Guest post by Paula Hicks
What’s your initial goal for each blog post you write? You’re trying to solve some issues for your target audience, right? Whether or not you’re writing the blog post for promotional purposes, attracting more readers is always your first goal.
That means you’re going to promote that blog post on social media, and you’re going to invest a lot of effort in that promotion.
For the sake of social media marketing, you pay attention to multiple details. First of all, you make sure to add a nice description that would trigger a discussion and encourage your audience to visit your blog. You’re also using great visuals for the thumbnail, since social media users are really mindful of the visual impression.
What about hashtags?
They also make your social media posts more visible. Hence, they contribute to the popularity of your blog. You’ve probably seen all influential bloggers using hashtags on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. That’s no coincidence. The hashtag has a lot of power, and its popularity is growing by the day.
But what hashtags should a blogger use?
That’s the big question.
Why Do Bloggers Need Hashtags?
Before we get to the specifics, let’s focus on another important point: what will a blogger gain from the use of hashtags?
- The visibility boost is the most obvious reason for using hashtags. When looking for good content to read, people often use social media platforms as their search engines. They know they can find good stuff there, and they want to become part of the discussion. That’s why hashtags come in handy.
- The hashtag can connect you with other bloggers. You can see what they’ve posted under the same hashtag, and you can start a productive discussion under that same hashtag.
- Hashtags can help you with the branding process. If you come up with a unique hashtag that represents your blog, people will start recognizing it. Whenever you post a tweet promoting a blog post, you’ll include this hashtag. When Twitter users click on this hashtag, they will see all content you’ve shared under it. Plus, they can use the hashtag to reach out to you.
- The hashtag ads relevance to your posts. It’s time to clarify one thing: a huge chunk of hashtags is an eyesore. The endless list will dilute the meaning of your post. Yes; people will be able to find your content when they explore those hashtags, but they won’t like the post as it is. To make your hashtag game truly effective, you have to limit it solely to the relevant ones. When people see a link accompanied with a description, the right hashtags will add to that relevance. They will inform what the post is about.
- Hashtags can make you funny. They give you tons of space to express your humorous side.
So here’s the pro tip regarding hashtags:
Use only the most relevant ones and don’t use more than three at a time… Okay, five!
Hashtags that Bloggers Should Use
There are two types of hashtags a blogger could use:
- Universal
- Specific
Andrey Martinic, part of the marketing team for EssayWritingLand, shares his strategy: “When I promote a post for the company’s blog, I use both universal and specific hashtags. For example, I often use #blog or #blogger, just to identify the type of content, but I’ll also add #WriterLife, #EssayTips or something very specific to hint what the post is about.”
Let’s give some suggestions for both types of hashtags, shall we?
Universal Hashtags that Work for All Bloggers
- #blogger
- #blog
- #ontheblog
- #ontheblogtoday
- #bloggersgetsocial
- #bloggerlife
- #bloggersoftwitter
- #bloggersofinstagram
- #newblogpost
- #bloggingtips
When you’re searching for the right universal hashtags to use, you might want to know how popular they are. That’s when Hashtagify can be useful. Just type a hashtag in the search bar, and you’ll see stats on its popularity over time, as well as on its recent popularity. You’ll also get related hashtags, and that’s more useful than you can imagine. When you search for #blog, for example, you’ll see what hashtags bloggers usually pair that hashtag with.
That’s a good way to find other universal hashtags, such as #post and #WordPress.
Specific Hashtags for Bloggers
Depending on your niche, you can use various specific hashtags that help with the promotion and relevance of your social media posts.
Here are few suggestions:
Hashtags for Fashion Bloggers
- #fashionblogger
- #styleblogger
- #lookbook
- #fashionblog
- #styleblog
- #fashionista
- #fashioninspo
- #styleinspo
- #ootd
- #streetfashion
Hashtags for Lifestyle Bloggers
- #livecolorfully
- #livethelittlethings
- #darlingmovement
- #lifestyle
- #livingglam
- #lifetips
- #loveyourlife
- #liveyourlife
Hashtags for Writers
- #amwriting
- #amediting
- #askagent
- #wordgasm
- #writersofinstagram
- #writersoftwitter
- #writinglife
- #creativewriting
- #IndieAuthors
- #selfpublishing
- #storystarter
- #writersblock
- #writingtips
- #writersnetwork
Hashtags for SEO Bloggers
- #SMM
- #SEO
- #analytics
- #digitalmarketing
- #onlinemarketing
- #internetmarketing
- #inboundmarkeitng
- #emailmarketing
- #optimization
- #socialmedia
- #trending
- #leadgen
- #leadgeneration
- #SMMtips
- #growthhacks
Hashtags for Graphic Design Bloggers
- #designblogger
- #graphicdesign
- #graphicdesigncentral
- #designbyme
- #designinspiration
- #designporn
- #designinspo
- #designoftheday
- #fineart
Hashtags for Parenting Bloggers
- #mommylife
- #daddylife
- #parentlife
- #mommybloggers
- #daddybloggers
- #parentingbloggers
- #parentingblogger
- #mommytips
- #daddytips
- #parentingtips
- #motherhoodunplugged
- #mommyproblems
- #parentingreality
- #dailyparenting
- #familylife
Hashtags for Photo Bloggers
- #picoftheday
- #photooftheday
- #potd
- #photodaily
- #vscocam
- #vsco
- #photomasters
- #bestofvsco
- #canonphotography
- #nikonphotography
- #fujifilmphotography
- #portrait
- #landscape
- #thousandwords
Hashtags for Travel Bloggers
- #travelblog
- #travelblogger
- #travelbloggers
- #travelphoto
- #adventure
- #landscape
- #cityscape
- #traveler
- #welivetoexplore
Hashtags for Health/Fitness Bloggers
- #fitfam
- #fitnessblogger
- #trainhard
- #fitnessgoals
- #healthylifestyle
- #practiceandalliscoming
- #personaltrainer
- #eatclean
- #cleaneating
- #nopainnogain
Hashtags for Food Bloggers
- #recipe
- #foodlovers
- #foodgasm
- #foodporn
- #foodphotography
- #foodblogger
- #nomnom
- #vegan
- #glutenfree
- #lactosefree
Okay. You get the picture. Whatever your blogging niche is, it’s easy to think of relevant hashtags to use. The important thing is to check their popularity, spell them properly, and limit the number of hashtags you use per post.
That being said, it’s not just about the hashtag. The way you use it will determine the popularity of your blog post.
Tips: It’s Not Just the Hashtag; You Gotta Use It Well
When you’re about to use hashtags to promote your blog posts, there are few things to keep in mind:
- Spamming Is Not Okay
If #fifaworldcup is a popular hashtag at the moment, it doesn’t mean you can hijack it. You cannot just add it to a post focused on lifestyle tips if it has nothing to do with the current championship.
If you really want to use a trendy hashtag, then develop content around it. That’s a nice strategy to drive audience towards your blog, but spamming is not.
- Use the Hashtag Within a Sentence
It’s super easy to infuse a hashtag within a sentence, #justlikethis. You get the point? When the hashtag is part of a logical construction, it doesn’t look like spamming. Plus, it saves you valuable space on Twitter.
You’re a blogger, so you’re certainly focused on writing great descriptions to your posts. That’s what attracts people on social media. Infuse few hashtags in those descriptions and you’ll have a winning strategy for making the posts more visible.
- Spice It Up
It’s important to think of your unique hashtag that will give some personality to your blog, but that doesn’t mean you should always opt for the same hashtags. The more varied hashtags you use, the more likely you make it for your blog to be discovered via social media.
- Use the CamelCase
The CamelCase still puts your content under the same hashtag, but it makes it easier to read by capitalizing the first letter of each word. #LactoseFree is much more readable than #lactosefree, don’t you think?
What about now?
With Hashtagify you can explore new useful hashtags for your blog. You can start by searching any hashtag, check how its popularity is evolving and get inspired from other related hashtags. Now you are ready to pick the best ones and improve your next post!
