The hashtag: it’s a term that it seems like everyone has heard, across nearly any age group or demographic. Hashtags have risen to prominence over the last few years, to the point that you see them splashed across the bottom of the screen during awards shows and major sporting events. But how can the hashtag best be used by your digital marketing agency to get you some followers and sales, Los Angeles companies?

What is a Hashtag, Anyway?

For the uninformed, a hashtag is a way to search for or label a social media topic. If the Olympics are going on, then a hashtag like #summerolympics might be the way that you find social media conversation about it.

Where hashtags start to become useful to Los Angeles companies is when your digital marketing agency can start coming up with some brand-specific ones. A hashtag that is the name of a campaign that you’re running has the potential to make that campaign explode in popularity. That is the real importance of hashtags: if one goes viral, the sudden attention that it can bring to your brand can make you an overnight sensation.

So, now that you know what a hashtag is, how can your digital marketing agency figure out a few that are likely to get you the sort of massive engagement numbers that you want?

Hashtags.org

There are some different tools that your agency can use that should be able to help you out in this regard. One of them is Hashtags.org. This service was launched in 2007, and you have to pay to use it, but it might be worth your while. Through it, you can see what’s been trending over the past 24-hour period, and you can also monitor hashtag usage over time.

This is a useful way for you to be able to see what is going in and out of style, and you can predict what sort of hashtags might get the most engagement based on what time of the year it is and other factors. Data-driven research should be able to help your Los Angeles digital marketing agency figure out what kinds of hashtags are the most likely to succeed with your niche.

WhatTheTrend

WhatTheTrend is another hashtag research tool that your agency can use. If you’re interested in global trends on Twitter as well as national and local ones, this is going to be your best resource. It’s now owned by Hootsuite, which has streamlined the service and added some new analytics features that your agency should find useful. It’s another way to figure out what kinds of hashtags are likely to be successful as you get ready to launch a major advertising initiative.

Hashtags are a way for you to get people to talk about things in Los Angeles, and if you want to use social media to promote one of your services or products, they’re going to have to be part of your strategy. Come up with some catchy or memorable ones and you’ll see how beneficial they can truly be.