This Is How to Use TikTok Hashtags to Reach More People

Wondering how to use hashtags on TikTok?

You’ve posted your first TikTok video.

Maybe you’ve even figured out your best time to post on TikTok.

Now you’re looking for more ways to build your audience.

Smart!

TikTok is still something of the new kid on the block, but people are flocking to it in ever-greater numbers.

Many find it a lot like Instagram. One of the reasons is hashtags!

But how do you use TikTok hashtags to reach more people and build an audience?

Let’s take a look.

How do hashtags work on TikTok?

While TikTok and Instagram share a love of hashtags, they work a bit differently on the two platforms.

With IG, there’s a limit of 30 hashtags in addition to your caption. You can add around 2200 characters to an Instagram post.

But with TikTok, you have a limit of 100 characters. That includes hashtags!

So, this means you must use a lot fewer hashtags than with IG. And choose them carefully.

You can add hashtags to comments like with IG, but these don’t work as well.

The best bet is to work that caption with short, effective text, and use of a few strategic hashtags.

Why use TikTok hashtags?

The character limit might make it seem like ignoring hashtags on TikTok would be a good idea.

But the fact is, there are real benefits to using them.

Here are a few examples.

Reach more people

Followers see your posts, but what about all those users who don’t know you yet?

When they search a hashtag, they see all the content that includes that tag. That means your hashtagged posts can reach more people.

They might then engage with your content, or even follow you.

But they wouldn’t know you existed if you didn’t have that hashtag in there!

Spot your competitors

A little competitor research is always a good idea.

But what if you don’t know who your competitors are on TikTok?

Searching relevant hashtags will help you find them. You can see who’s posting with the hashtag, then check out their profile.

When you discover TikTokers in your niche, you can follow them and get some inspiration from what they’re doing.

Plus, you can see what hashtags they’re using that might be relevant for you!

Increase followers

Because people who don’t follow you can find you through hashtags, this can increase your followers.

TikTokers discover you through the hashtag, then easily follow you.

So not only does your reach extend, but your followers increase too.

Create a community

By creating a branded hashtag, you can also create a community on TikTok.

It’s something your fans might spot and start to use. Encourage it!

It’s a great way to get some user generated content (UGC) if you sell products or services.

If you’re not familiar with that term, UGC is content that’s created by users of a brand. Generally these are unpaid fans who promote your brand for you.

Reposting it is a win-win-win:

1. Fans are usually grateful for you to repost their content.
2. People who don’t know you well yet will trust you more.
3. You save time generating original content!

You can also join other communities by using their hashtags.

This is helpful if you share an audience with this community, as you’ll start to appear on that hashtag feed.

Be involved with trends

Trends are a great way to be current and involved with what’s happening.

TikTok hashtags are a popular way to highlight trends.

By finding and using the right ones, you can be involved with the trend and visible to people interested in it.

Finding the right hashtags to use on TikTok

Now we know the benefits of using hashtags on TikTok, the next question is where to find the right ones!

And how do we know which ones are the right hashtags? TikTok’s 100 character limit doesn’t allow much margin for error, so we need to be specific.

Use the search bar in Discover for trending hashtags

The first place to start is the search bar in the Discover option along the bottom menu.

Along the top you’ll see colored blocks. Some of these will be hashtags that are trending.

Below this are some popular terms. Again, a lot of these are hashtags.

You can tap on any of these to see what kind of content appears, and if it’s relevant to the audience you’re trying to build.

See what other people in your industry are using

Another idea is to use those competitors you found earlier. Take a look at their posts and find ones relevant to what you are talking about.

Check out the hashtags and see if they are a good fit for your post.

Use related hashtags to find more ideas

If you start typing a hashtag into the search bar, TikTok will provide a list of related hashtags.

These are ideal if the main hashtag is a little too general. You can find something specific and use it in your post.

Try hashtag finder tools

While there aren’t as many tools for hashtag research as for other platforms, there are some starting to appear.

One example is TikTokHashtags.com, where you can add a hashtag and search for more.

It’ll provide a short list of hashtags, along with some stats including posts and views.

You can copy them, or explore related ones below.

You can see how it works below.

Hashtag strategy ideas

When you’re searching for TikTok hashtags, you need to have a strategy.

Just adding random hashtags might bring some success. But if you’re strategic about it, you’ll do better.

Think about your goals with the post. Things like:

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What do you want these people to do?
• Are you aiming for a broad or specific audience?

Answering these questions will help you pick the right hashtags.

For example, let’s say you have a post trying to reach a broad audience to associate your account with a trending topic.

So you’d use the trending hashtag, and maybe one other broad one associated with it.

Broad hashtags run the risk of your post being lost in the crush. So adding a more specific hashtag or a branded one is a good idea to give you more visibility.

Should you create a branded hashtag?

I’ve already mentioned branded hashtags, but it’s worth taking a moment to think about creating one.

There’s definitely enough reasons to see it as worthwhile.

⇒ You can use it on campaigns and monitor its effectiveness.

⇒ You can get your audience to use it to provide you with user generated content.

⇒ And there’s always a chance your branded hashtag could go viral and get you huge exposure.

Create just one, and make sure it’s:

• Relevant to the campaign, product, or challenge it’s intended for.
• Be self-explanatory so people know what the content’s about.
• Simple to spell and easy to remember so no copy-paste needed.
• Tracked to see how it works.

Branded hashtags are also important if you run TikTok ads – especially if it’s a Hashtag Challenge ad!

So why not create one and see how it goes?

Measuring how hashtags are working

TikTok doesn’t have analytics the way that Instagram does for hashtags. So you’ll need to do a little manual work here.

Keep track of what hashtags you used on each post.

Then see which posts do the best. Compare the hashtags.

You might notice patterns that help you test going forward.

Then repeat!

Getting the best from TikTok hashtags

Because TikTok is still young, there’s not as much information available as on Instagram hashtags.

But there’s enough to get a good strategy going.

And the more content you create, the more you’ll see what works!

Once you’ve tried them out, share your best TikTok hashtag tip in a comment below.

Then check out these creative TikTok video ideas!