Once you’ve mastered the basics of hashtags it’s time to use that hashtag know-how to take your social media presence to the next level. By using branded, trending and industry hashtags in your social media posts you can help grow your online presence and increase brand engagement.

Branded hashtags

Put simply, branded hashtags are hashtags specific to your brand. They can include your brand name, company tagline or something else associated with your brand. They can be used for product launches, campaigns, competitions and events.

A good branded hashtag should be:

• Brief: keep it short, searchable and easy to spell
• Catchy: choose something memorable and engaging
• Unique: make sure your branded hashtag hasn’t already been claimed – when people search your hashtag you only want content associated with your brand to turn up

These hashtags are great for business, you can engage customers and promote brand awareness by including branded hashtags in your social media posts and encouraging your audience to do the same.

Feminine hygiene product company Always launched a highly successful branded hashtag in 2014 which remains a stalwart of its brand today. The hashtag #LikeAGirl began as a campaign to empower adolescent girls and has grown into a worldwide movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_MhsbRiFyI

Even if your branded hashtag doesn’t go viral, they’re still an integral part of your social media strategy. By including the same branded hashtags in social media posts on different platforms you create a consistent and recognisable identity for your online presence.

Trending hashtags

Trending hashtags are hashtags that are particularly popular at a given moment. Sites like trendsmap and hashtagify.me can show you which hashtags are trending, or you can view which hashtags are popular in the trending section of the social media platform you’re using.

How to use them: Including trending hashtags in your social media posts is a great way to gain extra exposure for your content. It’s always best practice to tailor your post to a trending hashtag rather than just tacking a trending hashtag on the end of something irrelevant.

How not to use them: It is very important never to spam trending hashtags. The quickest way to appear unprofessional and frustrate other platform users is to include irrelevant trending hashtags in your posts. If you’re not contributing anything to the conversation, don’t use the trending hashtag. If you don’t understand a hashtag, make sure you research it before you use it in any of your posts.

Trending hashtags tend to give your post ’15 seconds of fame’ – while lots of people will see your post due to its trending hashtag, your post will also soon get swamped by others using the same hashtag. It’s best to use trending hashtags sparingly and in conjunction with other hashtags.

Industry hashtags

Industry hashtags are hashtags that are used by a particular industry on social media. Unlike trending hashtags, industry hashtags are steadily popular and constantly in use. By using recurring hashtags from your industry, you can join in conversations, connect with other people in your industry and help like-minded people find your posts.

For example, someone working in the travel industry might use:
#tourismchat #traveltuesday or #luxurytraveller

Non-industry specific recurring hashtags are also a great way to join in conversations and gain extra exposure on social media. Hashtags such as #MondayMotivation and #ThrowbackThursday can be applied to almost any industry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcC-Xo7n9Hb/

Any successful social media plan should include branded, trending and industry hashtags. While not every branded hashtag will go viral and not every trending hashtag will put you in the spotlight, together these three hashtag strategies will help create a recognisable, cohesive and engaging online presence for your brand.