Tips from 13 Experts on How to Use Hashtags on Facebook

We all know Facebook has hashtags -- but should they be part of your Facebook marketing strategy?

I asked 13 experts for their opinions on this.

Before you read their replies, let's look at results from a study by Social Bakers, which examined how Facebook engagement correlates hashtag use.

(Takeaway: too many hashtags lowers engagement -- and won't help you get more likes.)

Posts with 1 or 2 hashtags averaged 593 interactions
Posts with 3 to 5 hashtags averaged 416 interactions
Posts with 6 to 10 hashtags averaged 307 interactions
Posts with more than 10 hashtags averaged 188 interactions
So going from 2 to 3 hashtags caused a significant drop in engagement!

Does this mean too many hashtags bad for business?

Let's see what some experts had to say:

Tips from 13 Experts on How to Use Hashtags on Facebook

I posed this question to each influencer:

Should businesses use hashtags on Facebook?
1. Ian Cleary Razor Social

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A business should use hashtags if they are used correctly. It's completely pointless adding loads of hashtags for the sake of it or adding hashtags that no one is going to monitor or care about.

Use hashtags (1 or 2 only) when they make sense and when you use something relevant that people can filter on to find more relevant conversation. If I wanted to create conversation around social media tools I would start including a hashtag #socialmediatools and then I'd encourage conversation around this.

Facebook creates a unique URL for the hashtags used so I can point people to the conversation to encourage more people to use the hashtag and create more relevant conversation. So please don't hashtag #everything (example of a pointless hashtag).

Use them wisely in the way they were designed i.e. to help create and continue and conversation around relevant topics.

2. Peg Fitzpatrick Canva

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Embrace hashtags but don’t go crazy with them.

Hashtags connect your content with other people talking about the same thing or looking for information about something. So, if you write an article about using Facebook for Business and use the #FacebookTips hashtag, more people will find your content.

This can extend your Facebook content past your own audience. That is one of the only ways to do this on Facebook without paid media.

I recommend industry specific hashtags and creating your own if they will be relevant to your audience. Three or four relevant hashtags could make all the difference in busting through Facebook’s EdgeRank and finding your ideal audience.

3. Mike Gingerich TabSite

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It's an ongoing question...."Do hashtags matter on Facebook?" I've got 6 people who say it matters and a half dozen that say they don't! It's a toss-up at this time really for immediate impact for sure. If your audience is socially savvy, then hashtags can come into play and be of value. If your audience is not steeped in the depths of social media use, then a hashtag can be a foreign symbol to them that makes no difference whatsoever.

One key, though, is that you can't really go wrong by using them. If your audience isn't socially savvy they just skip over them (unless you use too many!!), but by using them someone who is deep into social may find your post as they search and scroll through hashtags.

Do I use them on Facebook? Sometimes. I likely should more often but in the speed to post I overlook them at times. I don't overlook them on Twitter or Google+ as they are more central to those networks. Bottom line: if used appropriately it should only help.

4. John Haydon Inbound Zombie

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If you are currently using hashtags in a campaign on Twitter or Instagram, start including those hashtags in your Facebook content.

This makes it easier to integrate all your social channels as one.

5. Francisco Rosales Social Mouths

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The hashtag is supposed to be a win-win-win situation, marketers have the opportunity to expand their reach to an interes