LinkedIn hashtags are a smart and effective way of categorizing content. They save people from wading through loads of results that may not be directly related to a search.
Take this search for #contentmarketingstrategy, for example. While it has just over one million followers, narrowing down your search to this term will return more relevant results than using the broader #contentmarketing or #content alternatives.
But do hashtags really work on LinkedIn?
Great question.
LinkedIn has over 575 million users. And while the professional platform’s 260+ million monthly active users are dwarfed by Facebook’s 2.41 billion, any marketer would be remiss to ignore LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is 277% more effective at lead generation than Facebook and Twitter, making it a smart choice to set up camp.
But when it comes to hashtags, LinkedIn had a rocky start. When hashtags first debuted back in 2011, they were called Signal. While Signal did some of what hashtags do today, the service didn’t seem to pull a crowd. This may have to do with the nature of the platform’s audience back then.
After all, Twitter was doing well. Hashtags were popular on the microblogging platform in 2011, but influencer marketing, a major catalyst, was just getting started.
In fact, Google searches for the term “influencer marketing” only really made the 10,000 mark in 2015.
It’s clear that LinkedIn has been slightly behind the curve when it comes to hashtags. Another example is its discovery feature. The idea of finding and following a hashtag is also relatively new on LinkedIn. Testing of the discovery feature began in June 2018.
Fast-forward to 2019 and a lot has changed. It’s easy to see that using hashtags on LinkedIn is a must. Some are followed by as many as 35.5 million professionals and offer marketers a quick and easy way of getting in front of buyers who are actively searching for content.
Does Using Hashtags in LinkedIn Rank Content Higher in Search Results?
While using hashtags on LinkedIn to help position content is a smart move, it’s not a stretch to wonder whether hashtags guarantee higher rankings.
To date, there isn’t any conclusive evidence to support or refute that idea. For example, switching tabs to find people with the hashtag #contentmarketing doesn’t rank bios with the hashtag above those without it. Instead, LinkedIn offers profiles of people who have used the term “contentmarketing” as job titles.
Yes, you may still find a few profiles with the term listed somewhere in a summary, but those profiles don’t seem to outrank others optimized with hashtags.
Maximizing Reach Using LinkedIn Hashtags
How do you capitalize on LinkedIn hashtags to maximize your reach? And are there any important dos and don’ts that you should be aware of?
In this blog post, I’ll share seven LinkedIn hashtag tips you can use to grow your content reach. I’ll cover how to build a list of relevant hashtags and give you a nifty workaround for a weird shortcoming of LinkedIn’s search feature.
I’ll also share how to use hashtags effectively and give you a hack to drive more engagement when using hashtags.
1. Take Advantage of LinkedIn Search
You’ve just created an awesome piece of content and it’s time to share it with the world. But which hashtags should you use? And how do you guarantee that your choices will help you generate the reach you need?
Thankfully LinkedIn offers a hashtag search feature. It’s relatively robust and will show you your hashtag along with other related terms as you type out yours.
Although the search suggestion feature is a great touch for inspiration, it’s sadly limited.
The shortcoming has to do with the results it displays as you search for hashtags. While you’ll see your first choice and related terms, they don’t show a follower count for each term.
The fix?
You’ll need to manually collect the terms and then gather follower counts. To do this, use a spreadsheet and run through the list of related terms, recording follower counts.
It may sound and feel like a nuisance, but when you’ve collected the data you need, you’ll be able to make smarter decisions on how to use your hashtags (more on this later).
Once you’ve recorded follower counts, I suggest sorting your list by volume to gauge the popularity of each hashtag (more on why this matters later).
The Discover Feature
Using LinkedIn’s discovery feature is another way to find your audience. Once you’ve found your hashtag, click on the three dots in the top-right of the hashtag results box.
Next, click on Discover New Hashtags.
While there is the possibility of finding more hashtags using the discover feature, it’s likely not the first place you want to start. It’s filled with a broad spectrum of terms, most of which may be too general or appear too loosely related to and therefore irrelevant, depending on your content.
For example, based on our #WomenInTech search, using the discover feature returned hashtags like #marketing, #jobs, #recruitment and #management alongside #climatechange, #canada, #makeadifference and #brand.
While there may be links worth exploring between these and other hashtags, spend your time wisely. Whether you’re running an eCommerce business or a B2B, unless your content is somehow related to these broader terms, you may want to keep your search as narrow as possible to really target your audience.
2. Build a List
Building your collection of hashtags is more than just a copy and paste exercise. It’s an opportunity to get strategic about positioning your content.
Every content marketer understands that churning out great content has to do with variety, but most importantly, you’re gunning for engagement. As your collection of hashtags grows, create categories for content. This can include humor, facts, product names or other niches that you know will resonate with your buyer.
3. Compile Hashtags for Readers and Search
While this next tip may sound obvious, it’s not. Using punctuation in a hashtag, and ignoring tip number one decreases the probability of your content showing up on results pages. So it’s important to write search–friendly hashtags.
For example, a search for #don’t quit returns profiles:
Dropping the apostrophe returns content:
Capitalization is your friend
Hashtags can become hard to make out of all lowercase. Consider the following:
#contentmarketingstrategy
#digitalmarketingstrategy
Compared to:
#ContentMarketingStrategy
#DigitalMarketingStrategy
Why does capitalization matter if people search using lowercase? For starters, if you’re using hard-to-read hashtags in your, you’re hurting your chances of connecting with your audience. Creating any form of friction for your audience doesn’t help spread your message.
Secondly, it’s got to do with association. The simplicity principle in perception and cognition dictates that people are more inclined to choose the simplest interpretation of observation. So, a longer hashtag that’s easier to make out becomes the one that’s easier for readers to read and understand, resulting in your post becoming easier to read, appreciate and act upon.
Take the post above, for instance.
Notice how you have to stop and focus on the hashtags to understand what they mean? Did that make it easier to want to learn more about MoreVisbility or feel as though you had to do too much work?
Now take a look at this one:
Notice how easy it was to make out #WomenInTech?
4. Make your profile public
This also sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to miss. If your profile is private, LinkedIn will allow it to be found on search engines but will limit the amount of information that’s displayed and content you’ve shared.
This isn’t the case for business pages as they are automatically made public, but don’t pass up the chance to confirm that your personal profile is public. Research shows that employee profiles have 10x more connections and generate 2x more click-throughs.
Here’s a help article on how to edit your profile visibility settings.
5. Test new Hashtags
Hashtags are perfect branding tools. For example, a few years ago, a movement started around the idea of recognizing women who hold roles in the technology space. As it kicked-off, the hashtag #WomenInTech was created.
Today, just over 35 thousand people follow the hashtag.
Since then, other hashtags celebrating women in various niches have been created.
Testing new hashtags may sound daunting, but don’t let it stop you from being a true marketer. Also, just because you’re testing a hashtag, you don’t have to sacrifice all of your real estate. You still have the opportunity to use other well-known and followed hashtags alongside yours to ensure that your content is found by your audience.
6. Get Creative
It’s clear that hashtags are all about helping position your content in front of your ideal audience. One of the best ways to make your post on LinkedIn pop is by incorporating your hashtags within your post copy.
Hashtags are automatically shown in blue, bolded text. They immediately catch the eye. When used within copy and capitalized appropriately, they help your posts stand out and demand attention.
Also, don’t be afraid to use them with your LinkedIn videos and other OTT content. LinkedIn is prioritizing video content, so you’re likely to generate a fair amount of reach with video. Using hashtags with video posts and your live streaming sessions will, therefore, increase the probability of reaching a larger audience.
In many cases, incorporating hashtags won’t require lots of thinking as you create your posts, but give yourself time to formulate something that really resonates with your audience.
In the example above, Gini Sharvill took the opportunity to create excitement with her timely post while floating a link for readers to purchase tickets to the 2019 event.
7. Combine with @Mentions and Questions
If there’s one thing that social media platforms have all zeroed-in on, it’s the idea that engagement is currency. It’s how all platforms determine whether your content should outrank the competition’s or be shown to a larger audience.
That said, blending engagement with hashtags isn’t all that complex. Use your posts to engage your audience with questions. Post questions in comments and also take the opportunity to mention someone by name.
While there’s no guarantee that you’ll get a response, if you do, the probability of reaching a larger audience grows exponentially. LinkedIn’s built its algorithm to show users what their connections are engaging with.
When your @mention replies or likes your post, it will show up in their network’s feed, exposing your killer content to a larger audience.
8. Use Sparingly
It’s really easy to get carried away with hashtags, especially if you’re trying to get in front of the largest crowd possible. But don’t get caught up in the rush. While LinkedIn hasn’t explicitly announced that using multiple hashtags can lead to a penalty, Pete Davies, Senior Director of Product Management recommends using just three.
Which is why yours need to be smart choices. Sorting LinkedIn hashtags by popularity will help, along with being aware of any trending or seasonal hashtags.
Summary
LinkedIn’s growth hasn’t been as phenomenal as Instagram or TikTok’s, but it’s still one of the most effective platforms for generating marketing results. As more professionals turn to it for industry news, thought leadership from influencers and research, hashtags become increasingly valuable.
For marketers, hashtags are one of the best and smartest tools to use. They can help position your brand, products, and services, and help you grow your online community, without having to spend any of your paid media budget.
While hashtags are low-hanging fruit, you’ll need to use them strategically and creatively to make an impact. Finding your audience, determining which hashtags you should prioritize, weaving them into copy and testing new ideas will help you determine how to squeeze the most out of LinkedIn to get as much reach as possible.
About the Author: Amir Shahzeidi is the digital marketing manager at Uscreen, an all-in-one video monetization and live streaming platform that empowers video entrepreneurs and creators to monetize their content and build thriving businesses around their videos.
