The LinkedIn algorithm keeps us on our toes, but hashtags have consistently played a crucial role in enhancing LinkedIn visibility.
Our digital team have always stressed the golden rules: use capital letters to help with accessibility, don’t use more than 5 hashtags because you’ll be penalised by the algorithm for being ‘spam’, and keep the hashtags you use relevant to your intended audience.
But, with hashtags slowly being phased out this year in favour of new SEO-based features, what now?
We’ve chosen to phase them out across our social accounts, and we recommend the following strategies:
- Key words
It’s no longer about hopping on popular hashtag trends, it’s about being intentional with key words that align with your audience’s interests, requirements and search habits.
LinkedIn is shifting focus to key word usage across your profile, content, and posts. You can optimise your content for search by using industry-specific keywords in your firm’s and profile’s headline, about section, and throughout your posts to increase your discoverability.
- Like, comment, share, tag
There is nothing that the LinkedIn algorithm loves more than engagements. Engage with your company posts and others – comments, likes, and shares will always improve your reach, so encourage this amongst your team and do it yourself too. Sharing an employee milestone? Tag them! For personal accounts, encourage your network to share their thoughts by posting thought leadership pieces on your area of expertise.
- Keep it engaging
To encourage those engagements to keep coming in, ensure that you consistently post quality content that resonates. Speak to your audience’s pain points and capture their attention with storytelling and visually appealing graphics or videos. Most importantly, connect on a personal level by sharing photos of yourself and your team from events, conferences, or other activities.
What does this mean for my other social platforms?
As far as we know, hashtags still serve a purpose on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X, and even Pinterest, but some of our golden rules still apply – don’t use too many and keep them relevant!
LinkedIn hashtags may be dead, but that doesn’t mean your content has to suffer.
For any questions, reach out to our digital team by emailing [email protected]
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