​Hashtags are one of the most commonly queried elements of social media marketing, particularly amid people just starting out. And that makes sense - hashtags tin be disruptive as they're not words inside a sentence, necessarily, but topic matches that aid improve discoverability. Some people think tagging every word will help, because it'll mean your content will show up in more conversations, but that's a flawed theory. In order to maximize the operation of hashtags, you demand to bear research in order to develop an understanding of which tags are most relevant to your business, and which are most likely to connect with people looking for discussion related to your focus topics.

And that's just the beginning of your hashtag agreement.

Another cardinal element you demand to consider is how hashtags are used on dissimilar platforms. There's a heap of articles about this, looking at how hashtags are used, and how you should apply them on each platform. And 1 of the most common questions that comes upward relates to their utilize on Facebook, specifically.

The confusion around hashtags on Facebook is that hashtags are active on the platform - unlike LinkedIn, where they're simply not clickable (which largely negates their functionality), Facebook has tried to make hashtags a part of their search and discovery process.

So should y'all use hashtags on your Facebook posts? Volition they assistance you get more than reach?

Hither'southward what we know.

Hashtag Development

Facebook introduced hashtags back in 2013, following their rise use and application on other platforms, most notably on Twitter.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayAt the fourth dimension, Facebook was very keen to push their use on the platform, even prompting Facebook advertisers, specifically, to include them.

"If you're already using hashtags in an advertising entrada through other channels, you tin can dilate these campaigns by including your hashtags in Facebook advertising. The same creative all-time practices on Facebook all the same apply - compelling copy and photography that is in the brand phonation works best."

This was also around the same time that Facebook was looking to ramp up their on-platform search and discovery efforts through the introduction of Graph Search, an advanced search engine which aimed to change the mode people used the platform by providing the option to apply semantic, or conversational, type queries.

And Graph Search was great - information technology was hugely beneficial for marketers as it enabled far more complex searches.

Simply you lot'll note I said 'was'.

Graph Search had various problems, most notably in terms of privacy. Yous run across, through Graph Search you could detect out a heap of information, a lot of which users weren't especially smashing on making public. People, of form, have, and e'er have had, the chapters to control what's made available via search, but the complexity of Facebook'southward various privacy settings meant many weren't as covered as they would like, and thus, the implementation of Graph Search lead to a lot of complaints.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media Today

Tom Scott compiled a heap of questionable Graph Search queries which were subsequently reported on by various major outlets, sparking concerns virtually the so new choice

On top of this, Graph Search queries didn't always work, something Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted a year after launch. These issues delayed the rollout of the option on mobile, and the combination of these factors subsequently de-railed the Graph Search project and saw information technology de-emphasized by Facebook. Late terminal year, Facebook introduced their alternative, an improved mobile search functionality which focuses more on auto-suggest matches than personal queries. You can still utilize some Graph Search queries, merely because of the more private nature of Facebook's network, the option never really fit.

The evolution of Facebook search is particularly relevant when examining how hashtags role on the network. When Facebook introduced hashtags, they were looking to open upward the platform, to make everything more searchable and connect everyone based on all the data Facebook has on each person. But users didn't necessarily want that. While Twitter is, in the majority, an open network, where everything you tweet is added into the wider, global conversation, Facebook's more private, more than aimed at hosting discussions among your immediate connections and networks.

And that'south a crucial consideration when looking at hashtag effectiveness on the network.

Hashtags in Do

One of the well-nigh comprehensive posts on hashtag use and recommendations is this i by Buffer's blogger extraordinaire Kevan Lee. Lee breaks downward all the key, data-backed recommendations for hashtag use beyond all the major networks, including Facebook.

So what does the information conclude virtually hashtag use on The Social Network?

"Facebook posts without a hashtag fare meliorate than those with a hashtag."

And while Lee does recommend that people should test for themselves, rather than going on the research alone, that finding has been supported past various subsequent studies.

A 2016 study from BuzzSumo, which analyzed more than a billion Facebook posts from over thirty meg brand Pages, came to exactly the same determination - posts without hashtags generated more reach than those with tags added.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayGiven the sample size, that's pretty conclusive prove, though there are other considerations to accept into account.

As noted in research by Socialbakers, the use of more hashtags leads to significantly less engagement on Facebook.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayAs there's no limit on how many tags yous tin can utilize on Facebook, people, over time, have abused them, adding them to every word and mention in the hopes of expanding their reach. That obviously makes the updates themselves harder to read and thus lowers engagement - if that were happening on a wide enough scale, that could cause a significant pass up in overall appointment with hashtagged posts on The Social Network, which could exist a contributing factor in their overall lower response rates on the platform.

There's also the consideration of cantankerous-posting - people (still) oft link upwards their Twitter and Facebook accounts and cantankerous-postal service to the two, significant any hashtags you've used in your tweet also come up up on your Facebook mail. Which, over again, makes your Facebook posts less appealing and too reduces engagement.

Due to these factors, Buffer'south advice is correct - the only truthful style to measure the operation of hashtags on Facebook, for you and your brand Page, is to conduct your own tests. But that said, the research data pretty conclusively indicates they hashtags are non adding anything, and may even be pain your achieve.

In Practise

Then given this inquiry, what does this hateful for actual, practical use of hashtags on Facebook?

Here's a quick example.

On Pinterest, hashtags are pretty much pointless because Pinterest volition search for related items whether yous use a tag or not (Pinterest actually recommends against using them).

For instance, if you search for '#socialmedia' on Pinterest, you'll go results for '#socialmedia', 'socialmedia' and 'social media' all mixed in.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayThat's not the example on Facebook - hither I've searched for '#running'.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayAnd and so I've searched for 'running' without the tag.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayAs yous can meet, the results are a lot dissimilar. In this sense, Facebook tags exercise have a specific purpose, but maybe users but aren't as actively searching for them, which then leads to their decreased performance.

Information technology's worth noting, also, that Facebook is currently facilitating more 1.v billion searches on their platform every day, and so there'southward definitely search activity there. If people were looking for relevant info, there's a good risk they are clicking on hashtags and seeing what's available.

So what's the answer? As noted, the research say no, don't use hashtags on Facebook. But then again, the system is built to arrange their employ. Because of this, the real answer, for you, likely comes down to your specific audience and how attuned they are to hashtag utilise.

In an expert round-upward post on Post Planner, Franscisco Rosales of Social Mouths came up with a good summary of effective hashtag use on Facebook:

" I think they can be useful in very specific cases like an event or a promotion, with the proper support of other media, just I'm not certain information technology'due south moving the needle when it comes to regular content."

And then if a hashtag is already widely associated with the topic, then information technology could help boost your reach on Facebook by linking upwardly with that conversation - you lot tin see examples of this in Facebook's 'Trending News' department, where some conversations are linked to trending tags.

Should You Use Hashtags on Facebook? Here's What the Research Says | Social Media TodayBesides, if you're looking to push a brand hashtag, it may help to generate more than awareness of your tag if you lot use it in clan with your Facebook posts also. But the key rules of thumb would be:

  • Don't use more two tags per postal service
  • Always be testing and watching your analytics.

If you lot do some A/B tests and find your Facebook audience doesn't reply well to hashtags, finish using them. If you lot come across your reach dropping equally a effect of adding tags in, cut them out. Just if you put a couple of tags on and reach and engagement goes up - that'due south a win.

Ideally, in the 'Top Sources' section within 'Page Views' on your Facebook Insights listing, you lot'd be able to become a list of keywords that people had used to search and connect to your site on the platform, simply that's currently not available.

As such, it's downward to your own testing to run across what you detect out. As always, while the generic information indicates one thing - that hashtags are not overly useful - individual results, as they say, may vary. Deport your own experiments and run into what works for you.