If you’re still using hashtags to flag #topics in Linkedin posts to the algorithm, you’ve been wasting your time for months.
Hashtags have been used for several years on social platforms to allow users to tell others and the algorithm what topics are in the post – so users can find it by searching for that hashtag.
The problem has been misuse of popular hashtags unrelated to the actual post topic/s to get higher post engagement.
That’s the main reason LinkedIn has been equivocal about supporting hashtags for some years, and this year stopped support for them in profiles and searches.
Part of the reason it did that was because it had developed the sematic capability of the search facility on Linkedin – since August you no longer need to have topic keywords included as hashtags for it to recognise what your post is about and have it appear in relevant searches. Technical explanation here.
Is there any point now?
So is there any point in including hashtags now?
Andrew Hutchinson of Social Media Today says: “Based on these improvements, you probably don’t need hashtags like you used to, and if you’ve mentioned a keyword in a post, adding a hashtag of the same term is probably not improving your chances of discovery.
“Essentially, LinkedIn’s search algorithm is now smarter, and takes in a broader range of elements from your posts, in order to better align with queries. So even if you don’t have the exact right hashtag, the system will likely still be able to match your content up.
“So, my advice would be don’t include a hashtag if it’s replicating a term already included in a post, and don’t go too crazy on tags overall, because they’re probably not adding a heap anyway.” Full context in his post
How to use hashtags now
So what about the other main use for hashtags – flagging a post about a topical event, such as an awareness day or event?
Searches for them are still supported, so keep including them.
And, if you’re in the UK and posting about someone or an entity with whom you have a “value exchange”, you need to keep including #ad, as I do.
I’ll tell you why in another post.