If you’re a regular social media addict, the hashtag is no doubt a concept that you’re familiar with.
What might be a tad less familiar is the power hashtags have to elevate – or sink, if used improperly – your tradie marketing strategy.
Hashtags are a staple of social media platforms. If tradie businesses and brands want to get the most out of their hashtags however, you need to utilise hashtags properly.
What exactly does that involve?
How can hashtags be harnessed to raise your profile and reach new customers with your digital marketing?
And most importantly, are there any hidden pitfalls you need to take into consideration?
How to avoid a #fail
1) Know your platform
Many of our tradie clients use hashtags across multiple social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Using various social media channels is a good idea. Before taking the leap however, make sure that you know how to properly use hashtags on each of these platforms in order to maximise your chances of engaging existing and potential clients alike.
For starters, the ideal number of hashtags on each platform varies:
- Twitter: Two hashtags per tweet is ideal in Twitter as there are character count restrictions.
- Facebook: Best to use two hashtags, one custom like and the other is a popular hashtag.
- Instagram: Try to put a minimal 11 hashtags even if the platform allows 20 or more hashtags.
2) Do your research
We can’t repeat this enough – if you’re going to use a hashtag, make sure you do your research first!
That’s because many hashtags have surprisingly dark meanings or origins behind them. A failure to account for this can leave your tradie business looking inconsiderate, insincere and just plain rude.
For an example of this, look no further than DiGiornio Pizza that tweeted using the hashtag #whyistayed.
Little did they know, the hashtag wasn’t referring to staying for leftovers like their social media manager assumed – rather, it was referring to survivors of domestic abuse.
Needless to say, Twitter users were quick to put DiGiorno on blast for the apparently insensitive tweet.
This error was quickly corrected and apologies issued. Good on them for addressing the issue quickly – however, they could have avoided controversy altogether by checking the hashtag first!
3) Don’t use a cookie-cutter message
If you’re using hashtags as part of your tradie marketing strategy, you’ll want to ensure that your message is tailored to fit the hashtag.
Here’s a hypothetical example: at the time of writing, one of the trending hashtags on Instagram is #fashion.
If your tradie business has recently gotten a spiffy new tradie uniforms or you’ve bought a new pair of workboots, go ahead – however, if you’re simply using a trending hashtag for the publicity, people are going to see right through it.
When it comes to hashtags, your content needs to match the hashtag – “relevant” is the key word here.
While this applies for your entire content marketing strategy, it’s especially important for social media marketing!
4) Don’t paint a target on your back
As we’re sure you’re aware, internet humour is a strange phenomenon. Social media will latch onto the strangest things and make jokes and memes out of them, to the bewilderment of the original subjects.
When posting anything on social media, it’s important to carefully evaluate the risk of social media users using this as an opportunity to make jokes, or complaints about your tradie business.
For an example of this, look no further than Qantas, which invited passengers to use the hashtag #QantasLuxury, with the goal of fishing for compliments and drumming up some good publicity.
Unfortunately, passengers didn’t quite agree, and turned the hashtag into an impromptu roasting session.
They say that silence is golden – and when it comes to social media, that’s often the best piece of advice out there.
5) Check your wording
So you’re creating your very own hashtag. Your finger or cursor hovers above the post button.
Before you submit however, give it a second reading – are you absolutely sure that there’s no innuendos or misunderstandings in your wording?
One example of this was the hashtag #nowthatcherisdead. This hashtag was created by website isthatcherdeadyet.co.uk, a website dedicated solely to tracking whether or not controversial former British PM Margaret Thatcher had died yet.
When the focus of their site did indeed pass, they created the aforementioned hashtag as a play on the website name.
However, this led to some confusion among fans of 80’s singer Cher, who read it as an announcement that their idol was the one who passed!
That’s just one example of the consequences of a poorly-worded hashtag – in other cases, your hashtag may contain innuendos or inadvertently raunchy wording.
The lesson? Check your wording very carefully!
Make your hashtags #count!
Take your tradie marketing to the next level with iformat
Don’t just use hashtags for the sake of riding the latest trend – make them count!
When it comes to tradie digital marketing, you want the most effective strategies that’ll get you noticed online by the customers you want.
Choosing appropriate hashtags is just one part of that – it’s equally important that your social media presence is properly thought out if you want found online.
Luckily for you, iformat can help!
Our tradie marketing specialists understand what it takes to be found online. We offer a wide range of digital marketing services that help you generate more leads and get you more business.
Backed by powerful analytics and insights, you can rest easy knowing that your tradie social media is working just as hard as you are to bring in new jobs.
In addition to social media advice and management, our tradie marketing services also include:
- Updates to your existing or old website
- Improvements to tradie websites
- Website and blog content creation
- SEO web optimisation
- Increased customer engagement and revenue
Contact our tradie marketing team on 1300 88 64 50 or contact us to discuss your digital marketing requirements with us today.
You can also visit us for website for tradies in Melbourne: pop into our office at 105D Carpenter Street, Brighton 3186 VIC.
