Hashtags have proven to be more than just a trend. While Twitter catapulted it to our daily map in the year 2007, it’s been adapted by other platforms for a better user experience. Nowadays, hashtags are everywhere and are being used by both users and businesses to be fond.

Just before we go any deeper, let me help you get in and around the basics of a hashtag.

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag is a keyword or term that comes with the symbol #. It is used to mark or categorize topics in various social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It could range from #diy to #foodporn to #instagood.

The term trending is also associated with hashtags, as these are topics that are most used and talked about by users whether locally or globally.

Hashtags aren’t limited to discussing topics. As for ecommerce, they have also become an integral part of one’s campaign. If your brand is still not using it, then you’re passing on revenue-growing opportunities.

So to maximize the potential of hashtags for your online store, you need to take the following steps.

1. Gain insight into your market.

Hashtags give you a refined and targeted experience surrounding different topics. It lets you in on what the current attitude of your market towards a certain topic is as well as the kind of conversations they’re currently having. For example, you’re running an online clothing store. #ootd (outfit of the day), #streetwear or #fashion could be helpful hashtags for you to research on.

Not only will this help you in gaining more knowledge about your audience. It will also help you create better marketing strategies that are more focused on what interests them.

2. Monitor your online visibility (and reputation).

Instead of researching exhaustively about what your market is saying about you, hashtags have made it a lot easier for you to monitor your online visibility. Say your online store’s name is Clothes & More. You’ve popularized #clothesandmoresg as your hashtag. With that, you can easily type this in into search bars and find out what your market is saying about you.

This is a great way for you to know how you can better your products and services at the same time, address specific customer concerns. Considering most people take to online to vent out their comments, hashtags are a big aid in getting you access to these comments and hopefully, learning how to better your brand.

3. Incorporate them into your products and services.

Whether it’s to hype up a new product or revamp an old one, incorporating hashtags is a brilliant means to increasing brand awareness and strengthening your ecommerce site.

For example, you’re running a new campaign for the latest line of products you have. Hyping it on all social media platforms with hashtag application will definitely drive your market’s curiosity and interest. What’s more is they can easily repost your uploads with the same hashtag, thereby tapping in on your market’s connections.

Consider this a strong driving force to draw in a bigger market, greater web traffic to your main store as well as better revenue.

4. Tailor-fit product campaigns and contests.

As I pointed earlier, hashtags have the power to help you understand your market in such a way that you learn what interests them and what doesn’t. When the time comes you need to conduct contests and other special marketing campaigns, you’ll be able to tailor-fit it better.

Take for example a giveaway contest. Hashtags will help you find out what the favorite products of your market are. For example, you’re running a contest and you’re giving away a few pairs of shoes to the winners. An official hashtag of say, #winandwearapair could get the ball rolling.

This way, you’ll know for sure people would be more engaged and your campaigns would move forward. Moreover, it’s far easier to track the contest your brand is conducting.

5. You can gain access to the latest news and updates.

Say you’re on Twitter and running an online health store. When you need to generate new blog posts about news in your health industry, researching via hashtags will give you access to all related topics.

Typing in #health, #nutrition, #medicine and other relevant hashtags allows you to create content that is informative, interesting and influential. Ecommerce is not just about selling your products and services. It’s also about knowing what the latest news and updates surrounding your industry are.

Just before we wrap this up, here are a few takeaway tips in using #hashtags:

• Keep it short, significant and memorable – No one will take you seriously if you’re going to #hashtagsomethingthislong for no reason at all.
• Have a good balance between “niche” and common – Your use of using original or common hashtags all depends on what you’re aiming at. Whether it’s a casual post or a contest-driven one.
• Never overuse them in one go – It’s a complete eyesore if you’re going to have more hashtags than your actual statement. One or two will do, which is why you need to make them count.
• Special characters and spaces don’t work – Most special characters and spaces don’t work but you can use an underscore (_).

Hashtags are one of the strongest and most reliable tools you can use for your ecommerce. They can help you sell in a more specific, targeted and niche-driven way so make sure to apply these steps the next time around.