5 Hashtag Tracking Tools for Better Social Media Outreach

Hashtags… they first emerged as a way to search for content and find specific relevant updates on Twitter, but soon spread across various social networks and other media. We use hashtags everywhere these days:

In business to promote products or events, like #Rio2016 (the most popular hashtag of 2016);
In our private lives to connect to people with shared interests and raise awareness about topical subjects like #BlackLivesMatter, which was one of the most widely discussed topics of last year in the USA.

A good hashtag can create a lot of buzz on the worldwide web, significantly improving brand recognition. However, to benefit from hashtags you need to track them, which can be really challenging given the number of mentions across different countries and languages.

Is there anything I can do to overcome this problem?
Yes - use hashtag tracking tools. Here are the five we love most.

Hashtracking

Hashtracking is a great tool for tracking tags on Twitter and Instagram.

One of the most interesting features that most other tools lack is historical data about hashtags, which allows you to track the performance of any hashtag from its very first mention.
Of course, the tool also has all the must-have hashtag tracking features such as user-friendly infographics, live hashtag performance monitoring, engagement analysis and influence reports.
Another notable function offered by Hashtracking is hashtag comparison. You can either check how your different hashtags perform against each other or compare the results of competitors’ SMM activities.
The tool also provides team accounts with multiple access points, which can be really handy if you have a whole bunch of marketers contributing to one Twitter or Instagram account.
Last but not least, Hashtracking’s signature ColorTracking feature shows you how the colours of your Instagram pics impact user engagement, arranging the most popular Instagram posts by colour.

All in all, Hashtracking is perfect for teams with a creative approach to social media analytics.

Twubs

Twubs is different from other hashtag tracking tools in that its main purpose is creating and participating in conversations about hashtags. The tool gives you access to a large hashtag directory where you can find specific feeds and join conversations about the relevant hashtag in a special chatroom. If you want to promote your brand new project or invite people to an event, you can register a new hashtag and create a chatroom for it, which will automatically create a hashtag feed you’ll then be able to add to your blog or website. This service is great for those who want to keep an eye on the discussions around hashtags and track what interests people most at that exact moment.

Iconosquare

This one is for Instagram only, but what a rich set of features! First of all, you have an opportunity to try the service out using a seven-day free trial, which gives you access to analytics and other useful functionality. Robust analytics Iconosquare offers range from overview of activity from a particular period of time to growth history, most popular posts, audience location, real-time performance and best time to post. Of course, it also tracks all your hashtags, showing you how they influence engagement. You can:

Track hashtag usage growth
Find the most popular posts on a hashtag
Visualise where your hashtags are posted
Track performance of your competitors’ hashtags

If Instagram is your number one SMM channel, Iconosquare is definitely worth your attention.

Keyhole

One of Magora marketers’ favourite hashtag tracking services is Keyhole, which monitors hashtags on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The great news is that its real-time dashboard, which shows information about how many people used your hashtag and provides valuable metrics for your social media campaign performance, is absolutely free. Keyhole detects the most influential users engaging with your hashtags, so that you can define the audience that is most likely to generate more leads and focus your marketing activity targeting the most active customers. The dashboards are easy to understand and share.

Detect the most valuable influencers
Monitor competitor activity
Get to know your target audience better
Track keywords and hashtags

All these features make Keyhole a user-friendly tool for gaining insight about your current and future SMM campaigns without investing too much money and time.

With hashtag usage spreading from social networks to news articles, the hashtag phenomenon is likely to continue its expansion and see new approaches in the near future. Using these hashtag tracking tools, you’ll be able to keep an eye on the latest trends and manage your campaigns accordingly.