11 min readThe Complete Guide to Using LinkedIn Hashtags(Updated)

In 2018, Linkedin introduced hashtags on the platform which aim to categorize content based on the theme of the post. Ever since, hashtags have been a core element of Linkedin.

Hashtags simply are the easiest way to categorize and tag content or enter into any specific discussions. Further it makes finding relevant content easier for the audience.

LinkedIn is the only social network for professionals, which means that its content is typically more professional and less personal in nature than other networks. That being said, it’s still important for you to find ways to stand out from the crowd and draw the attention of the target audience. This particular article aims to provide a list of best practices for using hashtags on LinkedIn.

Learn about Linkedin hashtags strategy, how to find and use hashtags on LinkedIn in this blog article!

Let’s dive in!

What are Linkedin hashtags?

Linkedin hashtags are a great way to automatically arrange and categorize posts and thus making it easier for the audience to find. Hashtags can be used to describe your industry, your company, or your product. It is also a great way to promote events or campaigns. To use hashtags on Linkedin, simply include the hashtag in the content you plan to post. 

Although, not every hashtag can help you stand-out on the platform. It is thus very important for one to use the right hashtags so that it can possibly draw more attention and engagement. To make the most out of hashtags relevant to your industry or niche, it is important that you do some deep research.

For instance, if you are writing a post all about social media and social media marketing, you could use hashtags #socialmedia, #socialmediamarketing at the bottom or middle of your post. When a user does search for #socialmedia or #socialmediamarketing, your post would be shown in other user’s feeds according to the Linkedin’s algorithm.

Why should you use Linkedin Hashtags?

If used correctly, hashtags may give a campaign on LinkedIn a lot of attention and assist brands in connecting with their target market by employing pertinent hashtags that they are aware their target market is already using. 

There are two principle cases to use hashtags on LinkedIn reach and applicability. If you want to improve the visibility of your posts and engagement on Linkedin, you must leverage the use of Linkedin hashtags.

When you share a post on LinkedIn, the algorithm shows it to users who it thinks are interested in it and will most likely engage with it. Your followers, especially if they’re people who have been intrigued with your preceding content, will see your terminal post come out on their timelines.

Adding a hashtag to a post also means that your post will come out on that hashtag’s runner. This is another way for your content to reach the right followership verily if they aren’t part of your LinkedIn network or haven’t opted to have the post flaunted to them in their own feed.

How to use hashtags on Linkedin?

If you’re using LinkedIn for business, then you know the importance of using hashtags to reach your target audience. But what are the best practices for using hashtags on LinkedIn?

1. Hashtags on update post

You can add hashtag in your update post followed by three ways :

1. Typing the pound sign succeeded by the word or expression. As you categorize your hashtag, Linkedin will show you auto-generated hashtag suggestions predicated on what’s trending and popular.

2. Clicking on the “ Add Hashtag ” button located on the bottom-most left wing of the box. Tag one of the affiliated hashtags next to the “ Add Hashtag ” button.

3. Use hashtags without adding spaces or symbols, as they will no longer be clickable.

2. Hashtags on Article post

From the homepage, click on write an article under the status update field. You can add hashtags in the body and at the end of your article. When you’ve completed your article writing and click on publish. A pop-up will appear on your window where you can write a short intro about your article. However, to increase its SEO authority you can also add hashtags. 

3. Hashtags on Business page

You can consociate with relative hashtags on your business page on LinkedIn. This will put you right in the center of conversations surrounding those hashtags and allow you to connect with target audiences. Here are the way to add them:

1. Go to your Linkedin business page and click on “Edit page”

2. A smaller page will appear, click on “Hashtags” on the bottom right.

3. Click on “Add a hashtag” and Add up to 3 hashtag topics that matter to your page.

Now you are completely ready.

Best Practices using Linkedin Hashtags

1.  Hashtags are not a substitute for post description –  Letting your hashtags just wander anywhere in our post is not desirable. You could attempt adding some description to any post you publish that includes images or videos rather than just leaving it with hashtags. Post description need not be a paragraph, just write a line with a clear message or caption followed by a call-to-action and hashtags.

2. Ignore over hashtagging – Over hashtagging may make your post look spammy, moreover, it doesn’t really make any sense.Instead try limiting each post to a maximum of five hashtags. By using too many hashtags, you are making it quite obvious for Linkedin Algorithm to mark your post as spam. Competing with hashtags won’t get you anywhere, hashtags will only work in favor of you when you facilitate the goal of your post.

3. Use suggested hashtags by Linkedin – While you are done writing a caption, more often Linkedin itself auto-generates hashtag suggestions based on what’s trending and popular at the bottom of your writeup. These related hashtags can be used if they seem like a good fit to your post. Just make sure you are not adding them just for the sake of it.

4. No punctuations within Hashtags– Like any other social media Platform, Linkedin hashtags can only include letters, numbers and emoticons. Including symbols or spaces within the tag will break the link. For instance, no apostrophes, commas, exclamation points, or hyphens.

Besides,

• DON’T add spaces. Multiple word hashtags should be lined up together. For example : #ThrowMeBack not #Throw Me Back

• DO capitalize multi-word hashtags. If your hashtag phrase is multi-words, write it as: #DigitalMarketing.

• DO check your spelling. Hashtags can often be missed in proofreads, but a misspelled hashtag is a missed connection.

5. Double check to ensure that your posts are public– Mostly for the business profiles on Linkedin, both the profile and posts most likely already are public. So, to further ensure that the whole purpose of using a hashtag doesn’t stand defeated, double check your profile and  make it public.

Follow these steps: Go to public profile settings to Make your public profile visible to everyone. Enabling these makes your hashtag scrollable by all of LinkedIn’s 562 million members—and not just your personal LinkedIn network. For the individual posts, click Post Settings and select Public. 

6. Following trending hashtags regularly lets you discover more ideas– Make it a habit to follow hashtags relevant to your business requirements. Accompanying that, the followed hashtags will start to show up in your Linkedin feed posts. Linkedin also gives you the leverage to check how others are using those hashtags in their favor. See how fresh hashtags are being used by members and how you can make it work for you! Pick and Learn!

7. Mix and match relevant hashtags– Consider the specifications and fancy trends, analyze them, and try to mix and match the appropriate relevant hashtags accordingly. Don’t hesitate to explor!

8. Create your own campaign hashtag– Take initiative to create a customized hashtag that corresponds to your brand’s campaign. The ideal hashtags for brand campaigns are often three to four words. For instance, #PutACanOnIt #ShareACoke or #HereToCreate. Avoid using too many words that frequently require punctuation. Just be creative, and keep it short and simple.

9. Ensure your hashtag is crisp and lucid– It is extremely important to use Hashtag on LinkedIn cautiously. Make sure your hashtag conveys the meaning you wish to propose. For example, Blackberry’s use of “#RIMjobs” to announce Research in Motion job opportunities definitely led to a few awkward job interviews.

10. Write down your Linkedin hashtags for future reference– Keep track of any campaign hashtags or relevant hashtags, write them down in a note app, Google Doc, or spreadsheet, and arrange them by classifying their popularity and engagement. It’s a good idea to keep track of your LinkedIn hashtags in the note app, a Google Doc, or a spreadsheet. For example, #InternationalYouthDay or #WorldWaterDay. This will help you save your time in the long run.

SocialPilot : Monitor your Linkedin Hashtags in a smart way

Now that you’ve started using hashtags on Linkedin, you’d probably want to see their popularity and the posts captivating the most engagement, right? 

This is where you need a customized social media analytics tool, such as SocialPilot.

Socialpilot is one of the most advanced Linkedin monitoring tools designed to track hashtags over time on social media platforms. Knowing what your audience is most interested in and how the hashtags are performing, allows you to build a successful Linkedin marketing strategy including leveraging the LinkedIn platform for promotion and marketing or to acquire more leads.

More than that, hashtag monitoring on Linkedin can help you discover new audiences, identify the top influencers in your field, or even research new content ideas. Using this tool, 

• Monitor the maximum reach of your post and on which day they turn out to be best.
• Measure your engagement trends and find out likes and comments on your company posts and analyze engagement received in a certain time frame.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that Linkedin hashtags can play a significant role in the promotion of a business and its success. Therefore, using trending & following Linkedin hashtags can drastically make it easier for the audience to discover your content and also help you connect with other users who contribute with common interests. Along with using hashtags, also rely on Linkedin’s recommendations and your hashtag analytics to ensure your content reaches the right audience. 

Manage your brand’s LinkedIn presence in a smart way—use Socialpilot to schedule updates, target posts, engage with followers, and measure the impact of your efforts. And get specific engagement reports with detailed breakdowns of Follower Count, Reach and Impressions of your posts, and Engagement trends. Try its free trial today.

FAQ

1. Do hashtags really work on Linkedin?

Yes, hashtags do work on LinkedIn. You can add them to your status update, your published article, or your business runner to reach an audience beyond your network. Additionally, you can look through hashtag feeds to discover what conversations are ongoing around specific topics.

2. Where could I find Trending hashtags on Linkedin?

To access the trending hashtags page, follow these steps:

1. Click on the “Discover More” button.

• On the mobile app, click on your profile picture on the top left corner of the page
• On the desktop, you’ll get at the bottom of the left sidebar.

2. On the page, you’ll see trending pages, recommend connections and pages, and hashtags towards the bottom of the page.

As a marketer, Linkedin recommends many marketing-related hashtags, such as #digitalmarketing, #contentwriting, #SEO. However, this list would be different from one user to the next.

3. How to find the best performing post on Linkedin?

Identify your most engaging posts & write down your LinkedIn hashtags for future use using Socialpilot. SocialPilot helps to find the best performing posts on LinkedIn. You can visualize what type of content your followers respond to and the best time & day to post your content to get more engagement. Also, enables you to plan your next content strategy on LinkedIn accordingly.

4. What are the most popular Linkedin hashtags?

#JobSearch, #Networking, #Marketing, #Innovation, #Motivation #Entrepreneurship, #DigitalMarketing, #LinkedIn, #Finance, #WomenInBusiness, #Education, #Business, #Leadership, #Career, #Technology, #Sales, #Management, #Startups, #HumanResources, #ProfessionalDevelopment,etc.

It’s always a good idea to explore the LinkedIn platform and its current trends to find the most relevant hashtags for your specific interests or industry.

5.How many hashtags should we use on Linkedin?

However, there is no limit while using hashtags on Linkedin but it is recommended to use no more than 3 to 4 hashtags related to your post content.