Different Ways To Use Hashtags To Grow a Business

I remember when hashtags weren’t even a thing. I mean, what does a pound sign have to do with social media? It was pretty confusing at first. At least for me it was. Am I the only one?

Now it’s used as a joke, a way to explain an emotion, and a way to grow a business (among other uses).

Isn’t it weird how there are innovations that have been created that have completely changed how we run our businesses? I find it fascinating.

But, thanks to hashtags, we now have another strategic way to find and reach our ideal clients. Hashtags can be used to categorize your product, start a movement, or participate in a challenge/group.

If you want to use hashtags to showcase your product/service to a larger audience than your followers, then you just have to find and use the right hashtags. Since most social media platforms have a limit on characters or hashtags, you need to be strategic about which ones you use. If your ideal customer/client is not a business owner or entrepreneur, then you don’t want to be using hashtags about being self-employed, entrepreneurship, or hashtags that only those in the creative industry use. You will be finding a wonderful tribe of other self-employed babes, but if you aren’t trying to sell to them, then you won’t have the success you are looking for.

Starting a hashtag movement is a great way to grow a tribe of people who are invested in you and your business. There are several things to keep in mind while starting and growing your hashtag! First, you need to search and make sure that the hashtag you want to use is not in use already. It needs to be original if you are going to claim it as yours. Second, you need to have a reason and mission behind your hashtag. And no, the reason should not be to get more followers. Frankly, that is a selfish mission and your movement will flop in no time. You want to have a mission of serving or giving to your audience in some way. Create something where others feel excited to participate! Next, you need to tell your audience about it! Make sure you put in in your bio descriptions and post about it often.

For example, after creating the #lesshustlemoregrace movement, I made sure to create posts dedicated to inviting others into the hashtag movement. I shared why I created it, what it means to me, why I believe in it, and why I want you to use it too. This gave people knowledge of why I used it and made them feel like they could participate too.

Another way of using hashtags is through challenges or group hashtags. You can have the option of starting a challenge (lots of work, but worth it), or you can find challenges to participate in. For today’s purposes, we are going to talk about the second option.

There are large organizations, groups, or membership sites that will host Instagram from time to time. If the participants in these challenges are your ideal clients or customers, you want to make sure you participate. I want to caution you though! DO NOT just participate in the challenge to get followers. You should always be thinking about giving back before you think about asking for something. So, think about how you can give to the challenge before you think about what you can gain from the challenge. Spend time researching different challenges and find one that fits your business and brand and go for it! This is a strategic way to get your services/product in front of your audience.

PRO TIP: Find hashtags that your customers are using and spend time in those hashtags. Comment, like, and engage with posts and people who use those hashtags.