Here are more Australia social media statistics for 2020 in Civic Web Media’s now traditional breakdown of the most popular platforms and what this means for digital marketing in the year ahead.

Most popular platforms by number of unique monthly visitors – January 2020

1. Facebook – 16 million
2. YouTube – 15 million
3. Instagram – 9 million
4. WhatsApp – 7 million
5. Snapchat – 6.4 million
6. WordPress – 5.8 million
7. LinkedIn – 5.5 million
8. Twitter – 5.3 million
9. Tumblr – 3.7 million
10. Tinder – 3 million

Statistics compiled by SocialMediaNews.com.au for January 2020. Source: Vivid Social – Social Media Agency. Figures correct as of 31/01/20.

Social media statistics 2020

• Social media in Australia continues to grow at a significant rate, the number of users increasing by 5.9% in 2019 (Talkwalker)
• Young adults aged 18–35 account for more than 75% of Australian social media users (Talkwalker)
• Image and video sharing platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are the fastest growing (Roy Morgan)
• Chinese social media apps such as WeChat, RenRen and Weibo are also growing rapidly in Australia’s Chinese community, with WeChat poised to enter the top 10 this year (Roy Morgan)
• Google Plus was closed down in 2019, though it never had much of a following in Australia

Top 10 social networks in Australia 2020

1. Facebook

16,000,000 unique active monthly users

Despite a campaign to “delete Facebook” after the company was involved in high-profile data scandals, more Australians continue to sign up for the social network, which has now reached 16 million active users (up from 15 million in 2019).

60% of Australia is on Facebook and 1 in 2 people check the site or app at least once daily.

Facebook’s user base is strong across all age demographics, but especially among 25–39 year olds. Teenagers are the most likely to shun Facebook for younger alternatives.

With such a huge audience, Facebook is usually the first port of call for businesses getting started in social media marketing, with 9 in 10 Australian businesses having Facebook accounts. Facebook posts with videos have the highest rate of engagement.

2. YouTube

15,000,000 unique monthly visitors

The world’s biggest video sharing platform is also the most visited website in Australia after Google, according to Alexa.

While it takes second place to Facebook in the social apps, it’s the number one for Generation Z Australians (aged 14–27), according to the most recent Roy Morgan Single Source survey. Use of YouTube generally declines with age.

Between Facebook and YouTube, video marketing is one of the most engaging types of content that brands can create. In 2019, the top 5 search queries on Facebook in Australia were: Songs, Music, Fortnite, IT and Kids.

3. Instagram

9,000,000 active monthly users

After rapid growth in 2019, Instagram has stabilised as Australia’s third favourite social media site in 2020.

Like YouTube, Instagram users are more likely to be younger. More than two thirds (68%) of Generation Z and over half (52%) of Millennials use the image-based platform, compared to less than one third (32%) of Generation X (Roy Morgan Single Source).

Instagram users are more likely to follow brands than Facebook users, as long as those brands post worthwhile content. Almost half of Australian businesses (46%) use Instagram, according to the most recent Yellow Social Media Report.

Instagram made drastic changes in 2019 when it removed Like counts and made follower counts less prominent to reduce social pressure on users. It also launched Instagram Checkout, to make transactions easier, and Creator Accounts, to support the lucrative influencer marketing industry. It remains to be seen how much of an impact these changes will have on Instagram marketing in 2020.

Want to start or grow your Instagram account in 2020? Find out everything you need to know about hashtags.

4. WhatsApp

7,000,000 active users

Since it was acquired by Facebook, WhatsApp exploded in popularity but now remains stable with approximately seven million Australian users per month in 2020. It’s the country’s second most popular social media messaging app after Facebook Messenger.

5. Snapchat

6,400,000 active monthly users

Another non-mover, Snapchat has matured at a stable 6.4 million monthly users. More impressively, 4.5 million people use the app every day, averaging 36 times per week.

Around half (49%) of social media users aged 18–29 are on Snapchat, the app being used less by older audiences. Like Instagram, it’s used by more females (55%) than males (45%).

6. WordPress

5,800,000 monthly users

Australia’s favourite CMS platform for creating websites and blogs, WordPress hasn’t gained or lost substantial users in 2020. It remains the top choice for its ease of use, customisable features and, most of all, the fact that it’s free.

7. LinkedIn

5,500,000 active monthly users

The first change in the social media ranking for 2020, LinkedIn has now overtaken Twitter with around one million new users year on year. The website reports that around 10 million Australians have registered accounts on LinkedIn, though just over half are active every month.

The B2B platform is used by 73% of large businesses but fewer SMBs. Users are more likely to be male (53% vs 47%).

8. Twitter

5,300,000 active monthly users

It continues to drop in the rankings, but Twitter gained more than half a million users in Australia in 2020. The site is overwhelmingly male, with almost 1.8 males to every female, and is mainly used by people in their 30s. Australian users say they check Twitter 23 times per week on average.

While it may not be the most effective platform for reaching your target audience, the speed and brevity of tweets makes Twitter popular with large businesses, which are more likely to use Twitter marketing than small businesses (60% vs. 14%).

9. Tumblr

3,700,000 monthly users

After losing users last year, following the introduction of stricter rules such as the ban on adult content, Tumblr is stable in ninth place for 2020. The image sharing and blogging site is mainly used by women, and around two-thirds of users (66%) are under 35.

10. Tinder

3,000,000 users

The world’s most popular dating app, Tinder was downloaded more times than any other app in Australia last year and is used by an estimated three million Australians every month.

While business accounts aren’t permitted on the app, advertising is. Depending on your product or service, you may find a suitable audience here.

For more industry news and online marketing tips, follow the Civic Web Media Blog.

Find out more in Civic Web Media‘s annual breakdown of the most popular social media sites in Australia as we begin 2019.

Update: Australia’s most popular social media sites 2020

How many Australians use social media in 2019?

The latest Yellow Social Media Report released in June last year found that almost 9 in 10 people (88%) have a social media profile in Australia. This figure is up from 79% in 2017 and 69% in 2016, showing remarkable growth over a relatively short period.

The average Australian now owns 3.5 internet-enabled devices, with most preferring to use their smartphones to access social media. 60% of people say they use the internet more than five times per day.

How do customers interact with businesses on social media?

The Yellow report found that 44% of consumers follow brands on social media. This increases to 52% for females and 65% for people aged 18-29.

More than 50% of social media users say they value brand interactions on social networks and are more likely to trust a business if it offers engaging and relevant content on a regular basis.

Discounts (62%) and giveaways (51%) are the most popular reasons people follow brands.

Top 10 social networks in Australia 2019

Statistics compiled by SocialMediaNews.com.au for December 2018. Source: Vivid Social – Social Media Agency. Figures correct as of 31/12/18.

1. Facebook

15,000,000 unique active monthly users

Facebook’s dominance and popularity have remained stable since this time last year, despite the organisation’s high-profile data scandals in early 2018 that saw users worldwide being urged to ‘Delete Facebook’. Around 60% of the Australian population has a Facebook account and around 1 in 2 people check it every day.

According to Yellow, 91% of Aussies who use social media are on Facebook, which includes more women than men (95% vs 88%). The average user spends almost 10 hours a week on the platform and more than a quarter (28%) watch live streaming videos on Facebook Live.

More Australian businesses use and advertise on Facebook than any other social platform – around 9 in 10 SMBs and large businesses. This connects them with Australia’s biggest online audience.

2. YouTube

15,000,000 unique monthly visitors

More than half of the population (53%) watches videos on YouTube. This includes slightly more men than women (56% vs 50%) and 65% of people under 30. 46% of people share videos or photos on social media.

Video is one of the most engaging types of content for consumers, but most businesses are still hesitant to produce video content due to the time and effort involved in making it look professional.

3. Instagram

9,000,000 active monthly users

Instagram is still Australia’s favourite image-sharing website, retaining a stable user base over the past 12 months after having doubled its users the previous year. The site is more popular with women than men (44% vs 34%).

Instagram users are more likely to follow brands than users of other social networks at 44% (compared to 39% of Facebook users). Formerly more popular with SMBs, the number of large businesses advertising on Instagram has more than doubled in the past year from 20% to 46% according to the Yellow survey of Australian businesses.

Read more: Hashtag hacks: Everything you need to know about hashtags

4. WhatsApp

7,000,000 active users

Steadily rising through the ranks – gaining two million users each year for the past two years – WhatsApp is Australia’s second most popular social media messaging service after parent company Facebook’s own Messenger.

5. Snapchat

6,400,000 active monthly users

Snapchat is once again the fastest growing social media app in Australia, rising two places from last year’s count. As well as its high monthly user base, more than 4.5 million Australians use Snapchat every day – around 36 times per week on average.

Snapchat is more popular with younger demographics, with almost half (49%) of 18-29 year olds on social media using the platform. It’s also used by more males than females (28% vs 17%).

6. WordPress.com

5,800,000 monthly users

Australia’s favourite CMS platform had a modest gain of 100,000 users over the past year. Its free business model, ease of use and extensive customisation makes WordPress the go-to option for many bloggers and SMBs creating websites and blogs.

7. Twitter

4,700,000 active monthly users

Twitter is gaining popularity in Australia, rising from 9th place and 3,000,000 users this time last year. Unlike most social networks, Twitter is most widely used by people in their 30s. It’s also much more popular with men than women (26% vs 13%). Aussie Twitter users check the site 23 times per week on average.

Twitter’s speed and ease of use make it popular with large businesses, of which 60% advertise on the platform. Small businesses are much less enthusiastic however, with use dropping to just 14%.

8. LinkedIn

4,500,000 active monthly users

Dropping down the ranks, but still gaining users, the “Facebook for professionals” is notably more popular with men than women (28% vs 17%). LinkedIn reports that approximately 8 million Australians have signed up for LinkedIn accounts, which means that just over half log in to their account regularly.

Naturally, LinkedIn is widely used by businesses. It’s the second most popular social media site after Facebook for large businesses (used by 73% that use social media) and medium businesses (48%). It’s less popular with small businesses though, which are more likely to use Instagram.

9. Tumblr

3,700,000 monthly users

The only site on this list to lose rather than gain users over the past year (though only by around 100,000), Tumblr’s slow decline continues. However, the microblogging site retains a loyal user base.

10. Tinder

3,000,000 users

Just holding on to 10th place, Australia’s most popular dating app has an estimated 3 million users. This has remained stable over the past year, after increasing in 2017 when premium paid services were introduced.

Hot on Tinder’s heels in 11th place is WeChat with around 2,900,000 active monthly users. Hugely popular with Australia’s Chinese community, WeChat and other Chinese social networks such as RenRen and Weibo are expected to increasingly challenge traditional social networks in the coming years.

For more industry news and online marketing tips for your business, follow the Civic Web Media Blog.

This overview provides a glimpse into the different uses a hashtag can have and gives some tips on how to hashtag like a professional.

What is a hashtag?

A hashtag is a hash symbol (#) followed by a word or phrase made up of alphanumeric characters such as #hashtag or #contentmarketingaustralia. These metadata tags are used on social media platforms to group together posts on particular topics, and to allow users to search for information.

In some parts of the world, the # is known as the ‘pound sign’ or an ‘octothorpe’.

Read more: Intro to hashtags

Why hashtags are great for business

Hashtags are a powerful social media marketing tool. They allow brands to reach a wider and more targeted audience and to drive customer engagement. Companies can promote brand awareness through online interactions and communities using simple hashtag marketing strategies.

Read more: Hashtag tips for businesses

Best practice for hashtags

Like any form of communication there are rules and guidelines which govern best hashtag practice. Some are technical, like not including non-alphanumeric symbols in your hashtags (things like -, !, ?). Others improve readability and flow, like #not #putting #too #many #hashtags #midsentence, while others still will mark you out as a pro or a rookie.

Read more: Hashtag best practice

Hashtags for different platforms

Hashtags may have started out on Twitter, but they are now used across most popular social media sites including Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. While general best practices apply universally, there are a few important tips and tricks to know for tailoring your hashtags to the platform you’re using.

Read more: Hashtag tips for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn

How do you choose the best hashtags?

There is no real magic formula for picking the best hashtags, but there are several useful tools and techniques for choosing which ones to attach to your posts.

Read more: How to choose hashtags

Branded, trending and recurring hashtags

Branded hashtags are used by brands to endorse or promote things like product launches, campaigns and conferences.

Trending hashtags are hashtags that are popular at a given time. These can be found within the social media platform you’re using – for instance Twitter and Facebook have trending topic sections – or via trending hashtag sites like trendsmap and hashtagifyme.

Recurring hashtags are, as the name suggests, hashtags that get used repeatedly. Things like #throwbackthursday, #motivationmonday and #2bittues.

Read more: Hashtag groups and how to use them

How not to hashtag

Hashtags allow you to reach a wide audience and join in conversations with potentially thousands of other social media users. The downside? This means any gaffs or embarrassments in your hashtag game will be available for the world to see – or, equally discouragingly, for no one to see. Don’t underestimate the importance of knowing what not to do when it comes to hashtagging.

Read more: Hashtag mistakes to avoid

It doesn’t take much effort to go from a hashtag novice to a confident, savvy hashtagger. Knowledge is power, so arm yourself with some hashtag know-how and before long you’ll be tagging with the best of them.

Beware of Acronyms

Although acronym-based hashtags are nice and pithy, and great for keeping your tweets under Twitter’s 280-character limit, they should be approached with caution.

Firstly, make sure the acronym you plan to use doesn’t already stand for something, particularly something you would not want associated with your brand. British fashion retailer Dorothy Perkins clearly hadn’t taken double meanings into account when it launched its hashtag #LoveDP in April 2017. Despite DP standing for ‘double penetration’ in certain circles, the retailer continued to use the dubious hashtag.

Even if an acronym doesn’t already stand for something, if they’re too long or convoluted they can become cumbersome and non-user friendly. In 2017, the Greyhound bus company, in a misguided attempt to piggyback off the popular hashtag #FOMO, created the somewhat less pleasing hashtag #FOMOOGLF (fear of missing out on Greyhound low fares).

Unsurprisingly this hashtag campaign was a gigantic flop. Scrolling through a Twitter search for #FOMOOGLF, it’s populated only by the company’s posts.

How to avoid acronym-based hashtag fails: unless the acronym you intend to use is unambiguous, recognisable and easy to read, try using a different kind of hashtag.

Avoid spamming trending hashtags

Hashtag spamming is the practice of including trending hashtags in an unrelated piece of content and it is one of the quickest ways to irritate other social media users. Although there is a right way to utilise trending hashtags, spamming is highly unprofessional.

One particularly damaging instance of hashtag spamming was committed by Celeb Boutique, who used the trending hashtag #Aurora, a hashtag which had emerged in the wake of a mass shooting in Colorado, to promote its Kim K inspired dress.

How to avoid a trending hashtag fail: The golden rule before using a trending hashtag is to find out why it is trending; this can easily be done by reading content containing the tag or googling the hashtag. Make sure before you use a trending hashtag that it is relevant to your post and only use trending hashtags if you are contributing something to the conversation.

Remember to do a find-a-word before you use a hashtag

As a rule, hashtags consist of a word or phrase comprising alphanumeric characters with no spaces or punctuation – and most of the time that is fine. But a common pitfall of this particular hashtag trait is the misreading of hashtags.

One of the most famous, and most gloriously disastrous, instances of a misread hashtag was Susan Boyle’s album launch party hashtag #susanalbumparty. Instead of the innocent and informative hashtag Susan Album Party, the internet had a field day over Su’s Anal Bum Party.

How to avoid the misread hashtag fail: make sure to conduct a thorough find-a-word before you use a hashtag to make sure it can’t be misinterpreted. To help avoid misreading and improve the readability of your hashtags consider capitalising each word so that #susanalbumparty becomes #SusanAlbumParty. Note: hashtags are not case sensitive.

Timing is everything

Even a well-crafted innocuous hashtag campaign can be brought down by poor timing. When Qantas pre-scheduled its #QantasLuxury campaign they didn’t count on it going live one day after the entire Qantas fleet was grounded over failed contract negotiations.

Instead of followers using the hashtag to describe their ideal luxury travel experiences Qantas received a barrage of unsurprisingly negative tweets.

How to avoid timing-based hashtag fails: although we clearly can’t predict everything that will happen within our own company or the outside world, poor timing can be avoided by keeping a close eye on news and trending topics and by keeping track of automated social media publishing schedules.

Hashtags are great for getting content out to a wide audience. The flip side to all this publicity is when things go wrong on social media, it’s almost impossible to stop the very unforgiving online world from pouncing on a hashtag fail. As the saying goes, the best defence is a good offence, so make sure your hashtag game is strong before they go live.

Branded hashtags

Put simply, branded hashtags are hashtags specific to your brand. They can include your brand name, company tagline or something else associated with your brand. They can be used for product launches, campaigns, competitions and events.

A good branded hashtag should be:

• Brief: keep it short, searchable and easy to spell
• Catchy: choose something memorable and engaging
• Unique: make sure your branded hashtag hasn’t already been claimed – when people search your hashtag you only want content associated with your brand to turn up

These hashtags are great for business, you can engage customers and promote brand awareness by including branded hashtags in your social media posts and encouraging your audience to do the same.

Feminine hygiene product company Always launched a highly successful branded hashtag in 2014 which remains a stalwart of its brand today. The hashtag #LikeAGirl began as a campaign to empower adolescent girls and has grown into a worldwide movement.

Even if your branded hashtag doesn’t go viral, they’re still an integral part of your social media strategy. By including the same branded hashtags in social media posts on different platforms you create a consistent and recognisable identity for your online presence.

Trending hashtags

Trending hashtags are hashtags that are particularly popular at a given moment. Sites like trendsmap and hashtagify.me can show you which hashtags are trending, or you can view which hashtags are popular in the trending section of the social media platform you’re using.

How to use them: Including trending hashtags in your social media posts is a great way to gain extra exposure for your content. It’s always best practice to tailor your post to a trending hashtag rather than just tacking a trending hashtag on the end of something irrelevant.

How not to use them: It is very important never to spam trending hashtags. The quickest way to appear unprofessional and frustrate other platform users is to include irrelevant trending hashtags in your posts. If you’re not contributing anything to the conversation, don’t use the trending hashtag. If you don’t understand a hashtag, make sure you research it before you use it in any of your posts.

Trending hashtags tend to give your post ’15 seconds of fame’ – while lots of people will see your post due to its trending hashtag, your post will also soon get swamped by others using the same hashtag. It’s best to use trending hashtags sparingly and in conjunction with other hashtags.

Industry hashtags

Industry hashtags are hashtags that are used by a particular industry on social media. Unlike trending hashtags, industry hashtags are steadily popular and constantly in use. By using recurring hashtags from your industry, you can join in conversations, connect with other people in your industry and help like-minded people find your posts.

For example, someone working in the travel industry might use:
#tourismchat #traveltuesday or #luxurytraveller

Non-industry specific recurring hashtags are also a great way to join in conversations and gain extra exposure on social media. Hashtags such as #MondayMotivation and #ThrowbackThursday can be applied to almost any industry.

Any successful social media plan should include branded, trending and industry hashtags. While not every branded hashtag will go viral and not every trending hashtag will put you in the spotlight, together these three hashtag strategies will help create a recognisable, cohesive and engaging online presence for your brand.

How do you choose a hashtag?

With so many hashtags out there, choosing the best ones can seem daunting – where do you even start? To help narrow down the field consider the following factors:

• Your purpose: What are you trying to achieve? Are you marketing a new product? Promoting a competition? Just looking for extra exposure? Your intentions will help determine the kind of hashtags that are appropriate for your post.
• Your platform: The number and type of hashtags you use will depend on which social media platform you’re using. It’s important to understand the rules and etiquette for hashtags on different social media platforms.
• Your audience: Consider your target audience – what are they likely to be searching for? It’s no use using popular hashtags if they have nothing to do with your products or services – if you want like-minded people to find your posts, use hashtags they are likely to be interested in and that accurately describe your business.

When deciding which hashtags to use keep in mind best hashtag practices; remember to keep hashtags short, clear, specific and relevant.

Helpful hashtag tools and websites

Once you’ve decided on your purpose, platform and audience needs, it’s time to choose the best hashtags. When it comes to finding trending and popular hashtags, there are plenty of handy tools out there to do the heavy lifting for you:

• Platform searches: One of the easiest ways to find the best hashtags for your posts is to use in-platform search functions. Twitter gives you a snapshot of the top trending hashtags, while a quick search will show you how often a hashtag is used. Similarly, searching a topic on Instagram will show you a list of relevant hashtags and how many times they’ve been used. Facebook also has a trending topics section.
• Trendsmap: Trendsmap offers a geographic representation of which hashtags are trending on Twitter everywhere in the world, from local, to national to global. This is highly useful for targeting your company’s demographic, particularly for small or local businesses.
• Hashtagify.me: This is a very informative site which shows trends, correlations and popular hashtags, along with related hashtags and top influencers relevant to any topic you choose to search.

  Example: #hashtag search http://hashtagify.me/hashtag/hashtag

• Hashtags.org: This site shows popular and trending hashtags as well as offering a hashtag tracking service which allows you to see social media conversations and gain valuable insights.

Note: Most of these sites have free features although more advanced functions usually require a subscription.

Are popular hashtags necessarily the best?

A catch-22 of using popular or trending hashtags is the risk of your post getting lost amongst the masses. Trending hashtags tend to get spammed by users trying to give their posts a publicity boost, while over-used hashtags like #SocialMedia are used so often your post will just get swallowed up in search results.

At the same time, you don’t want to use barely-used hashtags as your customers are unlikely to search for them; it’s important to walk the line between over-used and obscure.

The golden rule is to avoid spamming trending hashtags; it’s more important that your posts are seen by the right people than by a lot of people. Use popular hashtags judiciously and only when they pertain to your post. Employ a mixture of trending hashtags (when relevant), industry-specific and descriptive hashtags.

But don’t be fooled: the humble hashtag represents one of your most powerful marketing tools.

Hashtags in marketing

In marketing, hashtags have the two-fold benefit of:

1. opening your business up to more people
2. allowing you to hone in on a more targeted audience

People use hashtags to search for items or topics. By placing the right mix of hashtags on your posts, you increase the chance of your business being included in search results.

An illustrative example: A Newcastle-based artist tags her latest Instagram post with #Newcastle #NSW #AustralianNatives #Art #Original #Watercolour.

• Her post will turn up in general, broader searches like ‘Art’, exposing her to a wide audience
• Her post will also be found by people searching for specific terms, who are likely to be interested in her work, ie, ‘AustralianNatives’ and ‘Watercolour’

Tip: Consumers love to search locally, so including a local hashtag is a great way to get yourself noticed.

Remember to be specific. If your clothing company specialises in fair trade clothing, use hashtags like #fairtradefashion, #ethicalfashion and #ecofashion, rather than just #fashion.

Hashtags and branding

Hashtags can help improve your branding and foster a community-based online presence.

Your brand hashtag can be your company name or a phrase associated with your brand – think #Nike and #justdoit or #KitKat and #havebreak. It’s important to make your brand hashtag simple and unique.

Branded hashtags allow consumers to easily search for your posts and tag your products in their own posts. Branding can also be enriched through non-branded hashtags.

Take Visit NSW, the government-based site for tourism and events in New South Wales. Instead of using #visitnsw on Instagram, the account asks users to tag pictures with #NewSouthWales to tag gorgeous photos of NSW destinations that they can repost.

The #NewSouthWales hashtag encourages participation and creates a community in which social media users can share local tips about the best places to visit in the state, making the account come across as knowledgeable and authentic.

 Tip: Avoid abbreviations and acronyms (unless in common use) as they can be misinterpreted. Users typically search for full words and phrases, e.g., #cupcakeespresso not #ce

When done well, hashtag branding creates an interactive, user-generated community and a genuine connection to your brand.

Campaign hashtags

Hashtags are perfect for campaigns and promotions. Events such as sales, conferences and competitions can gain great exposure through the creation of unique hashtags.

A recent hashtag campaign in Boston saw the food industry come together through its #digoutdineout hashtag. The campaign encouraged people to brave the heavy snow and support the city’s struggling local restaurants who advertised various deals with the hashtag #digoutdineout.

Conferences, festivals and seminars can all benefit from a branded hashtag too. For example, Newcastle’s DiG Conference encourages attendees to use ‘DiG’ with the year (eg #DiG2018). This way they spread the word of the event, get people involved and help those who couldn’t attend to see what’s happening.

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I’ve taken a few notes…#DiG2016 pic.twitter.com/XKIRIcEYaB

— Laura (@ArtgirlLaura) October 14, 2016

As with other branded hashtags, it’s important to keep tags simple and memorable. If you’re running a Halloween-themed competition, something like #HalloweenGiveaway is appropriate.

Tip: To give your business extra exposure, ask people to participate in your campaign or competition by including your #hashtag in their posts.

Track hashtag performance

There are plenty of free tools for tracking hashtag performance which give you valuable feedback on how your posts are doing. Hashtag analysis allows you to redirect your posts and focus on which hashtags are most effective.

Make sure your marketing strategy includes the not-so-humble hashtag. Hashtags are the perfect tool to market and grow your business and engage with your community.

Image: “Hashtag Ciabatta” by jan zuppinger is licensed under CC BY 2.0

We expected (and !) all the snark & critique for #280characters. Comes with the job. What matters now is we clearly show why this change is important, and prove to you all it’s better. Give us some time to learn and confirm (or challenge!) our ideas. https://t.co/qJrzzIluMw

— jack (@jack) September 27, 2017

Why, you ask?

Twitter’s 140-character limit has remained controversial since its inception in 2006. Over the years innovations have improved usability including @names, pictures and URLs not counting in the character limit.

So, why change it now?

According to Twitter, when it comes to tweeting, not all languages are created equal.

Chinese, Japanese and Korean users can convey more information in shorter tweets thanks to the pithiness of their languages. Only 0.4% of Japanese tweets hit the 140-character limit, while nine per cent of English tweets do.

By doubling its character limit, Twitter intends to extend the same opportunity for verbosity to all nationalities.

Why was it 140 in the first place?

Although many tweeters are emotionally attached to the now-iconic 140-character limit, it was originally an arbitrary choice. When Twitter began in 2006, posts were made via text which, at the time, had a character limit of 160. The extra 20 characters was set aside to include the sender’s username.

With the iPhone debuting the following year, the imposed limit was soon superfluous, but Twitter has stuck with the cap, and even become iconic for its brevity.

What this means for business

Crafting 140-character posts may encourage concise content, but sometimes it just isn’t possible to convey meaning in so small a space. Precious time is often wasted trimming posts down to size, and vital content or meaning can be lost in the process.

For businesses, an increased character limit of 280 means less time whittling down posts and more time writing what you want to say first go. It also leaves space for more and longer #hashtags.

Read more: Hashtag Hacks: Intro to hashtags

As yet, Twitter has not announced when, or if, the ability to post 280-character tweets will be rolled out to all users. Some even suspect that the longer tweet format will be a paid feature, with the site long struggling to make a profit.

Some users have already found a work-around to get 280 characters for any account by installing a Chrome extension.

Hello world, this is a large Tweet. This tweet has 280 characters instead of the regular and boring 140, and it’s going to change everything. One more thing: you can do this yourself with a userscript in Chrome, it’s really simple to do

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 27, 2017

The reaction

As with all change this announcement has been met with a mixture of outrage, excitement and indifference.

Twitter purists say the 140-character limit is one of the best things about the service, setting it apart from other social media platforms. Early accounts with 280 characters are experimenting with the function, hitting a mix of useful and annoying posts.

Pro-280 folks say this has been a long time coming and will simply result in fewer post-threads, where users split up long messages into two or more tweets.

The take-home

Twitter is still an excellent micro-blogging service used by millions of people worldwide. Will a doubled word limit bring the sky crashing down on us? No. Does it mean you can express yourself and your business more easily? Yes, indeed it does.

This brief overview of #hashtags will shed some light on the little symbol that has had a big impact on the way we communicate.

What is a hashtag anyway?

A hashtag is used in social media to allow users to easily find posts related to a specific topic, tag their own posts or communicate with other users.

Put simply, hashtags help you search for content, and help others find your online content too.

#funfact: In 2014, the word “hashtag” was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary, although you may want to think twice before using it in a game of Scrabble with Grandma.

What are hashtags used for?

Hashtags are used across most popular social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Google+. On these platforms, hashtags enable you to:

Search: Hashtags allow you to search for topics and find all related posts about them. For instance, searching #GOTfinale on Twitter will return a list of posts about the final episode of Game of Thrones. Or, if you want to see multitudes of adorable puppies on Instagram, you could search the hashtag #puppiesofinstagram.

Tag: Hashtags make it easier for other social media users to search for and view your posts. For instance, if you’re an artist posting your work on Instagram you might add the hashtags #art #artist #creativity #penandink #landscape #originalartwork and so on.

Participate: Hashtags allow you to join in campaigns, make yourself heard or create a sense of community. Hashtags can be used to run competitions, update people on what’s happening at a festival or seminar, or to keep track of the developments in a news story. They can also be used in serious campaigns like the #illridewithyou campaign which emerged following the Lindt Café siege.

Add commentary/humour: Hashtags can be used to illustrate a point or add humour or context to a post such as: “Tried making soufflé for the first time today #itdidnotgowell #womp #thinkilljuststicktobeansontoast”.

How to hashtag effectively

A hashtag can be anything you want it to be. It simply needs to begin with a # symbol, followed by alphanumeric characters and, very importantly, no spaces. For example, #hashtagsareawesome2017, not #hashtags are awesome 2017.

Exclamation marks, question marks, apostrophes, commas and full stops are all to be avoided.

Hashtags are not case sensitive, so #newcastlensw and #NewcastleNSW will yield the same results.

Hashtags can be placed at the beginning, middle or end of a post. For example:

#adeleconcert Can’t believe I’m finally seeing Adele!

or

Can’t wait to see Adele tonight! #adeleconcert

or

On my way to the #adeleconcert in Newcastle, so excited!

The important thing to remember about hashtags is that they are for everyone. Whatever industry you’re in or whatever you’re posting about, they can help you get noticed, share your opinions to a wider audience and even grow your business.

If you’re struggling to make social media work for your business, check out how Australian brands made the best use of their social profiles in July 2016.

What social media sites do Australians use?

For your marketing efforts to be successful, you need to go where the people are. Researching Australia’s most popular social media sites will make it clear that a Facebook presence is essential, and a YouTube channel is just as important if you produce video content.

According to the latest data from StatCounter, more than 15 million Australians have Facebook accounts (62.5% of the population), while YouTube receives more than 14,400,000 unique Australian visitors every month.

Other social networks are also important, depending on your industry and the type of content you are producing. If you primarily market to business customers (B2B), a LinkedIn profile is essential for networking with the site’s 3,450,000 other Australian users (not to mention international users), while Instagram (5,000,000 users) and Pinterest (290,000 users) are useful platforms for sharing infographics and other images.

Twitter shouldn’t be neglected either, despite its comparatively smaller share of 2,800,000 users, as the microblogging site can be a powerful targeted marketing tool.

Most popular brands on social media

The Socialbakers July 2016 Social Marketing Report Australia reveals that Australian brands and customers are much more active on Facebook than on other social networks.

The top 20 brands made 312,994 interactions with Facebook users, compared to just 6,185 interactions on Twitter. The response rate was also higher for Facebook enquiries at 73%, compared to 42% of Twitter responses.

The most ‘liked’ brand on Facebook is McDonald’s, which has 1,229,969 likes as of the end of July 2016. This puts it ahead of other popular brands such as Lorna Jane, Garage Ink Tattoo and Samsung Australia, all of which have more than 1,000,000 likes. The most popular industry overall is e-commerce with 27,251,011 total fans, followed by retail with 23,047,732 likes.

Over on Twitter, Aussie airline Qantas has carved a niche for itself as the most liked brand month-to-month. YouTubers have consumed more videos from Telstra than any other brand (28,417,906 views), but MassiveJoes.com has the most subscribers at 103,953, showing more long-term engagement.

Most interactive brands

Images: Socialbakers

Collecting ‘likes’ is one thing, but companies that take the time to respond to their customers’ questions and comments can develop trusting relationships.

Online fashion store SHOWPO excels at customer interaction on Facebook, with a total 954,616 interactions earning the retailer a consistent lead since December 2015.

On Twitter, Sportsbet.com.au has become the most responsive brand with 36,362 interactions, while YouTube’s most interactive brands include Virgin Australia, ahm health insurance and Pedigree.

Even companies that have a smaller social presence can still build a reputation for caring for their customers. Kraft Nuts Australia & NZ interacted 445 times per 1,000 Facebook fans in July, following other brands such as Duracell, IXL Jam, Golden Circle in previous months.

The bar is set significantly lower on Twitter, with KFC being Australia’s most interactive brand despite interacting only 44 times per 1,000 followers.

Most socially devoted brands

Other brands impress with their dedication to answering as many questions as possible in the fastest possible time.

Telstra was the most socially devoted brand on Facebook in July (overtaking Woolworths in June), responding to 95.15% of enquiries in an average time of 213 minutes (3 hours and 33 minutes).

Australia Post was the most devoted on Twitter, again with slightly less impressive statistics of a 74.20% response rate and a 427-minute wait (7 hours and 7 minutes).

A socially devoted brand is defined as one that responds to at least 65% of its customers’ questions per quarter.

What were the most popular posts in July 2016?

The majority of social media posts are visual in nature, as brands aim to capture users’ attention with images and videos. Last month, 44% of Facebook posts were photos, 37% were videos and 18% were text links.

Facebook: Woolworths

Woolworths inspired the greatest reaction on Facebook in July by tapping into the cultural zeitgeist with a timely post related to Pokémon Go.

This post offered helpful advice to gamers about where to find some of those elusive Pokémon, while also weaving in references to fresh fruit and vegetables. Best of all, there was a creative image to go with it.

By the end of July, the post had provoked 70,878 total interactions, including 40,021 likes, 22,953 comments and 7,904 shares.

Twitter: KFC

KFC Australia also took note of current events by spotting that it was the birthday of 5 Seconds of Summer drummer/singer Ashton Irwin. The fast food giant sent Ashton a short video of birthday wishes that didn’t fail to promote KFC products in a big way.

30,276 Twitter users interacted with this post, including 18,441 likes, 11,185 retweets and 650 replies.

YouTube: Optus

Optus also went down the music route by offering fans of singer-songwriter Troye Sivan an exclusive soundcheck performance of his new single ‘Talk Me Down.’

Between its posting on 11 July and the end of the month, this video was watched 9,492 times, attracting 1,027 likes and 169 comments.

What can we learn from this?

It’s clear that Australia’s biggest brands devote more time and attention to Facebook than other social platforms, but there are still plenty of opportunities for smaller businesses to make a name for themselves as companies that genuinely care about their customers.

While the lower barriers to Twitter prominence also offer opportunities there, the comparatively small number of Australians who actually use that site means that Twitter probably shouldn’t be the main focus for your social media marketing.

With home-grown brands like SHOWPO and Lorna Jane holding their own against the multinationals, social media is revealed to be a democracy where the customer experience truly counts, not just big bucks. If you can regularly provide engaging and timely content to your followers, and your staff are committed to responding to enquiries as often and as quickly as possible, your business can look forward to achieving social media success.