08/14/2024 | News release | Archived content
Are hashtags still important? As algorithms change, there's been debate around whether hashtags' relevancy have changed with it. Truth is, hashtagging is still one of the most powerful organic social media strategies.
Implementing the right tags will drive people to your content and get them talking about your brand. Relevant tags also make it easier for your target audience to find your content and help brands find relevant content to share.
This guide contains everything you need to know about hashtag analytics so you can increase your brand's reach and engagement on social media.
Hashtag analytics refers to the collection of metrics and data for hashtags within a social media network such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram and YouTube. Hashtag analytics fall under the umbrella of social media analytics that brands use to inform strategy and make decisions.
Track hashtags natively using X analytics and Instagram analytics or use a social media management software.
You can use X analytics to measure your engagements, impressions, replies, shares and other important metrics. You can access the native analytics dashboard using the X analytics website or via mobile device. You can access Instagram analytics via desktop or mobile as well.
Native analytics are free tools, but a social media management software like Sprout will keep track of all your social media analytics in one platform.
With Sprout, you can view hashtag analytics for multiple networks in one central location, saving you time from running analytics natively on each app.
In our Instragram Business Profile report, track your frequently used hashtags and the ones getting the more engagement. This helps you know which ones to keep using to maximize your reach and engagement.
And Sprout's Social Listening helps you find out how frequently people are talking about your topic, the related terms and hashtags they're using and the sentiment around the topic.
Adding those keywords and hashtags into your posts will help generate more engagement and conversation around your brand online. From finding the most relevant hashtags for your brand to tracking social post performance, Sprout will help you effectively analyze your strategy.
Tracking hashtags is important to determine if a hashtag is working for your social strategy. Here are a few top social media metrics that'll help you determine the success of a hashtag.
Hashtags that are used often tend to be searched often, so it's a good idea to include tags that have proven to be popular. Just make sure you're not spamming your followers with irrelevant, trending hashtags for popularity's sake. Popularity also helps define the success of campaigns. If you notice a campaign hashtag is popular among your target audience, you know it resonates.
Reach is an important part of your hashtag analysis because it measures how many people actually see your content. If your reach isn't very high, you're probably not using the best hashtags for your campaign or strategy.
Not only do you want to make sure people are using and seeing your hashtags, you want to make sure people are also interacting with them. Posting hashtagged content that gets users sharing will expand the reach of your campaign. Engagement metrics also help you measure the impact of your campaigns.
Who, specifically, is using the hashtags? Make sure you're seeing users within your target audience using and searching for the same hashtags in your posts so your message resonates.
Hashtags often represent specific interests or communities. Tracking the sentiment associated with a hashtag gives you insight into what your audience cares about, likes or dislikes. Use this sentiment to identify hashtags that are likely to positively impact how your brand is perceived. It can also help you figure out if your content is resonating positively or negatively, enabling real-time optimizations to campaigns.
There are several different types of hashtags that you'll be using in your social media content. Here's why it's good practice to track each one.
Use location hashtags to scale your strategy internationally. Region-specific hashtags help you connect with your target audience in relevant locations. For example, if you're a West Coast athleisure brand, you might use the tag #californiafitness.
If you want to incorporate industry hashtags, consider using event hashtags. You can use these tags when your brand hosts an event, attends a conference or if you're posting about a national or international event (i.e. big sporting events). You can use these tags to live post, which can help generate traction around your event and increase reach and engagement on your content.
These types of hashtags are created to encourage tagging your business directly and usually include a brand name, product or service. For example, Pretty Little Thing uses #EveryBODYinPLT and #PrettyLittleThing as a way to promote their clothing on Instagram.
Tracking branded hashtags-especially campaign-specific hashtags-is a great way to see how many people are talking about your business specifically.
A campaign/ad hashtag is a hashtag that your company creates for a specific campaign, launch or digital advertisement. This helps to generate buzz around one specific thing that your business is doing.
For example, Starbucks uses campaign hashtags each time they're promoting a new drink.
These hashtags are ideal for tracking since they're specific to each campaign's focus compared to recurring brand or content hashtags. Use social listening to monitor your campaign hashtags and how well they're catching on with your audience.
You can review trending hashtags natively on X and Instagram's Explore pages via desktop or mobile by tapping the magnifying glass icon. Instagram will show the volume of people talking about or using the trending hashtags, and X will show if the hashtag is popular or trending.
Not all trending tags will be relevant to your brand or industry, but analyzing them will help you identify the best tags to incorporate into your strategy or campaign. Using trending hashtags relevant to your content and brand voice will extend your reach and awareness. By reviewing analytics, you will be able to see how trending hashtags differ from other ones.
A product- or service-specific hashtag is often used to promote a particular offering and track social discussions related to it. It can be a generic hashtag (e.g. #makeup) or branded (e.g. #DuoChromeEyeShadow). Analyzing the conversations and engagement around these hashtags help you understand customer perceptions, identify trends and get ahead of potential crises.
e.l.f. Cosmetics' UK Instagram account uses the branded product-specific #SqueezeMeLipBalm in posts promoting its exclusive lip balm set. This enables them to monitor the reach and impact of their product marketing campaign promoting the release of new scents to their lip balm collection.
Beyond campaign and content optimization, hashtag research can impact your social media strategy and the entire business in several ways. Here are five specific reasons why hashtag research is critical.
There are a heap of social media management tools like Sprout that offer hashtag tracking.
Sprout's hashtag tracking tools and automated data reports make tracking and monitoring hashtag analytics more efficient so you can increase your reach and grow your audience faster.
Sprout's Tag Report enables you to track your hashtags across networks over time to analyze growth. Our Listening tool enables you to dig deeper into conversations using certain hashtags and keywords to understand user sentiment and engagement around particular topics related to your brand, competitors or industry.
For Instagram, track top hashtags by engagement and add key hashtags to track within social media feeds to see who they're being used by. Plus, you can follow tags relevant to your brand to help ensure you're interacting with important conversations and trends.
TagFinder helps you generate and discover hashtags across various platforms. Identify trending topics in your local area or country, and the top related, similar or combined hashtags based on your keyword. It also maintains statistics on popular hashtags by country and a list of banned hastags on Instagram.
All Hashtag aids brands in generating, analyzing and tracking the performance of hashtags across platforms. It suggests hashtags based on keywords you enter and evaluates the popularity and reach of specific hashtags. It also monitors trending hashtags across social networks and has a counter to keep track of the number of hashtags in your post text or caption.
Now that you've got more know-how about native and non-native tag tracking tools, don't wait another day to test and track your hashtag analytics. Sign up for a free trial or demo to experience how Sprout's hashtag tracking tools will help you iterate your social strategy.
Jamia Kenan
Jamia Kenan is a Content Specialist for Sprout Social based in Atlanta, GA. When she's not writing, you'll find her talking about the Internet from the latest TikTok trends to NFTs and the metaverse. She also enjoys trying new restaurants, hiking and watching movies.