them regularly? It’s easy to get lazy and just auto-post what we’ve you’ve written without researching trending or relevant hashtags.
Remember, hashtags make social media updates searchable by everyone on the social media platform — opening up your posts to even more potential readers.
“When you are on social media sites such as Twitter or Instagram, your goal should be to become part of the conversation. The hashtag allows more people to find your contributions to that conversation. Without them, you miss out on lots of eyes that could be viewing your content,” according to, Jay York, senior digital marketing strategist for EMSI Public Relations in a recent press release.
He goes on to say, “For example, let’s say 1,000 people follow you on Twitter. Not counting re-tweets, only 1,000 people will see your posts if you don’t use a hashtag. Add the hashtag, though, and you start picking up momentum because the post has the potential of being seen by, and re-tweeted by, any number of people.”
Here’s five quick tips for using hashtags in your social media posts:
- Look up trending hashtags, and if they pertain to your topics, use them.
- Use one or two hashtags per post, tops. Too many hashtags make posts difficult to read.
- Search a hashtag before using it. You don’t want your brand or identity linked to something unexpectedly undesirable.
- Use the #amwriting hashtag to connect to other writers when posting about writing.
- When posting about a popular event, movement, movie or show, see if it has a dedicated hashtag to connect all of its fans. Then, use it.
So, are you diligent about using hashtags to widen your readership? What do you think about using hashtags? Let’s chat in the comments below or on Facebook!
