Hashtags have become an essential part of content marketing, especially on visual social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. Hashtags allow you to categorize and organize content, making it more discoverable to your target audience. On LinkedIn specifically, hashtags help users find content and participate in larger conversations related to their industry or interests. But with so many hashtags to choose from, how do you know which ones are most effective? Here we’ll explore the best tools for finding top performing hashtags to use in your LinkedIn content.
Why Are Hashtags Important on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is highly focused on professional networking and building connections. With over 740 million members, it’s one of the largest professional social networks out there. This makes it a prime platform for B2B companies looking to generate leads, highlight thought leadership, and recruit talent.
But with so many users and pieces of content, standing out can be a challenge. This is where utilizing strategic hashtags comes in. Here are some of the key benefits of using hashtags on LinkedIn:
- Increased reach – Adding relevant hashtags makes your content discoverable beyond just your immediate connections.
- Joining larger conversations – People look for and follow hashtags on topics they care about.
- Driving engagement – Posts with at least one hashtag tend to see increased likes and comments.
- Measuring campaign impact – You can track the performance of specific hashtags.
- Connecting with influencers – Getting your content in front of LinkedIn influencers within your industry.
Clearly, taking the time to research and select the right hashtags for your brand and content topics is well worth the effort.
What to Look for in a Hashtag Tool
But what makes an effective LinkedIn hashtag tool? Here are the key features you should look for:
- LinkedIn hashtag research – The tool should pull data specifically for hashtags used on LinkedIn, rather than other social platforms.
- Hashtag performance metrics – You want to see which hashtags are generating high impressions, engagement, clicks, etc.
- Hashtag popularity – How frequently is a hashtag being used by LinkedIn members and within your target niche?
- Hashtag categorization – Tools that categorize hashtags by industry, topic, campaign, etc. make them easier to search.
- Competitor hashtag analysis – Examine which hashtags competitors in your space are using successfully.
- Hashtag recommendations – AI-powered suggestions of top performing hashtags to consider using.
- Hashtag tracking – The ability to track the performance of specific hashtags you’re using over time.
Advanced hashtag analytics will provide this type of in-depth data, giving you actionable takeaways for your own LinkedIn hashtag strategy.
6 Top Hashtag Tools for LinkedIn
Based on those key criteria, here are 6 of the best hashtag tools to use for LinkedIn content:
1. RiteTag
RiteTag is one of the leading AI-powered hashtag tools out there. It analyzes billions of public social media posts to identify low competition, high-performance hashtags in any niche. Helpful LinkedIn-specific features include:
- LinkedIn hashtag database updated daily
- Hashtag performance metrics – impressions, engagement, click rate, etc.
- Hashtag recommendations including industry-specific tags
- Competitor hashtag analysis
- Hashtag tracking
RiteTag integrates directly with posting platforms like LinkedIn to seamlessly add optimized hashtags to your content. It’s paid plans also provide robust analytics and tracking.
2. Display Purposes
Display Purposes brands itself as an AI-powered social media assistant. For LinkedIn hashtag research, it provides:
- LinkedIn-specific hashtag data
- Tag performance metrics – engagement, visibility, post volume, etc.
- Hashtag typing and misspelling analysis
- Hashtag grouping by event, topic, competitor
- Image hashtag recommendations
- Chrome extension for easy optimization
Display Purposes offers a free tier with limited searches as well as paid pro subscriptions with more advanced analytics. It’s easy to use hashtag search makes it a helpful basic tool for LinkedIn.
3. Hashtagify
Hashtagify is a free hashtag search and analysis platform. For LinkedIn, it provides:
- LinkedIn hashtag tracking
- Hashtag search volume and post volume data
- Related hashtags for brainstorming optimization options
- Hashtag categorization by broad topic
While Hashtagify doesn’t offer robust analytics, its simple search and discovery features make it easy to start exploring relevant tag options for your brand and content.
4. Trendogate
Trendogate focuses specifically on hashtag analytics and tracking. Useful LinkedIn features include:
- Real-time LinkedIn hashtag tracking
- Hashtag performance – engagement, reach, exposure, etc.
- Hashtag search volume and trends
- Competitor hashtag tracking
- Campaign hashtag tracking
Trendogate offers a free plan for basic hashtag tracking as well as several paid tiers with more robust analytics, making it a great option for monitoring your hashtag performance over time.
5. Keyhole
Keyhole is a social media analytics platform. Their hashtag tools provide:
- Historical and real-time hashtag tracking
- Hashtag volume and engagement metrics
- Hashtag analysis across platforms and profiles
- Expert hashtag recommendations
- Customizable reporting
Keyhole offers in-depth hashtag and broader social media analytics. The ability to compare hashtag use across platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram makes Keyhole a powerful choice.
6. Sprout Social
Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management platform. Their robust analytics include LinkedIn hashtag data:
- Hashtag volume and engagement metrics
- Historical hashtag performance
- Hashtag recommendations
- Competitor hashtag tracking
- Clickable hashtag reports
As part of their broader suite of publishing and analytics tools, Sprout Social’s hashtag tools provide extensive functionality for understanding LinkedIn hashtag performance.
How to Choose the Right Hashtag Tool
With those top hashtag tools in mind, how do you determine which is right for your brand? Here are key questions to ask:
- What’s your budget? Some tools offer robust free plans while others require paid subscriptions.
- Do you need real-time tracking or mainly historical analysis? Consider whether you want to monitor ongoing campaigns.
- How large is your content team? Some tools are better for larger teams while others have features tailored to solo creators.
- Will you use hashtags across multiple platforms or just focus on LinkedIn optimization?
- How tech-savvy are you? Make sure to choose an interface that matches your comfort level.
Taking the time to clarify your needs and priorities will help zero in on the LinkedIn hashtag solution that best fits your strategy. Test out free trials to get hands-on with the features and workflow of a few top contenders.
Best Practices for Using LinkedIn Hashtags
Once you’ve selected a LinkedIn hashtag tool, you’re ready to start optimizing your own content. But simply adding a list of trending tags isn’t necessarily the best approach. Use these best practices to incorporate them effectively:
- Research hashtags in your industry – Identify tags commonly used by competitors and influencers.
- Prioritize niche hashtags – Highly targeted tags will connect you with engaged followers.
- Mix trending and evergreen tags – Combine timely topics with lasting connections.
- Use 5-10 moderate to low competition hashtags – Don’t overload your posts with tags.
- Integrate hashtags naturally – Work them into your captions and commentary.
- Place hashtags at the end – LinkedIn cuts off tags mid-post.
- Test and tweak hashtags – Track performance to double down on what resonates.
Keep these tips in mind as you create an ongoing hashtag strategy for your LinkedIn company page, thought leadership content, and employee posts. The visibility boost will quickly become apparent.
LinkedIn Hashtag Strategy Examples
To illustrate effective LinkedIn hashtag optimization in action, here are some examples of companies using top tagging tools and tactics:
HubSpot
HubSpot consistently uses targeted industry hashtags like #inboundmarketing, #leadgeneration, and #emailmarketing to reach their ideal followers. Mixing these niche tags with #SocialMediaMarketing and viral hashtags keeps them discoverable.
Nvidia
The tech company Nvidia uses varied hashtags targeted to topics like #AI, #MachineLearning, and #DeepLearning. Using tactical tags tied to their specialties ensures their posts reach interested audiences.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite, a social media management platform, stays on trend with timely hashtags around key events, news, and holidays like #EarthDay, #SmallBusinessSaturday, and #NewYearsResolution. But they blend these with evergreen tags like #socialmedia and their own #Hootsuite hashtag.
American Marketing Association
As an influencer in the marketing space, this organization includes expected industry tags like #Marketing and #DigitalMarketing. But they also incorporate interesting combinations like #TakeOnMarketing to promote their own branding.
The Impact of Optimized LinkedIn Hashtags
Adding strategic hashtags is a quick way to improve your LinkedIn content performance. But how big is the impact? Using hashtag tools to identify the right tags for your brand can:
- Increase content impressions and reach up to 55%
- Grow engagement rates by up to 85% (reactions, comments, shares)
- Drive up to 65% more profile views and connection requests
- Boost clicks and link click-throughs up to 35%
These types of results demonstrate how vital it is to research and test top-performing LinkedIn hashtags using analytics tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
For additional LinkedIn hashtag tips, here are some commonly asked questions:
How many hashtags should you use on LinkedIn?
Typically 5-10 hashtags is ideal. Using 1-3 very targeted tags is acceptable, but more will increase discovery. Over 15 hashtags tends to look spammy.
Where should you put hashtags in LinkedIn posts?
Place hashtags at the end of your main text, as LinkedIn cuts off tags after a certain character count mid-post. You can also add relevant tags in the first comment.
Can you use emojis in LinkedIn hashtags?
Yes, emojis can help your hashtags stand out on LinkedIn. Just use them sparingly, as too many emojis may come across unprofessional.
Should you use hashtag phrases or single word tags?
For LinkedIn, shorter single word hashtags tend to perform better. But feel free to experiment with some longer phrase hashtags mixed in.
How often should you adjust your LinkedIn hashtags?
Aim to reevaluate and refine your go-to tags every 1-2 months. Use hashtag analytics to see which become outdated and swap in better options.
Conclusion
Adding relevant, optimized hashtags is one of the easiest tactics to improve your LinkedIn content strategy. The right hashtag tools provide the data and insights you need to choose tags that attract more of your ideal audience.
Focus on identifying a mix of popular niche industry tags and timely trends to boost discovery. And continue monitoring performance to see which hashtags resonate so you can keep hashtags working hard for your brand.
With strategic hashtag optimization, it’s amazing how quickly you can expand your LinkedIn reach and engagement.