Hashtags are a Waste of Time (Almost)

Instagram's CEO recently said hashtags are a waste of time, if you use them in the belief that they increase readership.

They don't; they only help Instgram "categorize" your posts.

To verify the CEO's statement, analytics firm Social Insider studied over 75 million posts published between 2021 and 2022.

The firm verified that using a lot of hashtags, indeed, is a time-waster. They don't boost readership. 

At best, the use of a few—six or so—will help make your posts "discoverable."

But piling them on is futile.

Why is that?

Instagram has changed its search engine. 

Users can now enter keywords, instead of hashtags. That means many avoid the hashtags page, preferring to look only at search results.

Should you drop hashtags altogether?

No, says Social Insider.

While readership of your post isn't improved by the use of hashtags, the inclusion of six or fewer hashtags will improve Instagram's ability to categorize your post.

Using more than six penalizes you.

Chunky

Small is beautiful.

— Ernst Schumacher

Bevies of experts believe "micro-content"—marcom you mold into "bite-size, digestible chunks"—can counteract customers' growing intolerance of marketing.

I'm not so sure.

If micro means publishing crap, small isn't beautiful.

If micro means posting "rough and ready" videos, small isn't beautiful.

If micro means turning tractati into tweets, small isn't beautiful.

In all these cases, small isn't small: it's only small.

If your sole success-metric is views, micro may be fine.

But if conversions are your bag, better work at it a wee bit harder.

Conference Planners: Make Every Moment Instagramable

Planners, I pity you.

You haven't cracked Gen Y's code yet.

Now you have to wow Gen Z.

The US Census Bureau reports 74 million people belong to Gen Z. In just three years, they'll represent 40% of attendees.

Their intolerance of passivity makes the rest of us look like sheep; so does their penchant for social media activism.

And therein lies both the problem and the solution, says Skift.

No longer can you deliver your grandfather's conference and expect Gen Z to stand for it—or sit through it.

“If it’s not interactive, they’re not going to stay at the meeting,” planner Cindy Lo tells Skift. “They need to be entertained and they’re looking for those Instagramable moments.”

But if you try only to razzle-dazzle Gen Z members, Lo says, you'll fail. You have to razzle-dazzle them authentically. And you have to do it long before they'll even register.

And you have to do it long before they'll even register, because they judge a conference's real values before deciding to engage.

“Gen Z can sniff out fake so fast,” Lo says.

But how do you avoid appearing "fake?"

One way: avoid interruptive calls-to-action like "Tweet this!” in your marketing. Gen Z members understand marketing better than previous generations and abhor tacky commands.

Another: be Instagramable in your marketing. Use tons of imagery to promote your event, keep your copy short, and make both mobile-friendly. You'll not only convert more Gen Z members into attendees, you'll turn them into advocates for your brand.

The New New Rules of Marketing and PR

Either write something worth reading or
do something worth writing about.

— Benjamin Franklin

David Meerman Scott galvanized marketers a decade ago with The New Rules of Marketing and PR.

The book still makes everyone's list of "all-time favorites."

Scott's advice was premised on a sudden realization: gatekeepers had grown irrelevant.

If marketers only thought and acted like journalists, and exploited the popularity of websites and social media channels, their messages could "go direct" to customers.

Revolutionary thinking in the day.

But times change, the tragedy of the commons is inescapable, and rules wear out.

Content Shock is now Public Enemy Number 1.

The new new rules of marketing and PR are:

1. Don't create content. Create content customers want.
   
   
2. Don't create buzz. Create products that create buzz.

Build Social Strength

How often do you post on social media? Are you over- or under-posting?

If you want to build more followers, here's the right frequency, according to social media platform provider Buffer:

• LinkedIn: 1 time a day
• Twitter: 3 times a day
• Facebook: 2 times a day
• Instagram: 1 time a day
• Pinterest: 5 times a day

BONUS TIP: According to Buffer, copy's cool, but visuals boost engagement 40 times.