Where do hashtags come from? And what difference does that make to us if we are building our brand and business on LinkedIn?
#entrepreneurship #digitalmarketing #contentcreation #contentstrategy #thelinkedinstrategist
We can find hashtags if:
- we search in LinkedIn
- and we can find how many users follow each of the hashtags
… but where did they come from to begin with? Where and how are hashtags “born”? And what value is there for us in understanding that process? How does it relate to building our business and brand on LinkedIn?
This article is based on observations of working on LinkedIn and a theory: and I am going to use a specific post (not one of mine) to illustrate the point:
(1) Who made the post
This post is made by an Editor at LinkedIn therefore it may be safe to assume:
- the way the post is made (the words and hashtags used) is based on the best way to use hashtags on LinkedIn (to get the best performance i.e. reach from the LinkedIn Algorithm)
- the post is made to achieve a specific purpose (and there is perhaps a lesson in that for us) see point (3) below
(2) Which hashtags were used
[Follower counts as at 24 May 2020]
#jobseekers (1,050,124 followers) #jobhunters (1,271 followers)
#hiring (1,920,375 followers) #jobs (2,254,940 followers)
#startups (21,371,482 followers) #startupsvscovid19 (156 followers)
#GetHiredAustralia (91 followers)
- more than three hashtags are being used (there are some suggestions that three is the optimum number for hashtags, perhaps not)
- four of the hashtags have large followings (26,000,000 plus between them)
- three of the hashtags have very small followings
- one of the hashtags (I think) is the key to the purpose of the post: #GetHiredAustralia
(3) So what ? Get Hired Australia
So what is the point ? This series of posts allows LinkedIn to build an audience (subscribers) for their Get Hired Australia newsletter which is a new initiative for them. The key to sharing content effectively isn’t trying to share it everywhere with everyone but to share it with a targeted audience who are interested. A newsletter (or FOLLOWing) says YES to wanting more of that specific content from you – that’s a valuable step in your relationship with your audience.
Side note 1: Not everyone has access to create their own newsletters yet – you can create a quasi (almost) newsletter by using Showcase Pages
If you aren’t using Showcase pages yet then maybe you are missing the FOLLOWing
This series of posts is also helping to grow a FOLLOWing for #GetHiredAustralia (now up to 244 from 91 over the last few days)
#hashtags connect you to your audience: so choose your hashtags wisely (make sure they are the same hashtags your audience are following)
If that (#GetHiredAustralia) is your hashtag (linked to a specific aspect of your service offering) that is 244 users on LinkedIn who say they want to know more about that content (service) from you. What is that worth to you and your business ? That is gold and that is where hashtags come in: you and your specific Service / Product / Theme #thelinkedinstrategist
Take Action (1) Find the hashtags that represent the topics that would interest your audience – and look for large followings for some (2) select a hashtag to build your own brand and start to use it and promote others to follow it, own the hashtag and use it to connect to your specific audience #thelinkedinstrategist (3) use three or more hashtags when you post in your feed (the jury is still out on this for me)
Side note 2: Why include one or more hashtags with a large following [#startups (21,371,482 followers)] in your post on your feed ? So that the larger audience (FOLLOWing) for that hashtag have a chance of seeing your content and then also seeing your more focused hashtags [#GetHiredAustralia (91 followers)]. This is all based on using posts in your feed to reach your audience: please don’t let this be your only strategy on LinkedIn (use a strategy to share your content effectively)
It’s not the many you can reach easily it’s the few you can reach effectively that count most for you when you are building your business on LinkedIn
Click here for Answers to more of the key questions to getting LinkedIn to work for you
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Below is the text from the post Published 4 May 2020
“When jobs are scarce, is it crazy to work on a startup idea? In #GetHiredAustralia, Slingshot founder Craig Lambert shares great advice for anyone looking to turn a redundancy payment into a new business as well as a few good stories from the GFC.
If you’re looking for a job, be sure to subscribe.
Have you created a startup during the pandemic? Share it in the comments below.
Read more of my Blogs here.
#jobseekers #jobhunters #hiring #jobs #startups #startupsvscovid19