Hashtag marketing is a primary method of getting the word out and reaching new channels.
Events, Twitter profiles, trending topics, marketing campaigns, and more can be covered by a single hashtag, which can now be used on sites all across the web.
Twitter is one of the most efficient ways to market a hashtag.
But how do you do that?
All you really need is a good tool or several, that you can turn to. The good news is that there are a ton out there. Here are quite a few that are must-try hashtag marketing applications.
Hashtag Search Engines
Use these tools to find related hashtags and create more context around your branded hashtags by defining them.
All of the tools in this section also monitor hot hashtags, so use these tools to track trends (and tweet them to get into the wave!) Trendy hashtags can also be a huge source of content inspiration: So check them out when you are stuck.
Hashtags.org
(Free)
This ultra-helpful database of hashtags allows you to:
- search for any that you might want to check out
- find out if a hashtag is already taken before promotion
- then log your own to make it “official”
It also gives you tips on how to make the most of your hashtag marketing and how to stand out, and gives you links to other important resources.
Hashtagify.me
(Freemium)
For hashtag intelligence, this is your tool. Monitor hashtag popularity and influence, find related tags, discern usage patterns and influencers. This tool will help you narrow down a more effective marketing and promotional strategy.
More features are free, or they have a pro version that gives you in depth analysis and advice.
WhatTheTrend
(Free)
Find out what hashtags are trending the most at the moment on this helpful tracker site. Then, if your hashtag begins to trend (or you want to promote it on the list and hope it begins to), take advantage of the Add a Trend feature that is located on the site.
Trendsmap
(Freemium)
Map trends around the world and see what kind of hashtags are gaining the most visibility and popularity anywhere on the globe. You can narrow it does for local results, and perhaps even see how your own hashtag is trending on the social sphere.
Tagdef
(Free)
Want to make sure that your hashtag is understood? This is a database that allows you to add definitions to hashtags that can then be searched by users who are curious about their origins. You can also search out other people’s tags and find out their meaning.
Hashtag Analytics Tools
Use these tools to dig into data: How popular your important hashtag is, how engagement has been growing / decreasing, which hashtags your competitors are having luck with. Check them out…
RiteTag
(Freemium)
Is the problem that you haven’t been getting the results you feel are deserved for the work you are putting in? RiteTag promises to maximize your hashtag returns by analyzing all of your hashtagging and using that information to audit and recommend changes.
Hashtracking
(Paid with free trial)
Track hashtags and get as much data as you possibly can with these monitoring and analytics tools. Everything is done in real-time, so you can see information done by the second. It also measures news, trends, and memes within hashtags, and provides both quick-look details and in-depth analysis.
TweetReach
(Paid with free trial)
How far are your tweets (and so hashtags) going? Measure the impact of your Twitter interactions here and find out how you can improve your reach.
TweetBinder
(Freemium)
With both a free and paid tool, this program works by allowing you to search for hashtags and analyze, classify or report them as needed. They have pro plans that start at $39 per month for Starter (20,000 tweets).
Twitonomy
(Freemium; Hashtag analytics is only available for Premium users)
This is an overall analytics tool that is Twitter-specific. Get insights into your interactions and engagements, gauge the popularity of your tags, and track follower growth. Those are just some of the available features you can use.
Topsy
(Free)
Search links, tweets, influencers, users, photos, videos and everything else, then see how it is impacting the social web. Running since 2006, providing analytics and social trending tools in addition to its search, this is one of the most beloved tools available.
For any hashtag search, you can filter out tweeted images, videos or tweets by influencers. (That’s just awesome!)
Social Mention
(Free)
Social Mention has long been known for its sentiment analysis. Now you can use it for hashtag sentiment analysis as well! You just do a search for a hashtag, which will give you a real-time analysis of how it is doing.
Tools to Engage with Hashtags
TagBoard
(Free)
This is a social hub that allows you to monitor your hashtags and activity across all platforms that use the method. It creates a live collection or ‘tagboard’ that you can organize, search and share. You can even use it to create communities, further promoting your tags.
A cross-platform social media monitoring app, this one has a bit of a twist. While it can be used on any tag or category, it is best applied to tracking events. Use it to see how the buzz is building as your event approaches.
BundlePost
(Paid with the free trial)
This is a more social content curation tool (it’s awaiting a patent but is still very effective). It aggregates and schedules social media content and, more smartly, manages your social media interactions, including hashtags and related hashtags.
See Saw
(Free)
Similar to Tag Board, this is a quickie search that collects tweets. It has a cool curation component which is worth a try!
Twitter Hashtag Widget
(Free)
Track search results, hashtags or profiles right in the sidebar of your WordPress dashboard. This highly rated plugin is very useful for blog owners who want to monitor their site’s results and social media campaigns.
Hashtag marketing can be an extremely effective strategy for expanding reach, building engagement, and tracking campaign performance across social platforms. As outlined in this article, there are a wide variety of free and paid tools available to optimize hashtag use. Key capabilities provided by these tools include discovering trending hashtags, analyzing hashtag metrics, maximizing exposure, managing multi-platform campaigns, and facilitating real-time conversations.
Overall, marketers should leverage a combination of hashtag search engines, analytics services, engagement platforms, and monitoring widgets. By doing so, they can make data-driven decisions about which hashtags resonate best with their target audiences. The tools and best practices covered here provide an actionable framework for executing successful hashtag marketing campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
- Conduct hashtag research using discovery platforms like Hashtags.org and WhatTheTrend to identify relevant and popular tags before promoting your own.
- Use analytics tools like RiteTag, TweetReach, and Topsy to track the performance of your hashtags across metrics like reach, engagement, sentiment, and trends over time.
- Engage hashtag communities in real-time by facilitating tweetchats and curating content with services like TagBoard and See Saw.
- Monitor hashtags seamlessly by integrating a hashtag widget directly into your website dashboard to stay on top of branded hashtag use.
- To maximize results, use a combination of hashtag tools rather than relying on just one or two. Each platform provides unique capabilities to optimize different aspects of your hashtag strategy.
Leave a Reply