Let's talk Hashtags!

[Mahesh]

Hi y'all! Hope all is well.

 

I wanted to get your thoughts on hashtags. Hashtags have been around for quite a while now on most if not all major social media platforms. Despite the modern culture aspect of hashtags in this day and age, it is a useful tool for letting you discover new music and musicians and allows for the opportunity for you to have the same benefit if you're a musician.

 

So I ask this - how many of you use it and how has it been beneficial for you? 

 

I use it on Instagram all the time! For example, most if not all of my posts include #maheshmusic. Since MaheshMusic happens to be my handle in almost all platforms, it helps for me to associate a hashtag with it. In a way, it has allowed me to archive all my posts while getting to discover the occasional fans who would use it. 

Another example is when I did my EP tour last year in association with Sofar Sounds, we collectively used the hashtag "AcceptxSofarIndia" and #AcceptEP which really helped get some mileage going on that. It's easier for me to show to people all that we did during the tour as well.

 

 

Besides that, whenever I post a cover of a song or a singing video, I use a few hashtags that are really popular and helps reel in some followers (given the content you've posted is good ofcourse!). Some of them are #singersofig #singersofinstagram #instacover etc.

 

What has been your experience with it so far? Do you have a set of hashtags that you always use? How is it different in Twitter if you have experience there?

[Lisa Gates]

Hi  @Mahesh ! I know I should use social media more. When i first started on twitter, it took forever to get followers. Then i learned about hashtags and for a short time last year I gained most of my followers just by using them.

It seems whenever I use #Nashville I get the most response.

I haven't been online much because of moving and the politics are bad in the States right now.

I see your personal hashtags are clever. Would using some basic ones draw new followers? Like #singersongwriter ?

Lisa

[Mahesh]

3 hours ago, Lisa Gates said:

Hi  @Mahesh ! I know I should use social media more. When i first started on twitter, it took forever to get followers. Then i learned about hashtags and for a short time last year I gained most of my followers just by using them.

It seems whenever I use #Nashville I get the most response.

I haven't been online much because of moving and the politics are bad in the States right now.

I see your personal hashtags are clever. Would using some basic ones draw new followers? Like #singersongwriter ?

Lisa

 

 

I've been watching the American politics intensely for the past couple years. I can see why it must be a difficult time! 

 

Indeed! I use a set of common hashtags that go to my posts by default. #maheshmusic #singer #songwriter #music #singersongwriter #indie #indianindie #asthaguitars (because I endorse the brand) and then I add those hashtags specific to the post. It does give me good results. Surely, there must be more effective ones!

[Peggy]

I've used a few on twitter but nothing consistent. Hashtags have always been an afterthought even knowing the importance and benefits.

 

My goal is to add some on my accounts and posts this week. Both common ones of music interest and some closer to my own stuff. And remember to continue with them where appropriate. 

 

I've been careful to look up the tag before using or creating one.

 

And I'll be checking the do's and don't's of using them.

 

[Dakota Cochran]

K.I.S.S.

#Song
 

[john]

3 hours ago, Dakota Cochran said:

K.I.S.S.

#Song
 

 

Hey Dakota

 

Not maybe the best hashtag you could use. If you use Twitter search with #Song you will see a few posts with reasonable stats, but those are all on pretty big accounts, while less busy profiles have virtually zero interactions, so the chances are that the #Song hashtag is contributing nothing to the post traffic. The other possibility is that it does contribute traffic, but just the wrong sor... ie #Song is so generic you get fans of all kinds of music... not the specific kind of music you make. That means your hashtag is not effective for you.

 

I think you are right to K.I.S.S. but you need to make sure the hashtags you use are working.

 

Do you use Twitter analytics?

 

Cheers

 

John

[Peggy]

I've been checking out the different platforms and best practices for hashtags.  Some interesting info. 

 

Twitter recommends using no more than 2 hashtags per Tweet as best practice, but you may use as many hashtags in a Tweet as you like.

 

Instagram practices says you can use up to 30 tags on a post.

 

Facebook number of hashtags  have no limit but a 

"results from a study by Social Bakers, which examined how Facebook engagement correlates hashtag use.

(Takeaway: too many hashtags lowers engagement)

• 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"

https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/2126-the-ultimate-guide-to-hashtags

 

Lots of opinions, studies and scenarios but it seems like there are some common ideas about number of tags used.

[john]

1 hour ago, Peggy said:

I've been checking out the different platforms and best practices for hashtags.  Some interesting info. 

 

Twitter recommends using no more than 2 hashtags per Tweet as best practice, but you may use as many hashtags in a Tweet as you like.

 

Instagram practices says you can use up to 30 tags on a post.

 

Facebook number of hashtags  have no limit but a 

"results from a study by Social Bakers, which examined how Facebook engagement correlates hashtag use.

(Takeaway: too many hashtags lowers engagement)

• 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"

https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/2126-the-ultimate-guide-to-hashtags

 

Lots of opinions, studies and scenarios but it seems like there are some common ideas about number of tags used.

Always useful to put stats on observation.
 

I would say that quality is far more important than quantity. It stands to reason than one tag that is completely on target will be better than 30 wrong tags.

 

For example, if you are talking about DIY carpentry, then #DIYCarpentry is more likely to find you the right kind of people than if you chose to use hashtags about constipation and digestive disorders. True, the latter might drive more traffic.... but it is the wrong type of audience. That’s when your post is viewed 50,000 times and it gets 2 likes lol