Medical Hashtags this, hashtag that.

What Exactly are Hashtags?

You hear hashtags "hashtag this and hashtag that" all the time, but what exactly are they and how can you use them to increase social media engagement and promote your practice?

Here is what you need to know about hashtags.

• A hashtag is simply a way for people to categorize, find and join conversations on a particular topic,
• A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, and/or emoji preceded by the # symbol (e.g., #NoFilter)
• Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in your posts,
• Your post will be categorized with other posts about the same topic.

Where are Hashtags Used?

Hashtags may have rocketed to fame on Twitter, but now you can use hashtags on other social platforms, such as

• Instagram,
• Facebook,
• Pinterest and
• Google

What are the Benefits of Using Hashtags?

When people click on a hashtag, it helps them find posts about topics they’re interested in by showing them a list of posts using that same hashtag.

Social media platforms typically show you content that is trending. A post using hashtags that are trending can get broader exposure, meaning it will show up in more news feeds.

You can utilize trending hashtags to increase the visibility of your post. When you reach more people, you’ll get increased engagement and increase visibility in social media. Use trending hashtags to your advantage.

What Can Be Used for Hashtags?

Hashtags can be just about anything and can help promote your practice. They can be extremely valuable to help people find you on social media.

Hashtags can (and should) be related to your specialty or treatments but they can also be more general like:

• holidays,
• events,
• headline news stories,
• TV shows,
• sports, or
• anything else that may be trending.

Think about this – If a celebrity or professional athlete is getting a surgery that you offer, their name and the procedure will likely trend on social media, so you can utilize those hashtags.

Some Hashtags Examples That Trended

Instagram hashtags can be a great way of building community online so people are motivated to engage with your brand.

For example, as the way people work out suddenly changed in 2020, Nike Los Angeles used the #playinside hashtag to feature local people getting active in their homes.

1. #love - 1.835B
2. #instagood - 1.150B
3. #fashion - 812.7M
4. #photooftheday - 797.3M
5. #beautiful - 661.0M
6. #art - 649.9M
7. #photography - 583.1M
8. #happy - 578.8M
9. #picoftheday - 570.8M
10. #cute - 569.1M
11. #follow - 560.9M
12. #tbt - 536.4M  - (Throwback Thursday)
13. #followme - 528.5M
14. #nature - 525.7M
15. #like4like - 515.6M
16. #travel - 497.3M
17. #instagram - 482.6M
18. #style - 472.3M
19. #repost - 471.4M
20. #summer - 454.2M
21. #instadaily - 444.0M
22. #selfie - 422.6M
23. #me - 420.3M
24. #friends - 396.7M
25. #fitness - 395.8M
26. #girl - 393.8M
27. #food - 391.9M
28. #fun - 385.6M
29. #beauty - 382.8M
30. #instalike - 374.6M

Keep in mind, you don’t have to limit it to one hashtag per post, you can use a few hashtags within a single post, just make sure they’re relevant to the post.

Start creating content and planning your social media calendar in advance to take advantage of hashtags and ensure posting consistency. Creating content 1-3 months ahead of time will help you identify hashtags that may be trending.

Where Can Doctors Use Hashtags

Doctors or medical practice who create and post content on any social channel post should research appropriate trending topics and hashtags relevant to their service or news item.

Examples of possible hashtags could be:

• #hipreplacement
• #jointpain
• #infertility
• #childbirthjoy

See some hashtag examples in our post: 2022 Healthcare Marketing Calendars for General Practitioners and Orthopaedic Surgeons