Tagging is a powerful tool on social media platforms that can improve your content's visibility and engagement, but only if you are strategic about it! What do we mean by that? We mean there are ways to optimize tags for your company's benefit and actions you can take that will hurt your social media engagement and reputation. Before we get into the do's and don'ts, let's break down the different types of tagging.
Types of Tags
As we just stated, tags are essential to increasing your social media reach and visibility. By using tags strategically, you can connect with a wider audience, drive engagement, and build your brand's reputation. There are three main types of tags: hashtags, mentions, and location tags. Each has its own unique purpose and can be used to enhance your social media strategy.
Hashtags
Hashtags are keywords preceded by a pound sign (#). They help categorize content and make it discoverable through search functions. For example, #cybersecurity, #socialmedia, and #digitalmarketing are common hashtags.
Mentions
Mentions are used to directly reference another user's profile or account. They're denoted by an @ symbol followed by the username. For instance, @Microsoft or @IBM would be mentions.
Location Tags
Location tags are used to specify the physical location associated with a piece of content. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook often have built-in location tagging features.
Benefits of Strategic Account Tagging
Strategic tagging offers a multitude of benefits for businesses looking to increase their social media presence. Here are some key advantages:
Increased visibility: By using relevant hashtags and mentions, you can significantly expand your content's reach. When users search for specific terms or follow accounts, your tagged content becomes more discoverable.
Engagement: Tags can encourage more interactions with your content. When people click on a relevant hashtag or mention, they're likely interested in the topic or account. This can lead to increased likes, comments, and shares.
Brand awareness: Strategic tagging can help build your brand's reputation and recognition. When you consistently use relevant tags, your brand becomes associated with those topics and keywords. This can attract new followers and customers who are interested in your industry or niche.
Community building: Tagging can facilitate connections and community building. By engaging with other accounts and using relevant hashtags, you can join conversations, network with like-minded individuals, and foster relationships with your target audience.
How To Optimize Tagging To Improve Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Optimizing tags should be part of every business's social media marketing strategy. However, it's often an afterthought because the focus always seems to be on the content that is shared (don't get us wrong, that's super important too!). But with tagging being vital to getting your content noticed by a newer and larger audience, it needs to be a main focus too. So how can you optimize this strategy? Let's find out.
1. Identify Relevant Accounts
Influencers: Mention industry influencers who align with your brand's values and target audience.
Partnerships: Mention collaborating brands or organizations to cross-promote content.
Competitors: Mention competitors (respectfully) to spark friendly competition and attract their audience.
Industry Hashtags: Use popular industry hashtags to reach a wider audience interested in your niche.
Location Tags: Tag your location to attract local followers and customers.
2. Tag Strategically
Relevance: Ensure hashtags are directly related to your content to avoid spammy appearances. No one wants to be searching for content about Chicago restaurants and find a post on discounted purses. (I know, it's a random example but people really do just spray hashtags to pull in more viewers) Remember, you don't just want more views and clicks, you want them from people who could become your customers, people actually interested in your service or product!
Timing: Mention accounts at optimal times when they are most active. This can take a little observing but look at when they are posting on social media or responding to comments. Whenever they are most active is the best time to mention an account!
Frequency: Avoid over-mentioning and hashtagging, as it can be perceived as spammy. When it comes to hashtags, there are a lot of theories out there on how many to use. According to Hootsuite, the optimal number of hashtags per platform is:
3-5 on Instagram
2-3 on Facebook
1-5 on LinkedIn
3-5 on TikTok
*But keep in mind that algorithms change and these are only a bust guess guideline.
Variety: Mix up your mentions and hashtags to target different audiences and avoid becoming too reliant on a few accounts or targeted keywords/hashtags.
3. Utilize Tagging Features
Story Tags: Mention friends or businesses in your Instagram Stories for added visibility. But remember, stories only last 24 hours so tagging at the right time so they can see it is important!
Location Tags: Tag your location on platforms like Instagram to reach local followers.
Product Tags: Tag products in your posts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to make them shoppable.
4. Track and Analyze
Engagement Metrics: Monitor likes, comments, shares, and clicks to gauge the effectiveness of your tagging strategy. Remember there are a lot of variables here (content type, day/time posted, topic covered, etc) so you'll need to review many posts to find trends of what tags/mentions/locations are working best for your business.
Audience Growth: Track your follower growth and engagement rates to see if tagging is driving results. Remember it all goes back to your social media marketing goals. If your goal is to sell more, ensuring your new followers are in your target audience is more important than people outside of your market.
Adjustments: Based on your analysis, adjust your tagging strategy to optimize performance. Don't be afraid to experiment! Marketing is all about educated guesses, trial, and error.
What Not To Do
Don't be THAT person. The one who tags EVERYONE ALL.THE.TIME. (especially on Facebook groups and pages, we can't even begin to tell you how annoying that is) or who uses a million hashtags in their caption and comments. Here's what not to do so you don't become that person:
Over-Tagging: Mentioning too many accounts in a single post can be overwhelming and spammy. Focus on relevant and meaningful tags.
Irrelevant Tags: Avoid mentioning accounts that have no connection to your content. This can annoy users and damage your reputation.
Tagging Too Often: Mentioning the same accounts repeatedly can be seen as spammy and annoying. Vary your tags to keep things fresh.
Forgetting to Tag Relevant Accounts: If there are specific accounts that would benefit from your post, make sure to tag them.
Using Irrelevant Hashtags: Hashtags should be relevant to your content. Using irrelevant hashtags can confuse users and reduce your reach.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to understanding tagging and how to make it work for you, one of the best ways to learn is by observing other accounts. They could be within your industry, influencers, or brands you want to emulate. Yes, we are giving you permission to spend even more time on social meda. But make it purposeful. Take notes on what you are observing, and then, along with what you've learned here, start working on improving your social media.
If you're looking for a social media strategy agency to do this for you, look no further! Emerald Strategic Marketing can handle the ins and outs of your business's social media or provide consulting to help amplify your brand voice. Reach out to us today!
