Create A Hashtag Strategy That Helps Customers Find You

Easier said than done. This will require a little research.

Some things to consider:

1. Who is your target audience?
2. What do you want to be known for?

You should first be sure you know who your target audience is. Grab a pen and some paper and take a few notes.

There are two parts to a hashtag strategy.

The first part is to have some hashtags that describe you, or better put, hashtags a person looking for you would use to find you.

The second part is to use the hashtags your potential client is using.

If you’re a real estate agent:

• Where do they live before moving to the area I serve?
• What is their motivation for moving?
• What kind of slang are they likely to use?
• What kind of amenities are they likely to want near their new home?

If you’re a hairstylist:

• does your client need damaged hair repaired?
• do they want to try something trendy?
• would they be interested in eyebrow waxing?
• would they be interested in the professional application of false eyelashes?
• Do they need a special ‘do because of an event coming up? Reunion? Wedding?

If you’re a fitness expert:

• does your want to lose 10 lbs or 100 lbs?
• are they looking for a diet plan?
• are they looking for an exercise plan?
• do they want to go it alone or are they looking for a coach?

Write down the answers to these questions and then search the terms (hashtags) directly in Instagram.  (You can do this in Google too. Just type slow and see what Google offers you as suggestions. Those suggestions are there because lots of other people are searching for those exact phrases.)

Now, go to Instagram and see who’s using them. For instance, put #falseeyelashes in the search field, then take a look at who’s using them and then a deeper look into what other hashtags they’re using.

Is your competition using the terms? Or is a potential customer using it?

Write their hashtags down too. Then do a search on the hashtags they’re using but you didn’t come up with during this exercise.

Example of hashtags your potential clients might use to find you if you’re a hairstylist:

If you’re a specialist in cutting curly hair, you should use the best known types of cuts (and you should actually be certified by them, no fibbing). If you are a magician at fixing damaged hair, use that hashtag.  Once you dig down and see who uses #fixmyhair, see what other similar hashtags are being used and see if they fit what you’re doing. (BTW, Don’t forget to offer help where you can.) It’s always a nice touch to add your location in a hashtag as well. You may end up in your city’s explore page.

From here, you would look at what posts you find. Consider a page of posts a neighborhood. When you look at the images decide if this is a neighborhood that suits you.

As you get deeper into researching which hashtags will work for you don’t forget to include checking out what your more successful competitors are doing. Add some of their hashtags to your list of possibilities.

Once you have decided which hashtags you’ll use, check out who else uses them and then look at who responds to them. Click on their profile because they might be the same kind of client you’re looking for. 

Check out their interests, their slang, their hashtags.

Between seeing which hashtags your target audience is using and what your competitors are using, you should have a good list to start with for your own posts that will attract the people you want as clients.

Remember to only use hashtags that have something to do with your post or product. Using trending hashtags that have nothing to do with your post will get you a surprising number of negative comments.

And don’t be afraid to change up your hashtags and experiment to see what gets you the best results.

Do you feel like you have a strong hashtag strategy in place? Share with us a few of your tips. We’re all here to learn, right?

Are you unhappy about the results you’re getting out of hashtag use? Then stop by  www.MasteringHashtags.com/hashtag-bible where you can discover the secrets of using hashtags to attract customers and increase leads.

Don’t forget to come over to Twitter and just say hi.

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