How brands can use hashtags to optimise social media

Hashtags have become an essential part of a B2B social media strategy. The key to reap the benefits of hashtags is to ensure the reach and relevance of hashtags used across social media platforms.

Brands often use hashtags to stay relevant in an age of information overload on the internet. It helps to optimise online searches for niche topics and enhances search engine optimisation in doing so.

For instance, the Meantime team recently attended the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Dublin. The website for the event mentioned the hashtag #IATAWCS which was used by numerous companies and professionals in the logistics, air cargo, and supply chain sectors. Searching this hashtag on social media platforms gave viewers access to all the posts made about the event. Thus, hashtags are a key method to categorise information online.

Here are five top tips about using hashtags from the Meantime Communications team:

Use industry hashtags: Meantime Communications is a public relations consultancy in the logistics and supply chain sectors. We have a list of industry hashtags to appear in searches related to the industry. Using hashtags such as #logistics, #supplychainnews, and #B2BPR helps with brand visibility for specialised searches.

Use free analytics tools: A few free tools to conduct hashtag research are: RiteTag, Hootsuite and Hashtagify.me. These tools use data analytics to show a competitive analysis of hashtags based on their engagement, impressions, reach, and follows.

Consistency is key: Using relevant industry hashtags over a long duration of time will help to build a strong online presence. It allows community building in a niche market as individuals can follow hashtags and access related content posted by brands.

Commitment to engagement: For the success of hashtags in a brand’s social media strategy, is it important to engage with related content. For instance, a technology start-up in the aviation sector should engage with news about digital disruption and innovation by liking, commenting on, and sharing articles on their social media channels with industry hashtags.

Less is more: Across all social media platforms hashtags must be used mindfully rather than including a long list of unrelated hashtags. Using trending and recommended hashtags helps to optimise searches. Using few but relevant hashtags also helps to keep a post within the character limit.

Go ahead and follow hashtags related to your business and engage with news in the industry to watch your social media reach and impressions grow at a great pace.

To hear more about creating a social media strategy for your B2B business, contact Meantime Communications at hello@meantime.global or call + 44 (0) 20 8853 5554.