Wondering if you should be using hashtags on your Facebook Business page? Are they really worth using? Read on to find out the answers…

Up until recently we thought the answer to this question would be no. Why? Simply because hashtags were seen as a foreign object on Facebook. Plus there was limited functionality and it seemed to put people off from reading posts because hashtags were seen as Twitter-language.

But now things are changing and hashtags are more familiar to all of us.  (They are very prevalent on Twitter and Instagram,  plus Google+ automatically adds popular hashtags to your posts where applicable.)

Facebook continues to enhance the use of hashtags on their platform, both on personal profiles and business pages. By using a hashtag, you can enter your posts into a worldwide conversation about a topic. People are able to search for a hashtag within Facebook’s search box and the results will show posts containing that hashtag – including yours (even if they are not connected to your personal profile or your business page).

This is great news for Facebook business users since you can now widen the potential reach of your posts. The hashtags in any of your posts will also be links, so if readers click on them they will click through to see all other facebook posts containing that hashtag.

How many hashtags should you use?

However, there is still dispute over whether too many hashtags lower engagement in a post. Research by Social Bakers has shown the following…

• Posts with 1 or 2 hashtags averaged 593 interactions
• Posts with 3 to 5 hashtags averaged 416 interactions
• Posts with 6 to 10 hashtags averaged 307 interactions
• Posts with more than 10 hashtags averaged 188 interactions

You can use hashtags that are your own (ie that your business has developed), or those that are specific to an exhibition you are attending, or are already in general use.  Why not search on facebook for a hashtag related to your products and services to see what is already being used. (Go to the search box and type #plumbing or #LDEX (an event) or #eclipse or #GE2015 or whatever is relevant to you.)

So, the conclusion is that YES you should be using hashtags in your Facebook posts. But you should only use 1 or possibly 2 per post to get the best balance between the traditional post and the new hashtag culture…  

Try to incorporate those hashtags within the copy of your post, rather than as a list of hashtags at the end of the status update (which looks more Twitter/Instagram-like).

Have you got any great examples or comments on your experiences of using hashtags?

Happy Hashtagging!

If you would like any help with an audit of your social media pages, social media training, guidance about what to talk about on your social media posts and your overall marketing planning and delivery, please get in touch.