Twitter Hashtags – Here’s Everything You Need To Know
Twitter is one of the biggest social media platforms – it has more than 140 million daily users. If you’re working on a digital marketing strategy, it has to be part of your plans. With that said, it’s important to know what Twitter hashtags are, how they work and how to find the right ones for your campaigns.
Twitter hashtags are great for reach and impressions as well as engagement and brand awareness. You can’t use Twitter without its hashtags.
It can be easy to get lost between all the options because the possibilities are basically infinite – if you can say it, you can hashtag it.
In this guide, we will look at how marketers and content creators use Twitter hashtags and how they determine which ones are trending.
You’ll also learn more about when to use hashtags and how you can create your own ones.
What Are Twitter Hashtags?
There was a time when the # symbol was just a pound sign or hash mark. It was used, but not nearly as much as it’s used now. This simple symbol gained immense popularity when the social media platform Twitter was born.
It became a way to start conversations and link discussions. When a large group of people are talking about something, it’s the hashtag that accompanies their tweets that will let the world in on what’s being said.
Facebook and Instagram, as well as other social media platforms, are also using hashtags to promote posts and drive engagement and traffic.
Hashtags can be discovered by users of social media sites and stay up-to-date with what’s trending.
Why Do Twitter Hashtags Matter?
The simple reason for the importance of this simplistic symbol is that it drives conversations. It involves a group of people in matters that are important to them and makes them feel part of a community.
As a result, social media users can find what interests them and if you’re trying to promote to your target audience, they’ll find you.
When a brand joins a trending hashtag conversation, more people will see the brand. The result is greater brand awareness and reach, making hashtags great marketing tools.
The biggest requirement for hashtags is possibly creative marketing. If you know how to talk to your audience and can incorporate Twitter hashtags, you’ll notice a rise in your reach and following.
When Should You Use Hashtags?
When you’re looking to reach a specific audience, you can do so by using the right hashtags on Twitter.
If you want to know what was trending on Twitter to enhance your research and data analysis, check hashtag trends.
Brands that want to see if Twitter users are talking about them can find out with a quick and easy hashtag search.
The more people see your posts (thanks to Twitter hashtags), the more people will engage with you. Engagement can go up between 50% and 90% when using the right hashtags.
Hashtags are a great way to reach a relevant audience in a short amount of time and with little effort.
Examples of When To Use Twitter Hashtags
We’ll take a look at situations when brands and companies can benefit from using hashtags on Twitter. Not only will making the most of these situations get you a like or two on your posts, but you’ll also show that you’re aware of trending topics.
Popular Weekly Challenges and Trends
There are many weekly trends and challenges to be found on the Twitter streets. In general, they are positive and happy feel-good trends like #MondayMotivation, #ThrowbackThursday, #FeelGoodFriday and similar phrases.
Sharing some industry advice or quoting an industry leader and adding one such trending hashtag is a good idea.
Twitter users are more likely to retweet and like fun and inspiring tweets than those filled with sales talk.
Look at this example by Camfed the non-profit organisation:
Every Friday between Aug 4 & Sep 15 is a #FeelGoodFriday!
That's because #InspiredByMeghan #InspiredByHarry is still happening, and it's going strong 💪🏿💥
As of NOW, your generosity can support *41* young women through 1 year of vocational training! 👩🏿🎓https://t.co/CCgoyFzEV5 pic.twitter.com/s11T6BApQM
— CAMFED – Campaign for Female Education (@Camfed) August 14, 2020
Holidays and Celebrations
Twitter hashtags come in very handy during the holiday season and on special occasions.
Hashtags such as #Thanksgiving or #EarthDay and #NewYearsEve always perform well because many tweets use them.
If you want to be part of the celebrations you can work these hashtags into your posts and reach your audience in a fun way.
You can use lesser-known hashtags too, like #NationalPancakeDay. Just make sure that you keep it related to your industry or brand. If you don’t, you could confuse your followers or make it look like you’re just tweeting for attention.
Spent #NationalPancakeDay with some wonderful Michiganders at Fleetwood Diner! Thanks for the warm welcome, our Administration is with you! pic.twitter.com/ekdAGtDzUA
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) February 25, 2020
Brand Campaigns
When launching a brand campaign, you will likely have all your tweets planned ahead. Well, at least the majority of them.
And if you’re smart, you’ll likely include a link or URL back to your site promoting your brand, why not use a tool like Rebrandly to customize these links and increase trust with your audience?
Incorporating Twitter hashtags into those planned tweets is highly recommended. You could plan ahead which hashtags you want to use. Sure, you may not be able to use trending hashtags but that’s okay.
As long as your content shows up when a Twitter user is searching the hashtag, you’ve achieved your goal.
It is also a good idea to have a branded hashtag campaign. That way, you can get your audience involved and even collect some user-generated content as a bonus.
The #IceBucketChallenge is one of the best examples of this. The movement was meant to promote awareness for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association and started in 2014.
Since then it has become very popular and although it’s not as popular anymore, it remains something that almost everyone has heard about.
#Throwback to the #IceBucketChallenge for ALS! @taylorswift13 and I were absolutely freezing!!! pic.twitter.com/cegUMGHci3
— Jaime King (@Jaime_King) August 16, 2018
Supporting Causes
It is always a good idea to show support for charities and good causes. You’re improving your community and showing your fans that you have a caring heart.
Many people feel that more brands should get involved and start taking part in public issues.
The #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements are examples of such causes that brands can get involved with.
Of course, you have to be sincere and not only use the hashtag to look good. Here’s an example of Starbucks getting involved in their community’s issues:
It takes courage to be yourself when the world is telling you to be someone else. But when someone accepts and loves you no matter what, it can make all the difference.
This year for #Pride, we're celebrating our LGBTQ+ partners (employees) and the allies who support them. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/Mh2zjHEZIi
— Starbucks Coffee (@Starbucks) June 25, 2020
Events
Another great opportunity to use hashtags on Twitter is when specific and special events are taking place.
The Oscars and Met Gala are examples of such events. If your brand could be part of the event, even better.
Here Rotten Tomatoes starts a discussion around the Oscar nominees of 2020:
Timothée Chalamet, John David Washington, Ben Affleck, Daniel Kaluuya, and more lead early buzz for this year's #Oscars Best Actor race. https://t.co/zmLXn8ba3j
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) August 17, 2020
Pop Culture
Twitter is a very busy social media platform and is constantly the home of pop culture topic discussions. It’s where people go to be ‘woke’ and informed of the latest news.
You can use a relevant hashtag to get your brand noticed. Naturally, the topic should be somehow related to your brand or industry.
Remember that you don’t have to get involved in every topic. Only do what feels natural and won’t make your brand look silly or over-eager.
Wendy’s restaurant is a prime example of a brand that uses Twitter hashtags and trending topics to stay relevant.
Look at how their social media team is using a trendy hashtag to get their audience talking:
#NationalRoastDay starts right here tomorrow at 11am ET. For everyone that’s said “Roast Me Wendy’s,”…Tomorrow’s lookin’ good.
Let’s roll, jabronis.— Wendy's (@Wendys) May 28, 2020
General Interest
Sometimes, there just aren’t any trending Twitter hashtags that you can work into your posts. Then you can simply use general interest topics to inspire your content.
It can be something as simple as #digitalmarketing or #natural – as long as it’s relevant you can use any good and sensible hashtag.
By using more broad hashtags once in a while you can reach more people than you would normally.
Here, HootSuite is using the #HigherEd hashtag to discuss higher education.
According to our research, 98% of schools use social media across campus.
Learn the best practices, draw inspiration from the top institutions, and master social media for higher education with these essential tips. 🎓 #HigherEd https://t.co/pKNnvKlOky
— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) August 21, 2020
How To Find Trending Twitter Hashtags
The point of using a Twitter hashtag is to get your content in front of more eyes to drive engagement and traffic. That won’t happen if you are using hashtags that don’t perform well.
That is why you need to know how to find trending Twitter hashtags.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
Let’s look at some of the tools available to anyone looking for a hashtag that is trending.
This is the first place you should check for popular hashtags. It should go without saying, right? Well, many people forget that Twitter is the best place to see what’s doing well on Twitter.
When logged in, you will find the current Top 10 Trends that are personalised for your profile. It will be on the left-hand sidebar.
Some of the trends can be more about topics than hashtags so look carefully before you get excited and start creating content.
Normally, the trends are influenced by your location and who you follow. If you want to see the trends in another location, you can do so.
Head to ‘Explore’, click on the little gear icon for your settings and change the location to wherever you want.
Trendsmap
This popular tool shows the latest trends from Twitter. You can view the trends of any location in the world.
Simply click on a hashtag on the provided map and you will see the results from that location.
For example, if you select #SaveTheUSPS, you will see the results on the right-hand side of your screen.
When you’re using Trendsmap, you can see how different locations are discussing a certain trending topic or a Twitter hashtag.
It is a good tool to use if your audience is global.
RiteTag
Another useful option is RiteTag – it is great for finding popular and trending hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.
You can sign up to RiteTag for an in-depth look at analytics related to any hashtag you want to know more about.
It’s possible to find basic and still useable information about hashtags without signing up though.
RiteTag also shows results for hashtags that are not performing well and should be avoided. (Source – ritetag.com)
Hashtagify
Hashtagify is another popular and trusted tool that is great for finding popular as well as trending hashtags.
With it, you can find the best hashtags to reach your audience and suggestions that are specific to your needs.
You’ll see how popular a hashtag is as well as monthly trends and more.
On top of that, it helps you find competitors and influencers.
Here’s an example of the results produced when searching for ‘marketing’:
What Are the Most Popular Twitter Hashtags?
Although there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to using hashtags on Twitter, there are some that perform well for everyone.
According to research done by Hubspot, the following hashtags can be used by most brands and still do really well:
There are many other hashtags that perform great, depending on what you want to achieve. Let’s briefly look at other popular hashtags according to likes, retweets etc.
You’ll notice that some hashtags are in more than one category. This happens more than you’d think.
Twitter Hashtags That Get the Most Likes
Most Popular Twitter Hashtags
Best Twitter Hashtags For Replies
These are just a few of the best hashtags and with a Twitter search or by using one of the above-mentioned tools, you’ll find many more trending hashtags that are more relevant to your brand.
Final Thoughts on Twitter Hashtags
Hashtags are not going anywhere – they’re way too useful as tools for marketers and brands as well as individuals and influencers. Knowing as much as possible about how to use Twitter hashtags is a great marketing move.
Whether you’re looking for a follow, a like or a retweet, using popular hashtags as well as their related hashtags will reap rewards.
As long as you use your hashtags the right way and build interesting tweets, your marketing strategy will benefit greatly from these little symbols.
If you’re looking to add even more value to your marketing plans, we recommend you use SocialPlanner.io. You can schedule content way ahead, find trending topics and so much more.
The popular and reliable scheduling tool is easy to use and will impress you with all its neat features.
Now go out there and tweet like a pro!
