Whether you’re new to LinkedIn, or just need a refresher, our guide is here to help you with how you should use hashtags on the social media network.
History
The history of the LinkedIn hashtag dates back to the early 2010s when they were known as ‘Signal’, however they were retired in 2013 due to a lack of use from users. It wasn’t until 2017 that hashtags on the platform started to make a reappearance, however this resurgence was limited to the mobile app until the summer of 2018 when they became available on desktop too. With this in mind, hashtags on LinkedIn are relatively new when compared to other social media platforms.
How to add hashtags
You can add hashtags to your ‘Updates’ and any articles you publish on ‘LinkedIn’. There are different ways of doing this, dependent on the type of content you are posting.
Updates:
Adding hashtags to your updates on LinkedIn is simple. Whenever you post any written, image or video content, you can use the # symbol followed by the word(s) you wish to hashtag and it will automatically turn it into a hashtag.
Articles:
Once you click publish on your article, a pop out will appear. Here you can add a description to notify your audience what your article is about, you can also add hashtags either using the # symbol, or by clicking the ‘Add hashtag’ button followed by your desired text.
The process of adding hashtags to your posts is relatively easy, it is in no way time consuming and the positive results you may see from including them make it worth your time.
Why should you add hashtags?
For such an easy task, adding hashtags to your LinkedIn content can have several benefits. It can help your content to be discovered by LinkedIn users who may not follow you. Users are able to search for content using specific hashtags, they can also choose to follow hashtags, meaning that content containing the hashtag they have followed can appear on their newsfeed. Including hashtags to your LinkedIn posts can allow new users to discover your content, and perhaps if the like what they see, they will convert into a follower.
Popular hashtags on LinkedIn
#india – 68M Followers
#innovation – 39M Followers
#management – 36.2M Followers
#humanresources – 33.4M Followers
#digitalmarketing – 27.5M Followers
#technology – 26.4M Followers
#creativity – 25M Followers
#future – 24.7M Followers
#futurisum – 23.7M Followers
#entrepreneurship – 23M Followers
Whilst these hashtags are some of the most popular on LinkedIn at the moment, it’s important to remember to keep it relevant. Say you choose the top 5 hashtags but none of them really relate to the content you’re publishing; people will be disappointed when they find a post not relating to the topic they are searching for. This could leave a negative impression on them, causing them to pay little attention to the next post of yours that they see.
Delve into some research that is specific to your sector, to find out what the most popular hashtags are. From there you can start to include them in your updates and articles, enabling you to attract an audience that is suited to your business.
Tips and Tricks when using hashtags
Correct Format:
Choosing to include hashtags is all well and good, providing that you format them in the correct manner. Now this is not something that is particularly difficult or time consuming, but it is certainly an important step.
Make sure you check your spelling! A misspelt hashtag will not help you to achieve your goal, as users will not be able to discover your content in the intended place.
Hashtags should not contain any spaces or symbols. Currently hashtags can only include letters, numbers and emojis, therefore any space or punctuation marks will cause a break in the hashtag, however any punctuation surrounding a hashtag is fine, for example if you use a hashtag as part of a sentence.
Keep it simple:
It’s easy to get lost in adding lots of hashtags to the end of your updates to try and improve discoverability. Whilst there is no limit on the number you can include in each post, it is not good practice to use too many. Especially as it could result in your content being marked as spam.
Keeping it simple and relevant is key to growing your audience in the right areas.
Use hashtags to supplement your content:
You should never post a hashtag on its own, as this will achieve nothing. Hashtags should be used to promote the content you are publishing.
Don’t write in hashtags:
You should never write your content in hashtags. By all means include them into sentences or in bulk at the end of your post, but never #write #like #this. This links in heavily to the previous two tips, writing in such a way will completely overdo it on the number of hashtags you are using, whilst also taking away from the message of your post. Users will quickly stop paying attention if they see an update formatted in such a way.
Get creative:
Hashtags are great for helping new audiences discover your brand, but there is also the opportunity to have some fun with them. Create branded hashtags so your audience can view all of your content in one place. These branded hashtags can also be used to create events and features, that can be instantly recognised by your audience.
Round Up
Using hashtags on LinkedIn is something that is incredibly easy to do but can have a fantastic outcome. Use this guide to familiarise yourself with the best practices surrounding hashtag use, or even come back to it when you need a refresher.
