How do you / Should you #hashtag?

INSTAGRAM:

You can now follow hashtags, which means you must be super relevant in your hashtag work! Because if I decide I want to follow #makeup and I see that someone is posting content UNRELATED to makeup, I can actually ensure that your content never pops up in my feed again by simply blocking you on that hashtag.

Yikes.

So do not copy + paste and use the same hashtags every day unless they are very relevant. Do your best to be super specific with regards to how you tag your content.

You can use Hashtagify.me for help.

(FYI: As I write this, their site is going through a migration. So make sure you check back in a week or so if you get the same “come back later” message that I just got.)

FACEBOOK:

DO NOT USE HASHTAGS!

Funny enough, hashtags have actually been shown to LIMIT your reach. And with the Facebook algorithm squashing every chance you have to get in front of people, you can’t afford to have less reach.

Instead, and you’re going to hate this, use strategic boost or ad work on your public pages. You can be far more targeted and you can guarantee the algorithm will work in your favor because you’re paying it to.
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For the record: Just a few dollars can go a long way. So do not spend a fortune on this.

If putting money towards ad/boost work sounds like a pain in the you-know-what (wallet… not ass ?), consider opening a Facebook group. I’ll speak more on that in coming weeks as this seems to be the best way to use the Facebook platform in 2018.

TWITTER:

Twitter makes life a little easier, they actually share trending hashtags as they trend in the left hand panel of your Twitter homepage.

Again, use Hashtagify.me to take a look at what tags are relevant and growing in popularity.  

But do — whenever possible — check in at what’s trending from day to day and see if you can write a thought or share a blog you’ve written that’s in line with what’s popular on Twitter so you can ride that trend as far as it can take you.

Additionally, just a side note, every time some major event is happening (Super Bowl, Victoria Secret Fashion Show, etc.) there’s always a tag that’s being used and it’s almost always trending during the event. So — if something in line with your industry is happening — (maybe the Winter Olympics for some of you fitness coaches!) make sure you’re checking in on what tag people are using and join in the conversation.

That can seriously increase how many people find you and choose to engage with you.

I’ve actually put together 5 steps for getting more LOVE (likes, comments, and general reach) on your Twitter, Facebook + Instagram content. Want ’em?