Should You Be Including Hashtags in Your Tweets?

Should you be including hashtags in your Tweets? The short answer is yes, but there are some guidelines to keep in mind, particularly if you're the owner of a business account or attempting to market your business on Twitter. Here's what you need to know about hashtags on Twitter before you start using them in your own posts.

Best practices for using hashtags on Twitter

When using hashtags on Twitter, you want to ensure that they’re relevant and that your Tweet won’t be buried by them. As a general rule of thumb, don’t include more than 2-3 hashtags on anyone's Tweet. By limiting yourself to just two or three hashtags per Tweet, you can still be very specific without making your Tweets impossible to follow. It’s also best to use hashtags at most once every 100 characters. This helps other Twitter users read through your Tweet easily and find out exactly what it is you have to say without getting bogged down in a long list of related tags. Finally, look for tags with a wide reach: If people aren't going to see your tweets because they're too niche, then why even bother using them? A good hashtag will expose your message to as many Twitter users as possible—and draw potential customers in that way as well. For example, if you've got something great about weddings (Wedding Planner Software), wouldn't #weddings be better than #weddingfavors?

How hashtags work on Twitter

Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by a hash mark (#). When you use a hashtag, it becomes linked to all of the other Tweets that include it. This gives your Tweet context and allows people to easily follow topics that they're interested in. The use of hashtags has exploded on Twitter over time and is now widely used on other social networks as well. Here's an example from Dell: In addition to making your tweets more searchable, hashtags can also help draw attention to them. At any given moment, only a small percentage of users are actually viewing Twitter via their website. Most users view Twitter on their phone through apps like Tweet Deck or Hootsuite (or dozens of others), which means tweets that aren't included in those streams go largely unseen. Adding relevant hashtags will give your tweet a better chance at appearing in these user streams, providing another way for people to find what you're talking about. Some studies suggest that including two hashtags can increase engagement between 18-24%. It’s worth trying out different combinations to see what works best for you (particularly if there’s some event driving interest around one specific topic). But remember – just because something might work doesn’t mean it should work!

The best times to use hashtags on Twitter

It’s easy to get swept up into using hashtags at every opportunity on Twitter. But, when you don’t need them, they can cause a lot of clutter and confusion, which is why it’s important to be thoughtful about when you use them. The best times to include Twitter hashtags are when you want people outside your network to find or view your Tweet or message (e.g., promoting an event). In addition, brands often find value in adding Twitter hashtags to their content as it gives consumers more power over how a message is shared and who sees it. Also consider including Twitter hashtags for live events (#SuperBowl) or related communities (e.g., #gameofthrones). If you’re not sure if including a hashtag will add value, try adding one here and there while tracking metrics like reach and engagement over time; if impact improves, go all-in! And if an impact doesn't improve?

Examples of effective hashtags

Use hashtags that clearly label your message and invite people to continue a conversation with you. Use hashtags relevant to your topic, industry, customers, or location. If you offer customer support, use hashtags related to customer service (e.g., #techsupport). If you run an online clothing store, create and use hashtag keywords such as #style, #fashion, and #clothing. These are some of your best opportunities for engagement because they’re popular topics and searches. Remember, there is no set number of hashtags per Tweet; try using one if it feels natural to do so, otherwise don’t force it. As always, be sure to add value before self-promotion when possible; by doing so you'll earn goodwill with followers on Twitter and ultimately help establish yourself as an expert in your field on any given topic or area of interest.

List of top ten most used hashtags

The list of most popular hashtags on Twitter is updated hourly. The list is ordered by usage, which means that tweets containing hashtags with more than ten uses per hour appear first. This statistic includes all kinds of tweets and not just messages sent from mobile devices or applications (which are already categorized). All posts that include hashtags are counted in these statistics. If a hashtag has over 1 million uses per hour, it will be listed as #1 on the top Twitter hashtags chart instead of #10.