Information in this blog post was obtained from the HubSpot Blog, Neil Patel's Digital Marketing Blog, and Sprout Social.
Imagine coming up with and executing the “perfect” TikTok, only to have it not go viral because of an algorithm. What if I told you the key to unlocking your video’s potential lies in a simple symbol: the hashtag? As of 2024, TikTok has seen explosive growth and popularity, with 1.04 billion monthly active users, according to Statista. On this constantly growing platform, visibility and engagement is extremely important. TikTok caters to a wide range of interests, whether you're posting or searching for entertainment, education or promotion, there's truly something for everyone. There are creators on TikTok, and there are viewers. Whether you are one or the other or both, you are affected by hashtags.
The Role of Hashtags in TikTok SEO
The role of hashtags in TikTok SEO is critical. TikTok is a search engine for trending, conversational content (Neil Patel). Using keywords that your target audience is actively using for content is a big factor in whether or not you reach them. There are many additional implementation opportunities for keywords, including in the actual audio, any text overlays, the audio transcription, the video caption, and as part of your hashtags (Neil Patel). If you want to categorize your content, you need to use hashtags. Using specific and relatable hashtags will guide TikTok’s algorithm to get your videos to the right audience. When using these specific hashtags, you do not want to use too many; you want the right quality of the hashtags, not quantity. Using well-chosen hashtags is more effective (Neil Patel).
Broad vs. Niche Hashtags
Any word, phrase, or saying of your name can be a hashtag. You may be asking yourself, “Where do I start?” First, you have to determine a few broad and niche hashtags that you want to incorporate in your caption. The recommended amount of hashtags to use per post is 3-5 (Sprout Social). Broad hashtags are ones like #fyp, #trending, etc. These are the ones that MANY tiktokers are using and posting with. For more information about Top TikTok Hashtags, go read my colleague Savannah's post about them here. Using the top increases reach to an audience, but since many other users are using them, it isn’t reaching a very specific audience. This is where niche hashtags come into play. A niche is a specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service. Your niche could be fashion, fitness, dancing, a couple of goals - you name it. Picking a niche and using specified hashtags for that niche will result in fewer searches but help you gain more engaged users (HubSpot). Using niche hashtags guides you to the right audience and reduces competition (Neil Patel). Mixing both broad and niche hashtags can optimize visibility on TikTok (Sprout Social). For example, I like to post athlete TikTok on my personal page, so incorporating broad hashtags would be #athlete and #volleyball, and a niche hashtag would be #studentathlete or #collegevolleyball. It’s very important to determine niche and broad hashtags so you reach a broader audience and a more specific audience that will be more engaged and relate to your content.
Timing and Posting Strategies
Have you ever been “early” on an influencer's TikTok that you know will eventually be in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of likes and views? Along with the use of the right hashtags, it is also important to post at the most optimal times. Posting at optimal times on TikTok means that those are the times that users are more active and will be the most rewarding for engagement for the video. According to HubSpot, the best times to post on TikTok are anytime between 12 and 9 p.m., but in order for higher performance is 6-9 p.m., 3-6 p.m., and 12-3 p.m. Fridays are the best days in the week, to post for higher engagement. Posting at optimal times on TikTok is ideal, especially when using the correct hashtags. Using trending hashtags and using them at optimal times plays a large role in whether or not your TikTok gets high engagement (Sprout Social).
Building Community and Engagement
Has one of your favorite brands, a famous influencer, or even a micro-influencer responded to your comment or personal message before? Recognition from one of your favorite accounts is definitely something that resonates with a follower. The importance of responding to comments and engaging with followers is critical (HubSpot). I recently had an experience where I posted a TikTok about how much money my volleyball team spent at Scheels, linked here. The video went semi-viral and received 46.3K views and 1817 likes. I tagged Scheels and, unfortunately, didn't use hashtags; or else the video probably would have gotten more views. Scheels saw the video, commented that they loved it, and asked me to message them personally about sending me a gift. As a consumer, this made me want to follow and interact with their page, and it encouraged me to shop there again. Scheels’ engagement showed that they appreciate their consumers, which fosters a sense of community. If they encouraged the use of a brand-specific hashtag, it would further cultivate that community, allowing fans to connect and share their experiences, as highlighted by Sprout Social. Now, I feel a part of the Scheels community, and that connection goes a long way.
Tools and Resources for Hashtag Optimization
There are a few tools and resources that can help you optimize your hashtags. Sprout Social provides related hashtags with their Suggested Hashtags feature in the Compose box as you create posts. Compose automatically suggests semantically related hashtags and their number of TikTok views as you begin adding hashtags to your post (Sprout Social). Hootsuite is another hashtag generator that is powered by ChatGPT and has three steps. You describe your video or photo, add keywords, and then paste your hashtags! TikTok Hashtags is another generator that you can use to enter a general hashtag, and then it will give you the best-related ones to help increase engagement.
Conclusion
After reading this article, I hope it encourages you to experiment with your hashtag use and using what you learned to enhance your TikTok presence. Having a strategic way to use hashtags and keywords in your posts is essential if you are looking to enhance your reach and engagement. Users can effectively navigate the algorithm to maximize their content’s potential by understanding the role of hashtags in TikTok SEO, the balance between broad and niche hashtags, optimal posting times, and the importance of community interaction. Whether you’re a micro-influencer or a macro-influencer, embracing the importance of hashtags is a crucial step toward achieving your goals on TikTok.
Resources
Ceci, Laura. “TikTok Users Worldwide 2026.” Statista, 6 Apr. 2023, www.statista.com/forecasts/1142687/tiktok-users-worldwide
Cook, Savannah. “Mastering TikTok Hashtags: A Comprehensive Guide for Social Media Success.” The SMMU, The SMMU, 6 May 2024, www.thesmmu.com/post/mastering-tiktok-hashtags-a-comprehensive-guide-for-social-media-success
Patel, Neil. “TikTok SEO: Expand Your Brand’s Reach on TikTok.” Neilpatel.com, 12 June 2024, neilpatel.com/blog/tiktok-seo/
Rodrigue, Erin. “10 Best TikTok Tricks to Go Viral in 2022 [+ Examples].” Blog.hubspot.com, 31 July 2023, blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tiktok-tricks
Zote, Jacqueline. “TikTok Hashtags: How to Use Them to Grow Your Reach.” Sprout Social, 3 Mar. 2022, sproutsocial.com/insights/tiktok-hashtags/
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