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LinkedIn hashtags

 Social media such as Instagram and Twitter, they are now part of everyday life and make up an integral part of every posting - hashtags. The combination of hash marks and concise keywords follows a simple principle: the use of hashtags categorizes posts on social media platforms and makes them easier to find.

For example, if you are looking for trends in the area of ​​# online marketing, you will be shown posts that are highly relevant to the keyword – i.e. that are tagged with it. In addition, every user has the option of following hashtags and seeing posts with the corresponding link in their personal feed.

Despite the many advantages, hashtags were only introduced on the LinkedIn business network in 2019 - and have been establishing themselves rapidly ever since! So it's high time that you took advantage of the little words to set your company or brand apart from the competition, to be found more easily, and to increase your reach.

But be careful – LinkedIn hashtags follow their own rules that are not necessarily comparable to those of other platforms. In the following article, you will find out exactly how you can use LinkedIn hashtags sensibly and profitably for you and your company.

Why Use LinkedIn Hashtags?

LinkedIn hashtags categorize posts you post on the platform and set them apart from other posts. However, unlike Instagram or Twitter, you rarely use LinkedIn hashtags to refer to a current topic. Rather, the goal is to identify you and your company as an expert in your area using hashtags.

In addition, you strengthen your brand - large companies such as the HR software company " Personio " are showing the way and are already using LinkedIn hashtags in terms of employer branding.

Better visibility and findability are other reasons why you should add hashtags to your posts on LinkedIn. As already mentioned, users can follow relevant hashtags or search the platform using keywords.

As a rule, they do not want information about brands or names, but rather about specific topics - such as a recent industry event. If you now post a post from the event, you can use your own or official hashtags for the event and thus link your company profile to it.

Nice side effect: With LinkedIn hashtags, your posts are easier to find even for non-followers, while "regulars" can see a structure in your postings (#FactFriday, #EmployeeWednesday, #ThrowbackThursday, #MotivationMonday, etc.). As a result, the engagement of your followers increases because you address exactly the target groups that you really want to reach.

When asked “Why use LinkedIn hashtags? So there is more than one answer.

LinkedIn hashtags show you the following:

• They clarify the topic of your contribution at a glance

• Make your post easier to find for those who are interested

• Provide your followers with a posting structure

• Stand out from other companies

• Connect your company to certain topics

• Show that you are an expert in your specialty!

LinkedIn vs. Instagram: The difference in hashtags

Whether Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn – hashtags are now part of every post on social media. Yes, not all hashtags are the same. Especially when you add the popular hash symbol to LinkedIn posts, the purpose is drastically different from hashtags on other platforms, such as Instagram.

The biggest difference lies in the topic: With the help of LinkedIn hashtags, your post is categorized according to a specific topic and can be found more easily by users. You also use hashtags on LinkedIn a lot more sparingly than on Instagram and pay attention to more objectivity.

While posts on Instagram tend to contain large hashtags, you should primarily use keywords for your post on LinkedIn that is precisely related to your content and the corresponding topic. So-called “trending hashtags” are an exception here – more about these frequently used hashtags in the next section.

How do I find the right LinkedIn hashtags?

To find the right hashtags for your post on LinkedIn, the first things you should know about the different types of hashtags are:

• niches

• branded

• trending

• community

• Weekly hashtags

Niche hashtags

There are distinctive hashtags for every topic and every industry, which have a rather limited reach but are all the more relevant. If you use the right niche hashtags, you can connect with prospects who are passionate about your business.

Niche hashtags prove advantageous in connection with generally popular hashtags. With this combination, you benefit from the reach of the stronger hashtag and the relevance of the niche hashtags.

On LinkedIn, for example, you can find niche hashtags if you follow certain hashtags - because the platform then suggests related hashtags that can also be beneficial for you.

Branded Hashtags

A branded hashtag is characterized by a brand or a company. This can be, for example, the company name, a slogan, or a product name. As a rule, branded hashtags are much more durable than other hashtags because they stand out due to their uniqueness.

When creating a branded hashtag, keep it short and sweet and include the term in all of your marketing materials.

Trending Hashtags

As the name suggests, trending hashtags relate to a current topic or event. A classic example is the hashtag #stayhome in the context of the corona pandemic. If the trend disappears or the event happened a long time ago, the trending hashtags stagnate.

Despite the dilemma between large search volumes and equally large competition, it can be worthwhile for your company to publish a relevant LinkedIn post on a trending hashtag - because the LinkedIn algorithm rates your company better if you have decisive posts with a high engagement rate at the same time.

Community Hashtags

Community hashtags connect like-minded people who deal with a specific niche topic. For example, a marketing community hashtag might be #marketinglovers. In any case, the time-consuming search for these keywords is worthwhile - if you provide your post with a suitable community hashtag, you are addressing a group with a strong interest in your topic.

Weekly Hashtags

Weekly hashtags are becoming increasingly popular on LinkedIn. They mark topics that are based on the day of the week - for example, #throwbackthursday or #factfriday.

And how do you find the LinkedIn hashtags in this wide range that give your posts the necessary boost?

Of course, LinkedIn hashtags should always consist of keywords that meaningfully reflect the topic of your post. You can safely ignore generic hashtags such as #internet or #germany - they are rarely effective and steal valuable space for the essential terms.

As already indicated, the combination of niche hashtags and broader keywords has proven particularly effective – at least as long as the topic is related. Also, make sure to use the language of your target group and common terms in the community.

Ideally, you adapt your LinkedIn hashtags to the content of each post. This may seem complex at first glance - but you benefit from more reach and visibility, the better the hashtags combine the content of your post and the interests of the community.

With a little experience, you can even develop your own hashtags and establish them in your community. This will win you over new users and increase your reach.

The hashtags that LinkedIn suggests at the end of your post are also a good help. These suggestions were generated by the platform's algorithm and adapted to the content of your posts and your business page. One of the other useful inspirations can always be found here.

Warning: Within LinkedIn's suggestions, there are many trending hashtags - known as the keywords that people are currently using most frequently. It should be noted here that trending hashtags offer you a high potential reach on the one hand, and on the other hand, the competition with these hashtags is very high.

Unlike posts with niche hashtags, posts with trending hashtags are more likely to get lost in the crowd. So you should try to create a sensible mix that allows you to benefit from all the advantages.

In the case of LinkedIn tags, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!

Take the time to deal with LinkedIn hashtags in advance and solidify your strategy with the tips in this article. However, don't get too attached to a specific set of hashtags. Instead, try out which hashtags generate the most reach and leave out unsuccessful keywords in the next post - even if they seem so relevant to you.

How to use LinkedIn hashtags correctly

The perfect LinkedIn hashtag has a high recognition value, relates to a specific topic, and arouses the interest of users. You already know that. But how do you use your appropriate hashtags in a targeted manner?

Luckily, there are some golden rules you can follow when using hashtags on LinkedIn:

1. High-reach hashtags

If you want to push your posts using a keyword, hashtags with a high reach are particularly suitable. It is best to use the Chrome Extension “ Hashtag Analytics ” for this. With this tool, you can easily enter a hashtag of your choice and immediately see the number of followers.

2. Less is more

You should use a maximum of three to six hashtags in a post. Feel free to create your own hashtag for this and use the respective range for the remaining keywords. Unlike Instagram and Co., the business network is about the precise use of keywords.

3. No spaces, punctuation marks and special characters

You are not allowed to set any spaces within a hashtag. For example, if you write "#marketing automation", the hashtag ends after the word "marketing" also.

4. Keep it short

When creating your own hashtags, don't exceed the 20-character limit. Rather make the hashtag short and meaningful without stringing together too many words.

5. It's all in the mix Always

combine weaker hashtags with stronger ones. This increases your chances of more visibility (see section "How do I find the right LinkedIn hashtags?", Keywords trending and niche hashtags).

You can freely choose the positioning of the LinkedIn hashtags - it has no influence on the effectiveness of the keywords. The hashtags tend to be placed at the end of a post to ensure clarity and improve the readability of the text.

LinkedIn has developed a button specifically for this purpose, which is displayed to you while you are creating the post.

Alternatively, you can list important hashtags in the first comment line of your post. This makes your activities easier to find for LinkedIn profiles and discussions in the comments remain structured and clear. This method is also very good if you want to avoid LinkedIn hashtags being visible in your post.

By the way: Relevant hashtags can also be perfectly integrated into the summary of your LinkedIn profile. There, however, they do not serve to categorize and assign to specific topics, as in the classic case, but rather act as a form of keywords that can be used to find your LinkedIn account.

Conclusion: Greater reach with LinkedIn hashtags

Small words, big impact: hashtags are as much a part of social media as butter is on bread. Since the end of 2019, they have not only been available on networks such as Twitter and Instagram but also on the business platform LinkedIn. Topic-specific keywords are becoming more and more popular there - after all, they ensure that you address different groups of people with your posts in a targeted manner with the topics that interest them.

In short: Your readers know exactly what to expect in your post.

As a result of this precise approach, your visibility increases on the one hand, and on the other hand, your followers show more commitment, which proves to be a real plus for the awareness of your company.

If you take the time to find out which LinkedIn hashtags are relevant to your company and follow a few rules, such as the maximum number of hashtags or leaving out spaces, nothing stands in the way of the success of your LinkedIn post.