I doubt you would find a brand post on social media without any hashtags accompanying it. Since its discovery, hashtags have been a huge part of social media evolution.
Marketers have constantly been using social media hashtags to boost brand visibility. But lately, a lot of marketers feel that hashtags are obsolete and refrain from using them.
It begs the question.
Are hashtags still relevant in 2024?
Yes, social media hashtags are still relevant to spike up engagement with your audience as they help your brand stand out from the clutter on social media.
According to the latest statistics:
- Tweets with hashtags can increase engagement up to 1.5x for brands.
- One trending Instagram hashtag can increase engagement by 12.6%.
Hashtags are the ticket for brands trying to get in the line for viral content.
See, viral content is nothing but content that reaches audiences at the right time and touches the right nerve.
And luckily, trending hashtags do something similar. They increase post visibility and help you attract more eyes, far beyond your normal reach.
But are you using the right hashtags?
Despite its vast popularity, marketers are still confused about the use of hashtags. What should go here? Is this hashtag trending? Wait, I hope this one is not banned on Instagram? I will just use #love, #throwbackthursday; heck, it’s one of the most popular hashtags but will that work?
The negative impacts of hashtags marketing.
However, using spammy or off-brand hashtags can really annoy your audience and will lead to losing credibility, social proof, and down the line your hard-earned followers.
Hence, it becomes imperative to know how to properly incorporate the best hashtags in your social media updates the right way.
We have compiled an infographic guide for a quick rundown on what hashtags to use and how to incorporate them successfully.
But wait, there is something more exciting!
The ultimate “365 Days of Hashtags for 2023 + Free Design Templates” Kit is available for FREE now.
The kit contains:
- Hashtag Calendar – A social media calendar filled with trending hashtags and content ideas for each day of 2024. No frantic last minute searches for good hashtags to use.
- eBook Guide – An ultimate hashtags guide to effectively incorporate hashtags into your social media calendar with tips, strategies & real brand examples.
- Social Media Design Templates – Ready-made social media post design templates to create memes, polls, Q & A, and much more.
Embed Our Infographic:
How to plan your 2024 holiday calendar with trending hashtags?
The Internet doesn’t need a reason to get in the party mood. You will see netizens celebrating and vibing over eccentric trends and days, such as #internationalpizzaday, #internationalcatday, and #nationalLookAlikeDay, etc.
And how do they connect to celebrate these events and holidays? Of course, using the hashtags!
That opens up the party doors for marketers looking to create brand awareness and engagement with communities. Your brand can leverage relevant holiday hashtags to turn them into a branding opportunity.
Holidays and important dates are also a great way to share company values, talk about important issues, general awareness, and show an empathetic side to your audience in a non-intrusive way.
Note: Emphasis is on the word “relevant”. Do not jump upon a #hashtag that is trending but has nothing to do with your brand.
But to keep track of all the micro and major holidays and come up with great content for each of them, you need to have a well-documented strategy in the form of a holiday calendar.
Creating a 2024 social media holiday calendar will help you:
- Pre-plan your holiday marketing strategy
- Brainstorm for better ideas
- Maintain transparency across departments
- Clear visibility for clients
So gear up as we chalk out a step-by-step process to create a valuable social media Holiday Calendar 2024 that will help drive results.
Step 1: Focus on your objective & audience
Surely not every holiday will be a relevant one for your brand. So how do you decide which holiday to choose and which one to write off your 2024 holiday calendar?
It depends on two things.
Your objective: What are your campaign plans? Is it to spark a conversation with your audience? Do you have some values to show? On major holidays, you will have a discount campaign planned, but for micro-holidays, come up with an exact reason to use the hashtags.
Your audience: Undoubtedly, your target audience is the most crucial factor of your marketing plan. So eyeing trends and holidays that your target audience and prospects are talking about are a big yes.
Step 2: Decide on your holidays and trending hashtags
Once you get a clear idea of your audience and objective, get down to the main task – selecting the holidays.
Luckily, we have made the constant hunt for trending hashtags and everyday holidays a one-time show. Use our calendar full of micro and major holidays with trending hashtags that can help you get 3X reach.
Step 3: Create fresh and interactive content
Now that you have zeroed down on the best trending hashtags and your marketing goals, it’s time to create content that resonates with the holiday and your audience.
But churning out a few 100 words and hitting publish won’t get you much engagement. You need to create content that resonates with your followers, indulges them in conversation, and makes them feel like a part of a community.
You need to create interactive content.
It’s a pretty challenging task to come up with creative ideas for every micro-holiday without the presence of a holiday calendar. Having a calendar will give you enough time to brainstorm on multiple content types across platforms.
Our trending hashtags calendar goes an extra mile to provide you with unique content ideas for every day. If you want real time content ideas specifically for the content you are posting, SocialPilot’s AI Assistant is the tool for you.
It can add more value to your content ideation and creation process, while also suggesting a set of relevant hashtags related to the content you want to post. You can even generate content with hashtags and save it to the content library for future use.
Step 4: Build up for important holidays in advance
No doubt, your holiday calendar will have some dates and holidays that will be of utmost importance and relevance to your company.
So make sure you start building up the anticipation for those significant holidays, social issues, or awareness day before the final day arrives. It will showcase your priorities straight and open up talking points for the audience to interact with you better.
Conclusion
Holiday hashtags are an excellent opportunity for businesses to gain traction, create awareness, and engage with the end-users.
The right hashtag strategy will put you in the spotlight at the right time; it’s up to you to create content that is authentic, relevant, and true to your values.
With the right social media holiday calendar in place, you will never miss out on leveraging important holidays and discovering new events to foster better connections with your followers.
