LinkedIn has become an invaluable platform for professionals looking to build their networks, establish their personal brands, and advance their careers. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn offers users unparalleled access to connections, companies, and opportunities. As the platform has evolved, so too have the ways users can maximize their presence and get noticed on LinkedIn.
One relatively new feature that has generated buzz is the option to include hashtags in posts and comments. LinkedIn introduced hashtags in 2014 as a way to organize content and help surface relevant conversations. However, there is still some debate around whether hashtags truly help users on LinkedIn or if they are just unnecessary clutter.
What are the potential benefits of using hashtags on LinkedIn?
Here are some of the touted advantages of using hashtags on the platform:
- Increased visibility and reach: Adding relevant hashtags to a post can help surface it to a broader audience beyond just your direct connections. Hashtags allow your content to be discovered via LinkedIn’s search and feed algorithms.
- Joining conversations: Following and using popular hashtags allows you to monitor relevant conversations and chime in with your own thoughts. This can help position you as an industry thought leader.
- Making connections: Connecting with others who are following or using the same hashtags as you can help grow your network organically.
- Driving traffic: Strategically using hashtags related to your business, brand, products etc. can drive qualified visitors to your LinkedIn profile or external sites.
- SEO benefits: Including relevant hashtags in your posts can improve how you rank in LinkedIn’s internal search results.
Increased visibility and reach
One of the main advantages cited by hashtag proponents is the ability to extend the visibility and reach of your posts beyond just your direct connections. In essence, hashtags make your content more discoverable by both human users and LinkedIn’s algorithms.
When you add a hashtag to your post, it becomes searchable under that hashtag feed. Other users can then find your post by following or searching under that hashtag. This provides an opportunity to get your content in front of a much wider audience vs just your direct connections.
Hashtags also signal to LinkedIn’s algorithms what your post is about, potentially leading the platform to show your posts to more users who have interests aligned with those hashtags but may not already be connected to you.
Joining conversations
Hashtags allow you to monitor conversations happening around certain topics and industries. By keeping up with relevant hashtags and contributing your thoughts, you can establish yourself as an engaged member of your professional community.
For example, solopreneurs and small business owners often use hashtags like #smallbiz, #solopreneur, and #entrepreneur. Following these hashtags allows you to stay on top of challenges and opportunities facing that community. You can share advice, resources, and insights to position yourself as a subject matter expert. Engaging with hashtags helps build relationships through common interests.
Making connections
In addition to joining existing conversations, hashtags also facilitate networking and forging new connections. When you follow certain hashtags or use them in your posts, you increase the chances of being noticed by others interested in those topics.
Through common hashtags, you can discover and connect with professionals working for competitor or complementary companies, in your client’s industry, or in a geography you want to target. You can also find prospective partners, affiliates, or influencers relevant to your business. Hashtags cast a wide net that surfaces mutually beneficial connections that may have otherwise been difficult to find.
Driving traffic
For individuals and businesses looking to drive visitors to their LinkedIn profiles, websites, blog posts, and other external sites, hashtags can be an effective traffic driver. By using hashtags associated with your brand, products, services, special offers, events, and more, you can capture the attention of relevant audiences and lead them to destinations off of LinkedIn.
Some examples include using a hashtagged company name to entice prospects to learn more, hashtagging an ebook title or topic to send interested readers to a landing page, or using event hashtags to promote special promotions tied to conferences or webinars. A sound hashtag strategy helps attract and convert prospects beyond the LinkedIn platform.
SEO benefits
While LinkedIn offers its own powerful internal search capabilities, hashtags can improve how you show up in those search results. Including relevant hashtags in your posts and profile provides additional keywords and context for LinkedIn’s algorithms to understand what your profile and content are about.
This can lead to your profile appearing higher in search results for key terms and hashtags, especially when combined with optimizing your profile headline, summary, and experience descriptions. The SEO value may be limited compared to Google, but hashtag optimization still improves discoverability on LinkedIn.
What are some potential drawbacks of hashtags on LinkedIn?
Despite their touted benefits, some prolific LinkedIn users argue hashtags do more harm than good. Here are some of the main disadvantages and critiques:
- Cluttering the user experience: Too many hashtags can make posts appear cluttered, unprofessional, desperate for attention, or like spam.
- Obstructing organic engagement: Some argue hashtags disrupt the natural flow of professional conversations on LinkedIn.
- Difficulty standing out: Common hashtags see such high volume that cutting through the noise can be difficult.
- Bandwagon effect: Overuse of popular but often irrelevant hashtags comes off as inauthentic.
- Superficial connections: Relationships built solely through common hashtags often lack depth or longevity.
Cluttering the user experience
One of the biggest complaints about LinkedIn hashtags is that they clutter up the user interface when overused. Posts laden with multiple hashtags can feel messy, hard to read, and unprofessional. This defeats the purpose of using LinkedIn to build your polished personal brand.
Too many hashtags also makes it look like someone is desperately grasping for visibility or trying to game the algorithm through keyword stuffing. This “spammy” effect can turn some users off from connecting with those profiles or giving their posts a chance.
Moderation is key. A few selective hashtags sprinkled organically into the post text typically achieves the right balance of increasing reach while preserving readability.
Obstructing organic engagement
Some prolific LinkedIn users argue that hashtags disrupt the natural flow of professional conversations. They see hashtags as more of a distraction rather than a tool for meaningful engagement on the platform.
These critics often prefer the organic visibility and engagement driven by relevant industry insights, thought leadership content, and value-driven commentary. In their view, jamming posts with excessive hashtags is an inorganic way to cut in front of other voices on the platform.
Difficulty standing out
Certain popular hashtags on LinkedIn, especially broad ones like #leadership or #management, attract extremely high volume. While tapping into these crowded conversations does increase the potential reach or your posts, actually standing out can be extremely difficult.
When every other post in that hashtag feed is using similar terminology or commentary, your post has little chance of actually catching anyone’s eye or driving engagement amongst the noise. So use of busy hashtags requires striking the right balance and pairing them with more niche tags.
Bandwagon effect
The popularity of certain hashtags causes them to be indiscriminately thrown onto irrelevant posts in hopes of being noticed. For example, you may see #innovation or #futureofwork overused on mundane posts simply because they are current “buzzwords.”
These bandwagon hashtags often add very little to the actual content. Their overuse comes across as inauthentic and trying too hard, making engagement less likely. So while sprinkling in a few relevant hot hashtags makes sense, blind bandwagon jumping should be avoided.
Superficial connections
Some argue that relationships formed primarily through interacting under common hashtags lack substance or longevity. These interactions often involve liking, commenting on, or sharing each other’s posts as they come across the same hashtag feed.
However, without deeper one-on-one interaction based on common interests, values, or goals, these connections rarely blossom into substantive professional relationships. The critics argue hashtagging facilitates mostly superficial interactions without forming meaningful bonds.
Best practices for using hashtags on LinkedIn
If you do choose to leverage hashtags on LinkedIn, here are some tips for maximizing their impact:
- Research relevant hashtag conversations before participating so you integrate seamlessly.
- Use a mix of popular hashtags and niche ones relevant to your industry.
- Refrain from using more than 2-3 hashtags per post to avoid looking spammy.
- Focus on quality over quantity when engaging under hashtags.
- Align hashtags with your profile keywords for discoverability.
- Track hashtag performance to identify the most effective ones to keep using.
- Avoid excessive use of oversaturated hashtags that add little value.
- Make hashtags feel like an organic part of your post content.
Research before participating
Review what others are posting under your target hashtags before leaping in yourself. Get a feel for the tone, engagement levels, types of content, influencers in the space, and conventions of the hashtag conversation. This allows you to integrate seamlessly into the mix.
Mix broad and niche tags
Pairing one or two popular hashtags with more niche industry or topic-specific tags offers the right balance of visibility and relevance. For example, combining #leadership or #management with #healthcareleaders or #constructionmanagement.
Limit hashtags per post
Resist the urge to jam every vaguely relevant hashtag into a single post. No more than 2-3 thoughtfully chosen hashtags integrated into the post text achieves good visibility without the spam effect.
Quality over quantity
Avoid rapid-fire hashtag commenting across multiple posts if you do not have time for substantive engagement. Focus on offering thoughtful comments under a more limited selection of posts.
Align with profile keywords
Using hashtags on your profile and posts that align with keywords in your profile headline, summary, and job descriptions helps LinkedIn’s search better understand your expertise.
Track performance
Analyze hashtag use over time to identify the best hashtags to drive visibility of your profile and engagement of your posts. Double down on what performs and rethink what does not.
Avoid oversaturated tags
Do not force irrelevant but popular hashtags like #leadership onto each and every post. Only target crowded tags where you can add a unique perspective and avoid just adding to noise.
Use hashtags organically
Hashtags should enhance your posts, not distract from them. Sprinkle them in naturally where they fit within the flow of your content vs awkwardly inserting a list at the end.
The verdict on hashtags for LinkedIn
Have a strategy, but avoid overkill
Like most things on LinkedIn, hashtags require a nuanced and strategic approach to maximize results. Used correctly in moderation, hashtags can expand your visibility, allow you to engage in professional conversations, and help make industry connections. But hashtag overload can have the opposite effect by alienating your audience.
The most effective profiles strike a balance between some strategic hashtag use and predominantly focusing on sharing quality content. Avoid blind bandwagon jumping onto every popular hashtag or forcing hashtags that do not fit. Thoughtfully incorporate a few relevant tags where it feels natural.
Pair with quality content and engagement
While hashtags can provide a visibility boost, it is quality content and engagement that truly helps profiles stand out and build relationships on LinkedIn. No amount of hashtagging can make up for thoughtful insights, industry leadership, and value-driven interactions.
So focus first on showcasing your expertise through insightful posts, joining discussions where you can add value, and personalizing connection requests and messages. Sprinkle in some relevant hashtags to give that great content an extra visibility edge.
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Monitor effectiveness and adapt
Keep tracking which hashtags consistently generate engagement on your posts and profile views and which seem less effective. Double down on what works well in your industry while limiting use of those that do not seem to move the needle.
Hashtag relevance and performance evolves over time. Continuously test and refine your hashtag approach based on data to maximize impact.
Use with restraint
Moderation is key when hashtagging. The most professional LinkedIn profiles incorporate hashtags thoughtfully and sparingly to avoid looking like spam. If you can integrate 1-2 well-fitting hashtags into some (not all) of your posts, you can likely achieve the visibility benefits without overkill.
So be strategic with hashtags, but do not overdo it. Used properly alongside quality engagement and content, hashtags can be an asset for standing out and driving the right connections on LinkedIn.
