How to Use Hashtags on LinkedIn to Grow Your Client Base

Ever found yourself wondering how these hashtags work in a Linkedin post or are you using hashtags in your Linkedin posts currently? Well if not, then you should start using it. We will tell you why.

Hashtags are being used on various social media platforms, namely Instagram, Twitter, etc. Even Facebook users have started using it. But while posting any content on Linkedin, you might have wondered if it’s the ideal platform to use hashtags?

Hashtag on Linkedin works exactly as they work on other social media networks. It gives your content the power to reach a large audience base. However, to create the right impression, you must have an idea of using these hashtags correctly.

With this guide, we will share with you how to use the relevant hashtags and optimize them so that your content can be discovered by people outside your immediate network. But first, let’s talk about hashtags and their history in brief.

When did hashtags become a “thing” on Linkedin?

The journey of hashtags on Linkedin has not been that great. Earlier, hashtags were there, but due to poor user performance, Linkedin took it back.

In 2016, only mobile app users were able to use hashtags. Later in 2017, it reappeared for desktop users but still, nobody had an idea how to use them properly.

After that, some of the users stated that they were forced to use hashtags in their content. But Linkedin confirmed that they were testing the beta version to see the importance of using hashtags in content.

Finally, in today’s scenario, we can say that Linkedin hashtags are back in action and are working in a proper condition. As hashtags in Linkedin are tappable, they can lead you to others’ content with the same hashtags. So, let’s understand how you can make the most of hashtags on Linkedin.

How can the hashtag feature be utilized on LinkedIn?

On LinkedIn, when you start to create a post, you are asked to type in a text box. Be it sharing a link or a picture of your industry stats or asking your users to take any action on any event or anything; your Linkedin post has a text box to describe the content and to add a link and hashtags.

So, what you can do is:

• Create a Linkedin post.
• Add the desired caption.
• Add the suitable hashtags at the end of the text, starting with the symbol “#.”

But remember, whatever words you choose to add in your hashtags must start with the “#” and should not have any spaces in between. You could also know the hashtag feature works when suggested hashtags begin to appear below the text you are typing.

Some key points

• Hashtags can be put anywhere in the text, be it placing them in between a sentence, or replacing a word with them, or using them at the beginning, but the most common way is to include them at the end of your caption.
• Some people put hashtags in the comment section. However, it would help if you did not rely on this, as by doing such, your post might not show in the relevant hashtag feeds.
• The post won’t show in the hashtag feed if you are using a hashtag inside one of your articles.

How do hashtags work on Linkedin?

Like said before, hashtags work similarly on Linkedin as they work on any other social network, i.e., to help categorize your content.

With hashtags, users can find specific content on a particular topic. And when you choose to add hashtags to your content, your post is visible to a more significant number of people searching for that specific hashtag. Besides, you can also follow different hashtags on Linkedin, which means posts containing that particular hashtags will appear in your feed.

If you try to view it from a marketing perspective, this will benefit you a lot as your content is now exposed to a more significant section of the audience.

How hashtags can help in increasing the client base on Linkedin?

First and foremost, your primary focus should be to use hashtags that are both relevant and popular. Understanding this, do not choose hashtags that are too popular as your content will be then overshadowed by thousands of other posts under that hashtags.

Let’s get started with tips on how to explore useful Linkedin hashtags for your business.

Step 1: Check for what is recommended to you or is already relevant

This is a simple way to start availing of the benefits of hashtags. If you have a Linkedin page, you must know that Linkedin suggests some hashtags to you in your profile.

Even if you have a new profile, you would still get these recommendations based on your past & current positions and your connections.

• Tap on your profile on the home screen of Linkedin.
• You will see a module opening.
• All your recent searches, events, groups, and followed hashtags appear here.

• You can also explore the “Discover more” option to view the longer suggested list of hashtags.

These recommended hashtags are a great place, to begin with. You can also find unique and relevant content from these hashtags.

Step 2: Utilize the “Search” option to discover hashtags

Recommended hashtags are no doubt important, some of these won’t render you a useful result. That is why you need to adopt a better way of finding hashtags. The search bar located on the top of your Linkedin feed can help you with this.

In the search bar, start by typing “#,” and you will get a suggestion of all the related hashtags below. Remember, without using “#,” you will get the list of all the posts and people related to that word which is not advantageous to you.

Next, click on the hashtag you find most beneficial to you and get access to all the posts mentioned under that hashtag.

Step 3: Look into the follower count of the hashtag

The follower count can tell a lot about the hashtag and its popularity. Though there is no rule to find what numbers of followers are a good number, you should go for the ones whose follower count is neither in hundreds nor in millions.

Step 4: Identify hashtags that can bring you traffic

Just because a hashtag has too many followers doesn’t mean it can show you helpful content. Many of these followers can be spam. But how to identify which hashtags are not spamming? Simple, look at the posts and see whether the posts are getting an appropriate number of likes and comments or not.

Remember, most of the posts you share on Linkedin are for B2B interactions; therefore, a good number of likes from professionals is significant.

Inspecting the feed for likes and comments

Following a hashtag just for the high number is not beneficial. Get the answer to these questions straight. Only then, you could understand which hashtag is useful for you.

• Are the followers real?
• Are the users interacting with the posts?
• Can posts under these hashtags bring leads to your brand or business?

When you get answers to these valid questions, most of your doubts regarding hashtags will get cleared.

Step 5: Start following the best hashtags to generate content ideas

When you come across a hashtag with significant user interaction, note it down, save it in excel, or you could simply start following it. Click on the “Follow” button at the top of the hashtag feed. And after clicking on it, you would be able to see posts under this hashtag in your feed.

Again, there is no better way than this to learn about the type of content other brands are sharing in your industry.

Furthermore, you can also try connecting with other people and brands following specific hashtags. Just go to their Linkedin page and tap on “Follow” or “Connect.” This way, you are exposed to another unique set of connections.

Step 6: Go through the hashtags recommendation based on your search

• Look for the button with three dots on the top of your hashtag feed.
• Click on it, and a drop-down menu with certain options will appear.
• Then, click on the “Discover new hashtags.”

You will get a list of the suggested hashtags based on your search, interest, past jobs, and overall Linkedin activity.

Manage your hashtags

Further in the menu that appeared on clicking the three dots, you will come across an option “Manage your hashtags.” Click on it to see the list of hashtags that you follow on Linkedin.

This list can also be edited by removing the hashtags which are not of use to you. Most importantly, you should copy these hashtags in a separate document so that you can easily use all these hashtags in your Linkedin posts time and again. Just make sure that the hashtags you are using in your posts are related to your industry.

Additionally, do hashtags work similarly on Linkedin profiles and company pages?

You would have seen people adding hashtags in their Linkedin bio or randomly adding them in between sentences. However, you must know that doing such hashtags are not creating any positive impact on their profiles. These hashtags are not searchable and can’t be clicked, which makes them just a non-tagged keyword.

Read More:- How to Create a LinkedIn Company Page to Promote Your Business?

How relevant is participating in the trending hashtags topics?

You might have noticed that you are getting suggestions to join in conversations around trending hashtags in your Linkedin profile. But is it beneficial to spend your quality time participating in these trends?

The algorithm of Linkedin works on two primary objectives- First, to assess your content’s relevancy. Second, to assess the engagement done on your posts. This means relevant posts are more important than the recent ones, while the algorithm also makes engagement an essential factor.

Therefore, participating in these trending hashtag conversations can help you boost your Linkedin ranking and create a name for yourself related to that topic.

Have an idea of the correct hashtags

The correct hashtags will vary from post to post. Your aim should be, therefore, to use hashtags that are related to your industry or niche.

You can also select the hashtags that are recommended by Linkedin when you start typing. These hashtags being implemented automatically through the Linkedin algorithm have a greater chance of engagement for your posts.

Just keep in mind, you should not spam your post with too many hashtags.

Summary

After your research is done, follow these simple rules to make the most out of the Linkedin hashtags:

• Focus on selecting niche-related hashtags.
• Choose the hashtags that are specifically related to your posts. Note that this is different from selecting relevant niche-related hashtags.
• Hashtags having more than 500 followers but less than 100,000 followers are considered to be the best. This way, your content will not be overshadowed and will be shown to the right audience.
• You should also save the hashtags you are following at a single place and copy & paste the post-relevant hashtags every time you choose to share a post on Linkedin.

Lastly, people believe hashtags are not ideal for Linkedin posts, but this is wrong. Hashtags on Linkedin can surely help in increasing your reach.

Happy hashtagging!!