mastering the #hashtag for your fashion brand

This blog was written in collaboration with Chloe Hill - a recently graduated 1st Class Hons English student at Royal Holloway, the lifestyle editor of Orbital Magazine & freelance online fashion writer for Debut Magazine.

2007 saw Twitter completely redefine the hashtag. Rather being used simply for numerical purposes, the hashtag became key in online communication, especially in terms of trends. Since Twitter transformed the hashtag into a way of grouping collective feelings, other social media sites have jumped at the opportunity of utilising the hashtag as a way of increasing engagement, building audiences and subsequently generating greater profits.

One of the most important things to remember for hashtag users is that it’s always best to avoid those that already have copious amounts of tags (for example – over 1 million.) Although these may seem the most popular, and therefore the most appealing, it can in actual fact become a bit of a minefield. The more tags there are, the faster your post will disappear in the overwhelming pace that other posts are being shared at – especially with the risk of overwhelming spam content.

 To avoid this happening to you, I will share some tips about the ways in which you can use hashtags to your advantage.

1.    BE SPECIFIC

Instagram is increasing in popularity by the day. Whether it’s IGTV or hashtags, people are flocking to the social platform for all kinds of content, to the point where it’s beginning to resemble tech giants like Google in the way it’s being used. Although this can be a great business opportunity for your brand, it does complicate the chances of your hashtag getting seen.

Small swaps to how you word hashtags can make a huge difference to your engagement and audience. Here are some examples:

#Fashion is hitting nearly 500 million tags, so why not swap it for something like #fashionstore, which has a smaller, yet still vast result of approximately 855,000 tags. 

Rather than searching #british and #designer separately, which weigh in at 6 million and 29 million tags each, opt for #britishdesigner, as the results show a significantly lower result of 42,000 tags.

Small changes such as these dramatically increase the likelihood of your posts being seen, interacted with, and shared.

2.    GET INSPIRED

If you feel a little overwhelmed about the most effective way to use hashtags, start by finding inspiration from a brand you respect. It can be incredibly useful to analyse what hashtags they are using and write down your favourites that could also apply to your page.

3.    BE PROUD

Once you have chosen a selection of hashtags that you think are suitable and represent your brand effectively, make sure to keep updated with the hashtag. Regularly click on it and browse the search results to ensure that you remain content with the results and proud to be a part of it. If it ever starts to become saturated with spam or you find it proves inactive, consider altering it slightly to warrant a better response.

4.    MIX IT UP

When it comes to hashtags, variety is key. Inevitably, different posts will require different hashtags, so make sure you are always rotating the hashtags that you choose.

For example, you must always ensure that the hashtags you use are synonymous with the content, rather than copy and pasting a stock block of generic hashtags. Think about the different hashtags you would use for a post about a new collection in comparison to a post about yourself or the team and carry this thought process with you with every post and caption you make.

To prepare in advance, it’s incredibly beneficial to build a catalogue of approximately 50-100 hashtags, so you can assure that you always have them on hand when needed.

5.    YOUR VERY OWN HASHTAG

#asseenonme #monkistyle #babesofmissguided

Recognise these?

ASOS, Monki and Missguided have all mastered the art of the hashtag. Crafting one solely for the use of your brand and your brand only is becoming increasingly popular as a way of encouraging customers to join in and share with the community. Of course, the first step would be to make sure that the hashtag isn’t already in use and then you’re good to go.

By using it on every post, it will naturally encourage your customers to do the same. In doing so, it becomes far easier to interact on a more personal level with your customers by liking or sharing their posts.

I hope this article has helped to decipher the ever-growing world of hashtags. If you have any further questions or want to discuss this topic in more depth, do not hesitate to contact me via email at hi@elizabethstiles.co.uk.