Posted by Ben Kniffen in LinkedIn Marketing Insights
You may already be using hashtags… but are you using them on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn originally started supporting hashtags in 2013, but then quit after a mild response. However, once they realized more and more users were still using them (even though they weren’t even supported), they began to bring them back.
LinkedIn now supports hashtags on both desktop and mobile.
So when you see a hashtag in someone’s post, you can click on it to bring up a search for any content with the same hashtag:
Hashtags are now literally everywhere, but if you still don’t see why you should use them…
Let’s go a little more in-depth about hashtags and how exactly they can help you gain authority in your market.
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What are hashtags?
You might only associate hashtags with other social media platforms, like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook… But because LinkedIn supports hashtags, it’ll become more important than ever to consistently incorporate them into your content strategy on the platform.
Once you've added hashtags to your post, others will be able to find your post and all other posts using the same hashtag, just by adding the hashtag to the search field.
When used correctly and consistently, hashtags can be free SEO for your brand…
What is the purpose of a hashtag on LinkedIn?
Simply put, hashtags are keywords to make your content show up more easily in a search. They help you get discovered by your prospects.
Because of this, hashtags can help build your brand. If everytime you search #marketing, a post from LinkedSelling pops up, you’re going to know that LinkedSelling is a marketing company. And you’ll see the type of content and information we regularly publish.
So when you constantly see LinkedSelling’s posts pop up under #marketing and begin reading our material, you’llou’re start to view LinkedSelling as a marketing expert.
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Finally, hashtags can create a community, by bringing everyone into the same conversation. They give us opportunity to unite with people who have the same interests. Or at least an interest on the topics we can help them with.
In the end, it comes down to choosing the right content (hashtag) for your audience.
Think of hashtags as a virtual party invite to everyone on social media.
When you add a hashtag to your post, you’re sending an invite out to everyone on LinkedIn that says…
“Hey, I see you’re interested in XYZ, me too! I see value in connecting with you.”
So in order for the person who is receiving that invite to see the value in connecting, your hashtag has to complement the content of your post. Otherwise, the invite doesn’t make sense.
Example: If you send out an invite for a romance novel reading, but you send it to comic book readers, you might end up reading to yourself.
But if you send that invite out specifically to romance novel readers, you’ll have the potential to draw a crowd.
Hashtags work in the same way because you have to get specific when using them.
What should I hashtag?
Say someone posts something on LinkedIn about an upcoming event on women entrepreneurs that they’re hosting, but they throw a #BusinessOwner at the end of their post
It’s not wrong…
But it’s not sending their party invite out to the BEST list possible.
It would be better to use a hashtag like:
#WomenEntrepreneurs
#WomenOwnedBusiness
#SomethingAboutWomenInBusiness…
I think you get the idea. Hashtags can be a way to narrow down your audience.
But at the same time, not all hashtags will be seen or start “trending.”
Just because it makes sense with the content or post you’re sharing, you have to make sure it’s a hashtag that will get seen. So how do you do that?
On LinkedIn, they have a handy spot on the left hand corner of your home page that lets you peak at trending hashtags:
Where do I use them?
Use hashtags anytime you make a new post on LinkedIn.
If you’re sharing a company update, include a hashtag.
If you’re sharing a connections post, add something in the post and include a hashtag.
If you’re posting a LinkedIn article, include a hashtag.
The answer is always to add hashtags, again just make sure they are relevant to what you’re sharing…
What are you next steps...
While this blog topic and content is still relevant into 2022 - here at LinkedSelling we push clients to focus on a multi-channel approach to their lead generation.
Putting a few hashtags on a some LinkedIn posts are NOT going to solve the bigger issue of generating enough qualified sales opportunities for your pipeline. Learn more about why a multi-channel approach is NECESSARY now more than ever for lead generation.
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