The Only Article You Need To Read About LinkedIn Hashtags
Hi there! My goal is to help you get the most out of LinkedIn by providing you with everything you need to know about how to use hashtags on LinkedIn.
I regularly receive direct message requests asking me questions about hashtags, so I decided to compile all of the relevant information into one place.
This newsletter edition covers:
Hashtags aren't just for Twitter and Instagram - it's time you start using hashtags on LinkedIn, too! For LinkedIn hashtag best practices, keep reading.
What is a hashtag?
The pound (#) symbol followed by a word of a phrase is a hashtag.
Use it as a way to get feedback on your content, products or services.
Grow your audience by sharing their posts with your followers.
Hashtags serve as indicators for users and algorithms that a piece of content relates to a specific topic or falls into a certain category.
Using hashtags helps content be found in on-platform searches, which makes it easier for people to find your content.
When was the first-ever Hashtag used?
Chris Messina, a marketing specialist, walked into Twitter’s offices in the summer of 2007 with an idea. He recommended that the platform start grouping related tweets together by using the pound sign.
This was the first-ever use of the hashtag:
Why are hashtags important on LinkedIn?
On LinkedIn, hashtags were only introduced in 2018, and currently, only 1-2% of LinkedIn users are actively creating posts on the platform. This makes it different from other social media platforms where hashtags are used by a larger percentage of users. It also means that your hashtag strategy on LinkedIn is likely to be different from the one you use on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Here are 4 reasons I love hashtags on LinkedIn:
1. Amplify your content's visibility and reach with hashtags.
LinkedIn Creator Mode puts Hashtags in front and centre. When you turn on creator mode, it asks you to select 5 key hashtags around topics you will consistently create content around.
When you create content around the said topic and use the relevant hashtag it will make your content more discoverable.
Including hashtags in your posts means taking part in a conversation happening on LinkedIn. And most importantly, making your posts visible in that particular conversation.
This can lead to increased engagement, which boosts your brand’s online presence by increasing likes, shares, comments and new followers.
2. Reach people who follow the hashtag and gain valuable insights
When writing content for LinkedIn, it will suggest hashtags to use. Most people don't realize whether to use broad hashtags like #digitalmarketing or more niche ones like #digitalmarketingtips. You can find the answers to this question by searching LinkedIn.
How do you find how popular the LinkedIn hashtag is? You can use the LinkedIn search box to do some research. You can see the number of followers that hashtag has and who is using that hashtag in their recent posts.
The dropdown menu will also show you other popular hashtags using that term.
On Linkedin and Instagram, users can follow hashtags as well as other users. Using a few popular hashtags can be another way to help new users find your brand.
As a rule of thumb, a broad hashtag would be having more than 100,000 followers. Niche hashtags would have less than 10,000 followers.
For example, if you use #business on your LinkedIn posts, someone who follows that hashtag will more likely see your recent post in their feed. You might gain some new followers this way.
Reach people who follow the hashtag. Gain valuable insights into the content and conversations that are using a specific hashtag.
3. Start meaningful conversations over a shared interest
Like any networking platform, LinkedIn is all out conversations. Having shared interests makes conversations easier.
Recommended by LinkedIn
By following relevant hashtags you can discover:
Leaving thoughtful comments related to that post and hashtag are the easiest ways to raise your visibility and showcase your expertise on that topic.
This is a great way to network strategically.
When you follow a hashtag you will see content in your feed using this hashtag. Content will appear from personal profiles and company pages outside of your network.
"Your news feed is your library. Follow hashtags like #goodnews to see more positive content in your feed every day."
- Steven Bartlett, CEO of Social Chain
Where do I find all the hashtags I follow?
Sometimes you want to take stock of what hashtags you are following in one place. It's easy to do that. Just click on the Manage My Network option and a menu will appear on the left with all your hashtags. Click on that to review and prune if required.
4. Establish your credibility & expertise in a specific topic
Consistently creating quality content around the topics you care about is the easiest way to build trust. Content powers your trust engine. It makes people want to follow you. Using the relevant hashtags will help give the right context to the post.
What do you want to be known for on Linkedin?
At the same time, remember LinkedIn wants you to use hashtags and will suggest hashtags to use based on the content of your post.
What's the best LinkedIn hashtag formula to use right now?
The No. 1 secret to hashtags is to think like your audience. It's all about the context of your content. Here is my 3 step formula for using the right hashtags:
Broad hashtags have a high search volume which increases your potential reach but also equals more competition.
Niche hashtags have lower search volume and so have lower search volume. Branded hashtags relate to your brand, campaign, event or product. Branded hashtags make it easy for your followers to find relevant content.
Here are 7 different categories of hashtags you can use:
Use hashtags at the end of your post. I typically put mine side by side
e.g. #DigitalMarketing #LinkedInProfile #LinkedInByNeerajShah
For longer words capitalise the beginning of each word so that they are easy to read.
Do not use spaces or special characters in your hashtags. Lastly, don't overuse hashtags like in the image below.
Cool Tool: LinkedIn Hashtag Chrome Plugin
I use a cool chrome extension called Hashtags Analytics that gives me the current follower count of any hashtag as I type it. It gives me both individual follower counts and the total counts for the ones I have used.
If I hover over a hashtag it will give me the follower count. You can get it HERE
Finally, creating consistent quality content relevant is the key to your LinkedIn growth. The quality of your content is what's going to get people coming back for more. Hashtags are like the icing on the cake.
Would you like a list of the Top 50 LinkedIn Hashtags in 2022? Drop a comment with the words "Hashtag 50" to get it!
⚡️Stay Supercharged
~ Neeraj
P.S.When you are ready, there are 4 ways in which I can help accelerate your income, influence, and impact growth: