Believe it or not, hashtags have pretty much taken over social media. Once forgotten character has finally made big time. This little symbol has dominated the social media world in recent years and has grown tremendously popular.

#WhatAreHashtags?

A hashtag is a keyword or phrase preceded by the hash symbol (#), that people include in their social media posts. So it basically makes the content of your post accessible to all people with similar interests.
For example, if you are a fan of Samsung Galaxy S7 and planning to buy it. A simple “#SamsungGalaxyS7” search on any social network will open a dedicated news feed of all the latest deals, rumours or hacks about it. The results you see on the feed are the aggregated posts of any users who use Samsung Galaxy S7. So hashtags are clickable links on posts you see and a mouse click will display a real-time live feed of every other post tagged with the same hashtag.

#SoWhoUsesHashtags?

1. Twitter
Twitter is the very first social media platform where hashtags are still very prevalent. Twitter helps you deliver target brand messages by helping you organize your tweets. You can join in trending conversations that can be viewed on your twitter page sidebars or at Hashtags.org. In this way you’ll be able to track hashtags to see which ones are most relevant with your audience.

2. Instagram
The power of hashtags on Instagram can help you increase your reach eventually leading to an increment in the network of influential brand followers.
If you want to make your photos more discoverable, employ hashtags on this app. It’s better if you use at least one hashtag per photo to maximize share.

3. Facebook
Hashtag craze all began on Facebook on June 2013 but it hasn’t really worked great for them. Facebook provides a unique URL for every hashtag and by clicking on one will redirect you to its feed. Facebook hashtags in their current form are flawed. It’s basically far from perfect.

4. Pinterest
Hashtags are supported on this platform and kind of work the same way as mentioned in the other social networks. On Pinterest, hashtags in account descriptions, board titles, board descriptions or profile names aren’t clickable. The only place where you can click and search hashtags are in a Pin’s description.

5. Google+
In case of Google+, when users click on a hashtag, the search results page includes the original hashtag as well as the posts with similar tags and keywords. Hashtags on Google+ makes it easier for people to discover your content, even if they are outside your circle.

#HowDoHashtagsHelp?+

Using hashtags make your posts more visible to basically anyone who shares your interest. So your will no longer be limited to your followers; your content is now accessible to all other users interested in similar topics. Hashtags help you increase brand awareness and facilitate greater engagement.
Through hashtags you can also get to know what you’re targeted customers are interested in. They help building relationships by helping your brand get connected and be able to interact with targeted audiences. Brand loyalty in turn increases with your audiences getting insights about your brand or businesses through hashtags.
All you have to keep in mind is carefully choose the right hashtag that broadens the reach of your social media posts to thousands of followers, fans and customers.
Don’t overuse hashtags. Make sure that you use maximum of two hashtags per post. Including too many hashtags will leave the impression that you are spamming your followers.

#Conclusion

Hashtags can really work wonders if used in the right way. Try experimenting with hashtags as these are really powerful tools that connect with potentially thousands or even millions of target audiences world-wide. Hopefully you’ve learned the value of hashtags here. Which hashtags do you usually use on social media?