Hashtags are a great way to expand the reach of your content on social media.
Social media users use hashtags to find new content.
Believe it or not, but people do follow hashtags that they like. And if they see a hashtag used by someone they follow they’re likely to click that hashtag.
Think of a person that loves photography. They follow a great photographer and that photographer shares an outdoor landscape photo with the hashtag #outdoors or something.
The follower might click on that hashtag because they want to discover more photos like that.
So you can do the same.
And let’s say you’re a startup. Then it can be really difficult to get your social media off the ground. Here are some hashtags for startups in general that should really help expand your reach and engagement.
A key before we begin is that these are about your audience. That will vary obviously.
But in general you may not want to attract other startups. You’re looking for hashtags that your customers are interested in following.
Note: I used Hashtags.org to find the data.
1. #Beautiful
Maybe a little surprise here, but this hashtag is diverse.
You can imagine that a lot of people use this hashtag for various reasons. If you’re in B2B or B2C and you’re looking to reach an audience then chances are you can have some luck with #beautiful.
Social media is very visual. Photos and videos can both have #beautiful elements.
You can even let this hashtag give you direction on what you share on occasion.
A startup golf manufacturer could share a photo of a new club with this hashtag. They could share a photo from a morning on the course.
A startup app could share a snippet of their userface or of their #beautiful team in charge of development.
Types of Content: Photos, Videos, Graphics, Designs
2. #News
This might throw you off a little, but stick with it for a second.
Most people follow some kind of #news.
News about life. News about their work and their industry.
Your business has a target audience. You can share news about what your target audience cares about in their personal lives, their location, their work and more.
Let’s say you’re a dentist startup. You could share #news from the dental world, the health world, local #news about the city you’re in and more.
Types of Content: Articles, Blog Posts, Video
3. #Video
Video and visuals do well on social media.
So part of your social media strategy should be to share videos whether they’re your own or those of others. And you can mix those.
You can share all kinds of videos that would interest your audience. Funny. Sad. Enlightening and more.
Share them and use this hashtag.
Types of Content: Fun Videos, News Videos, Educational Videos
4. #Leadership
Most people seek #leadership from others. Even leaders seek #leadership from others. Successful leaders are often learners. They seek information. They seek mentors.
That’s why this hashtag is very popular with many people.
The #leadership hashtag can be kind of tricky for startups and businesses.
You don’t necessarily want to project yourself as a leader especially if you’re a startup. That’s not very humble.
How can you use this hashtag?
Show how others in your industry are showing #leadership. Highlight how your customers or target customers are showing #leadership.
Types of Content: Industry Announcements, Case Studies, Re-Shared Content
5. #Quotes
This one probably doesn’t need much explanation. People on social media seem to love #quotes. They inspire us. They motivate us. They make us laugh. They’re good for life.
I think it’s a good strategy for startups to share some regular #quotes. Even if it’s once a day or once a week. Sharing #quotes and using this hashtag can really boost your following and engagement.
Types of Content: Quotes, Video, Graphics
6. #Success
Most people are looking for #success in life. That’s got to be why this hashtag is pretty popular. And people want to believe in success and see #success.
You can show successes in your industry by using this hashtag. You can be excited when something good happens to your startup, but also highlight others in the industry and your target customers.
When your industry does well it means that all businesses, including yours, will do well.
Types of Content: Articles, Blog Posts, News, Videos
7. #Motivation
Motivation is a big thing in life. People are always looking for a way to get motivated especially if they’re feeling sluggish or down or they can’t get excited about what they’re doing.
You can do all kinds of things to motivate your particular target audience. Figure out what they want to achieve. Share stories that can help motivate them. Share articles with #motivation tips.
Share your own #motivation tips.
Types of Content: Tips, Articles, Blog Posts, Videos, Case Studies, Stories
8. #Life
This one is pretty general. It’s kind of like pointing out the situations that kind of describe #life in general.
Quotes work well usually. Stories. All kinds of things that kind of simply explain your audience’s #life. Photos can often do it.
They make your followers say: Yeah, #life is like that.
Types of Content: Photos, Videos, Articles, Quotes
9. #Inspiration
Similar to #motivation, but #inspiration is a bit different.
Some believe that you can inspire people, but you can’t necessarily motivate them. They need to find their own inner motivation, but you can help inspire them to do great things.
And people want to be inspired. If you can share the type of content that inspires your startup’s audience then you can get some great engagement.
Types of Content: Photos, Articles, Quotes, Videos
10. #Business
We’ll end with business. This will be for the B2B startups out there. It’s just a good, solid general hashtag to use. Businesses follow it for all things business. Mostly how to articles and lists of tools and things like that.
Types of Content: Blog Posts, Videos
Quick List
- #Beautiful
- #News
- #Video
- #Leadership
- #Quotes
- #Success
- #Motivation
- #Life
- #Inspiration
- #Business
Conclusion
Hashtags are generally great to use to build your social following. They really work on Instagram. But they’re good on just about all the networks.
Expand your audience and use hashtags. Then not only your followers will be able to discover the content you share.
If you’re a startup, these hashtags above are some great ones to use regularly.