How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
It’s confusing trying to distill heaps of advice about social media into actionable items for your salon business. That’s why it’s my job to do it for you! In this post, I’ll lay out several ways to use hashtags effectively to give your beauty biz the boost you’re looking for. How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
The Numbers Game
There are different schools of thought on hashtags, and if you’ve ever taken a social media class at a show, you’ve probably experienced some #confusion about hashtags. However, everyone seems to agree on one thing; on Instagram, use all 30 hashtags allowed in every post. This maximizes the reach of your content, and makes sure the biggest possible audience can see it and enjoy it. Use hashtags that describe your content, but also target your ideal client. Use some location-based hashes, and keep a note on your phone with a list of your faves.
Keep It Consistent or Switch It Up?
However, when you have a big long list of hashtags saved in a note, the temptation to use the same hashtags over and over can be hard to fight. Switch a few out every few posts to ensure that you’re keeping it fresh and not spamming that niche. In the search bar on Instagram, you’ll even see some suggested related hashtags when you search one. This is an excellent way to find alternates – it’s like a hashtag Thesaurus. How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
Sneaky Hashtags Hiding in Plain Sight
I have been beating the drum of adding hashtags into Instagram Stories for a while now, and I’ve been steadfastly following my own advice. I wasn’t sure how well it was working until I did a little test on my nail brand account, The Nailscape. Yesterday, posted a three part story on my account and used slightly different hashtags on each part. I was promoting an upcoming class happening at a beauty show. On each part of the story, I posted the show hashtag, the location, and a few general descriptive tags like #nailtech #howto, etc. My test was adding a very popular related hashtag on one part of the story, in this case #nailsofinstagram. I was blown away by the results! The part of the story with the popular hashtag was viewed by almost three times more people. See the screenshots below and compare. Keep in mind that you can use up to 10 hashtags in a story.
Tag the Brands
A great way to get a bit more exposure is to tag the brands you use. Avoid the temptation to tag every brand that has ever existed, however. Only tag on your best work, thereby putting your best foot forward into the mix. Make sure you use the brand’s hashtag, and you’ll likely show up on their radar. A share from a large brand can lead to some great traction and your clients love the validation of what they already know – that you’re the bomb.com.
❤ Heart on Your Sleeve ❤
Did you know that you can hashtag an emoji? If you did, then odds are you’re not doing it consistently. An emoji is great for breaking up large blocks of text in the caption of your posts, and it can definitely draw the eye. (❌❌❌ anyone?) Emojis are becoming a much more acceptable form of communication than even a year ago, so don’t shy away from the power of a double duty emoji – part visual, part marketing. They’re fun to look at, and now they work even harder to get your work in front of more people. #✂ How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
Caption or Comment?
As the world turns, every time hashtags comes up in conversation, there are two firmly established camps on hashtag placement. Some insist on putting hashtags in the first comment to keep the caption clean and easy to read. Others rely on the caption to contain all of the information. It’s gone back and forth for a while, but a social media management company did a study and found that at least right now, hashtags in the caption perform about 10% better than those in the comments. While the constant algorithm shifts may change this in the near future, 10% is still 10%.
Make Up for Lost Time
If you’ve found a winning hashtag strategy or you’ve recently added a branded tag (like #ashleythecoach,) you can go back to older posts and add them in a new comment. Get your best work included in those search results by re-tagging past posts. Those posts will also show up in the activity feed of anyone who has commented on them, so don’t spam them by adding each hashtag in a separate comment – unless that’s the plan. *wink*
All the Others
If Instagram isn’t your main jam, consider these rules when using hashtags on other platforms. On Facebook, use one or two hashtags very intentionally. This will make your content searchable within the relatively new Facebook search parameters. Don’t use more than a couple though, as more than that will hit Facebook’s spam filter and will throttle down your reach on that and even subsequent posts from your page.
Twitter is made for hashtags, so feel free to add as many as you like. In fact, a tweet without a hashtag is like a shoe without a foot. Use them liberally as the shelf life of a tweet is only around 5-8 minutes.
Pinterest is a bit of an oddity when it comes to hashtags. The only place they work is in a pin description, so avoid hash tagging your profile, pin titles, or your board titles. Your followers and potential clients won’t be able to click on those to find related content, so don’t waste the space. How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
What’s your hashtag strategy? Have you tried any of the above before? Visit me on Instagram and let me know how these have worked for you in the past! How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz
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How to Use Hashtags to Build Your Beauty Biz