Using TikTok in your social media strategy: the example of hashtags

As you know if you follow us, at So Bang, we design marketing campaigns for brands across all social media platforms, especially TikTok. Our latest project, launched by our influencer agency, is the “TikTok Klub.” On this unique platform, 200 top TikTok influencers from ten countries connect with other members, sharing tips and tricks they use to engage their communities. Among these tips, we'd like to highlight one of the most essential techniques in social media strategy and influence: the hashtag.

Hashtags, as essential as good SEO

Just as SEO is essential for a website, hashtags are a crucial strategic tool on social media, regardless of the platform (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Like SEO, hashtags allow brands to gain more visibility (earned media), but they also help users find what they're looking for more easily. Like traditional tags or categories on a website, hashtags make it possible to find content on a specific topic or subject.

But the power of hashtags goes far beyond their ability to categorize content. By tagging a post in a certain way, you give it real influence and therefore, real marketing value.

More specifically, if they are well-targeted, hashtags can help your content reach the right people. Thus, their use, particularly on TikTok (with over 800 million active users), will allow you to achieve various objectives.

Amplify the reach of your content.
By highlighting areas of interest rather than a specific community, hashtags help you extend your audience far beyond your followers. If your hashtags correspond to topics that interest them, users who don't yet know you will certainly want to read your content and perhaps even like it.

Top influencers know this well: on a platform like TikTok, where content virality is based on the number of likes rather than followers, hashtags reveal their potential even more clearly.

Identify your competitors
. If you regularly use the most popular hashtags in your field, you can also follow some of them to identify your competitors.

Using hashtags to research competitors is particularly valuable because it can help you find people you didn't already know. Furthermore, it's an excellent way to find inspiration for your future content.

Gain more followers.
As we mentioned, hashtags help you extend the reach of your content beyond your existing followers. They allow you to reach a more relevant audience because the people who follow them are potentially interested in your content.

This presents a unique opportunity to grow your fan base by encouraging users to follow you. Never forget that the quality of your posts is what will keep them engaged and, in turn, create a virtuous cycle of acquiring new followers within your community.

Creating Engagement:
A classic TikTok technique, the hashtag challenge encourages users to create content (usually a video) by adding a strategic hashtag (for example, a hashtag containing a brand or product).

In addition to boosting brand visibility, this method is very effective for engaging users in a fun and unconventional way, ultimately fostering loyalty.

Search for and define relevant hashtags

Analyze industry content to find relevant hashtags.
The easiest but most time-consuming way to find hashtags is to scroll through the app and browse the content. Of course, you should search for content based on relevant topics and interests.

While this tactic isn't the most practical, don't hesitate to occasionally analyze the hashtags that appear, as you might find some that are less popular but highly relevant to your niche.

Benchmark your competitors.
Another way to find TikTok hashtags is to simply follow your competitors and see what they're doing. Chances are they're using hashtags relevant to your content, so it's important to always keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. Benchmarking is key…

Use hashtag research tools.
There are several free hashtag research tools available online that can help you find hashtags in seconds.

While there are many tools for the most popular platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, there aren't as many for TikTok. However, there are options available, such as TikTokHashtags.com, that can help you find relevant hashtags specifically for TikTok. All you have to do is enter a topic, industry name, or any keyword, and it will generate a list of related hashtags. It's a simple and effective tool.

Create your own branded hashtags.
Using popular hashtags in a particular industry is important for increasing your visibility, but creating your own hashtag can take them to the next level. This can help you stand out and give you the opportunity to find user-generated content.

First, you can create a hashtag for a marketing campaign and use it across all the content created for that campaign. This will allow you to track all the content related to the campaign, as well as its performance, simply from the hashtag page.

Second, you can also create a hashtag for the launch of a product or service and generate buzz around it even before it's launched. The idea here is to pique the curiosity of your online audience by offering a kind of "teaser" before its release. For example: create a series of content (photos, videos, etc.) that you publish over a defined period (e.g., one month) with a countdown timer to build anticipation and excitement.

4 tips for creating relevant hashtags

• Rather than creating multiple hashtags for a single campaign, focus on one main keyword. Internet users don't always copy all hashtags, but they'll more easily remember a recurring word or term that's central to all your content.
• The hashtags you create must be explicit, meaning they must help internet users understand precisely what the content you are offering them is about.
• Create hashtags with simple spellings that are easy to remember and type without needing to copy and paste. The easier a hashtag is to use, the more your audience and prospects will use it.
• Create a new hashtag for different content series or marketing campaigns to more easily organize and track the performance of your content.

Conclusion

Hashtags are powerful tools that can help a brand or business establish a strong presence on social media. As important on TikTok as on other social platforms, neglecting their use in your social media strategy risks preventing you from reaching your target audience and objectives, and consequently, leading your marketing campaign to failure—a word we hate at So Bang. So, to effectively use hashtags in your future digital campaigns, take advantage of the expertise of our influencer agency #sobang and our network of influencers by contacting us directly or through the TikTok Club.