5 Hashtag Techniques that Deliver Results
Hashtags have become an essential tool for increasing visibility on social media platforms. This article explores effective hashtag techniques that can significantly boost your online presence and engagement. Drawing on insights from industry experts, we'll delve into strategies such as targeting niche communities, balancing broad and specific tags, and using data to refine your hashtag approach.
- Target Niche Communities with Specific Hashtags
- Balance Broad and Niche Tags
- Leverage Local and Specific Hashtags
- Mix Core and Trend-Driven Hashtags
- Use Data to Refine Hashtag Strategy
Target Niche Communities with Specific Hashtags
We test and research hashtags in a methodical way; an approach that reveals which groups of tags result in actual business inquiries, not just likes or comments. Our use of hashtags needs to promote our content to those who may wish to utilize our services. Hashtags should be treated as business growth tools — not just visibility enhancers — in smart social media marketing.
By using platform analytics and directly connecting attribution to prospect conversations, we are able to track social lead quality and then capture this data. Similar to LinkedIn Groups, we have observed that industry-specific hashtags like #LocalBusinessGrowth or #DigitalMarketingAgency work better for us than broader terms like #Marketing or simply #Business. Also, we keep an eye on competitors' hashtag strategies and find gaps where we can get noticed in tag communities that are not flooded (but still relevant).
Rather than using the same hashtags for every post, we develop hashtag sets that are tailored to content type and match search intent. The hashtag strategy gives us the ability to connect every content piece that we write on a subject. For example, a post about Google Business Profile optimization will use #GoogleMyBusiness, #LocalSEO, and #BusinessListings, while content about website speed uses #WebsiteOptimization, #PageSpeed, and #SEOTips. By positioning content and hashtags in this way, high-quality engagement with our information is discovered by the correct audience when they are most actively searching for answers, rather than having to stumble upon our expertise as a by-product of hashtag research.
Balance Broad and Niche Tags
When it comes to hashtag strategy on social media, I've found that research and relevance are the keys to success. On LinkedIn specifically, I focus on using a mix of broad industry hashtags and more niche, targeted ones that help my content reach the right professional audiences. I typically limit my LinkedIn posts to 3-5 carefully selected hashtags rather than overwhelming the post with too many, which can appear unprofessional or desperate for attention. My most successful approach has been to follow trending conversations in the Digital PR space and strategically join those discussions with thoughtful content and appropriate hashtags. This balanced approach has significantly improved my networking opportunities and helped me connect with other professionals who share similar interests and expertise.
Leverage Local and Specific Hashtags
At Dwij, our initial Instagram strategy used popular generic hashtags like #sustainable and #ecofriendly, resulting in minimal engagement despite our quality content. Posts averaged only 47 likes and 3 comments, with hashtag reach barely extending beyond our existing followers. Our content was drowning in millions of similar posts using identical broad sustainability tags.
We shifted to researching Mumbai-specific sustainability communities and niche upcycling enthusiasts. Instead of #sustainable, we used #MumbaiZeroWaste, #BandraEcoWarriors, and #IndianUpcycling. We discovered smaller but highly engaged communities around hashtags like #SlowFashionIndia and #MumbaiMakers, each with 500-3000 active members rather than millions of passive users.
This community-focused hashtag strategy transformed our social media performance dramatically. Average post engagement increased from 47 likes to 86 likes, with comments jumping from 3 to 14 per post - an 83% improvement in meaningful interactions. More importantly, these targeted hashtags connected us with 23 local collaborators, including eco-conscious cafes and sustainable lifestyle bloggers.
Our follower growth accelerated by 127%, but quality improved significantly as new followers were genuinely interested in upcycling rather than casual browsers. Smaller, specific communities create deeper connections than massive generic audiences.
Mix Core and Trend-Driven Hashtags
Thank you for the question. Hashtags are one of those things people either overuse or completely ignore, but when used intentionally, they can be a quiet growth engine.
What has worked best for me is mixing "core" hashtags I use year-round with fresh, trend-driven ones. For example, I always keep a set like #cashbackdeals, #cashback, #savemoneyonline, and #dealhunters, because they're directly tied to what I post. Then, if it's Prime Day, I'll swap in #PrimeDaySavings, #AmazonCashback, #PrimeDayDeals. During the holidays, I might use #BlackFriday2025 or #CyberMondaySales. This way, I'm searchable all the time, but I'm also riding short bursts of high-intent traffic.
I learned the hard way that bigger isn't always better—posting under #deals (tens of millions of posts) meant my content disappeared in seconds. But a mid-sized tag like #cashback or #budgetshopping (a few hundred thousand posts) kept me visible for hours and brought in followers who actually engaged.
I aim for 12-18 hashtags in total, refresh them every couple of weeks, and track which ones are pulling their weight using Instagram's post insights. This keeps the list lean and performing.
Use Data to Refine Hashtag Strategy
I've found hashtags work best when they're treated as a discovery tool, not decoration. Instead of cramming in 20 broad tags, I pick a mix of 2-3 highly specific ones where the audience actually engages. For example, when promoting our finance automation content at Centime, #NetSuiteTips or #CashFlowManagement consistently outperformed generic tags like #Finance or #Business because they reach the people already in that conversation.
A practical trick: track which hashtags drive real clicks or follows by creating UTM-tagged posts tied to a single hashtag cluster. We learned quickly that some "popular" tags inflated impressions but delivered no engagement, while niche ones pulled in qualified leads. That data-driven pruning makes every post sharper over time.
