Hashtags on LinkedIn? Why they work

You may hate them or love them—even if you’re just indifferent to them, hashtags on LinkedIn work.

In July alone, one of my clients saw a growth rate of 54.2% in content impressions and a 3.4% increase in followers on the platform. This isn’t a coincidence. 

I’ve managed LinkedIn brands for over 15 accounts at one point in time, and now I’m down to four because my hashtag strategy has allowed me to niche and focus my efforts on top clients.

Why hashtags work on LinkedIn

Hashtags may seem redundant or just an add-on SEO strategy that won't be of any real value, but in truth, they increase your brand’s visibility and reach.

Plus, hashtags are a solid way to organise content across trending articles on the platform and cross-check the efficacy of your own content in relation to hot topics. 

Here’s a high-level hashtag strategy I use on LinkedIn: 

1. Make a list of master hashtags: These are the ones that are directly linked to your content clusters and appear below posts where you talk about similar topics. For example, "#Leadership," “#Finance,” or “#ContentWriting.”
   

2. Search for relevant low-volume hashtags: I define low-volume as anything from 500-2,500 followers to tap into a niche or growing audience. 
   

3. Keep an eye on mid-volume hashtags: These are anywhere from 5,000-50,000 in range and the specific ones depend on your content strategy.
   

4. The final ones are high-volume hashtags: Think, like 100,000 followers. They're harder to rank for, but if you use them consistently, you have a shot. For example, "#Success."

How to copy my hashtag strategy without analytics tools

If you don’t have access to hashtag analytics tools, here’s how you can check the volume of a keyword manually and then filter it further for recency and content type:

First, type a hashtag in the search field, like “#psychologicalSafety.”

Then from the “All Filters” tab, select “Top Match” and whichever content type you’re looking to post.

Next, when you click on the hashtag from any one of the posts shown, you see its volume:

The hashtag above is an example of a mid-volume hashtag on LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn hashtag best practice

One of the best ways to implement hashtags for profile growth and post reach is to combine all of these in a maximum of 4 hashtags per post. This rule isn’t set in stone—mix and match according to your overall content strategy.

Pro Tip: Geo-defined hashtags work really well to grab the attention of news media outlets and relevant people in your industry in your location. So, if you’re in the UAE, for example, use #UAE. Or #GCC.

Find this as insightful as we did? Reach out to Brinda Gulati to work on your LinkedIn strategy and much more.