While hashtags are quite popular on other social media sites, LinkedIn only incorporated them into its platform in the last couple of years. While this might seem like a “bandwagon” move, it is actually a smart one. As the only B2B social platform with over 500 million users, adding a simple # to your articles, posts, and updates can help drive your marketing efforts.
What do hashtags do?
The hashtag (#) symbol was first used in August 2007. It was put in front of words to organize topics and make it easier to find similar discussions. Not only does it help categorize messages and posts, but it is also a great way to bring new people into a conversation.
What took LinkedIn so long?
Hashtags have always been popular on Twitter; however, LinkedIn has shown some initial reservations about using the tool. The business networking platform tried them in 2013, ultimately abandoning the effort due to “poor user response”.
Since 2007 though, the hashtag has become second nature to many social media users. As LinkedIn has grown, the service has been trying to keep the network attractive to users by reintroducing the hashtag, along with incorporating other new features. These tools are used to help with the platform’s “stickiness,” which helps to keep users around longer.
What can this mean for your company?
All of this translates into great opportunities for business professionals and thought leaders who post regularly on LinkedIn. The hashtag provides a way for people outside of your network to find status updates or articles of interest. You can open the door to new connections by encouraging them to join in on your conversations and inviting them to your network. With one quick addition of this symbol, you expand your reach in a way you were not able to do before.
Additionally, when a keyword or phrase gains popularity, it will start trending. Tagging posts and updates with a trending hashtag is like shining a spotlight on your content. People will take notice, which means that you will gain the attention of colleagues, clients, and prospects with the simple addition of a # before the trending keyword. This is a great way to remain on your potential prospects’ radar, as you will attract the eyes of those who will discover you and your expertise.
Where to add hashtags
The easiest and best way to start is to include hashtags in your status updates. They will expose your content to others with similar interests. Be sure to watch for trending topics and if the hashtag makes sense, given your background and experience with it, jump into using it and link to relevant and engaging content.
Adding hashtags into your original articles posted on LinkedIn is an easy way to categorize and index your topics, just like the blogs on your website. It helps users looking for information on specific ideas or concepts to quickly find what they want.
To get information out about your brand through posts or articles, don’t simply hashtag your brand name. You will also want to consider words, phrases or keywords that embrace the solution your company provides. This will broaden the scope of how you are discovered, and it will also allow your prospects to start associating your brand with that solution/keyword.
Hashtag Etiquette
Incorporating hashtags into your status and articles will attract more likes, views, comments and shares of your content. There is, however, best practices for how to accomplish this, or as we like to call it, “proper social media etiquette,” that should be used across all social media platforms:
- Do: Hashtag keywords.
- Don’t: Bait users with a hashtag that isn’t relevant to your content.
- Do: Be selective in the keywords you choose.
- Don’t: Use more than five hashtags per post.
As many successful people know, networking is one of the best ways to grow your business. LinkedIn has always been the go-to tool for B2B online networking. With the addition of hashtags, LinkedIn provides a great way to reach out to those who are already active and using the hashtag feature.
Would you like to discover how you can boost your LinkedIn Content to reach more of your target prospects? Book your Free LinkedIn Strategy Session today! LINK
About RevGrow
RevGrow is a Lead Generation and Business Development firm based in Dallas-Fort Worth and proudly serves clients throughout the United States. RevGrow help businesses grow their revenue by generating a predictable flow of qualified leads and appointments using LinkedIn. To get these results, RevGrow positions you as the authority in your field and someone prospects will know like and trust. You can connect with RevGrow on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
This article has been updated recently and was originally posted on May 9th, 2017.
