Our Social Media Journey - Part 4

Continuing my social media journey, this week's focus is all about hashtags — what works, what doesn’t, and why they matter.

I've been running some A/B tests (see part 2) with hashtags to see their true impact on engagement. Let's dive in to the insights and results so far.

A quick recap

Here is a quick reminder of the ground rules we set:

• No more than 1 hour a week creating and posting content
• No paid ads, boosts, or likes — everything has to be organic
• We're only using free tools or the free features of paid tools
• No sketchy tactics — everything should be real and honest.

So where are we at?

We now brainstorm, create posts and schedule them well in advance which has freed us from the pressure of same-day content creation. By batching tasks and setting up a posting queue, we've drastically reduced production time.

Not only do we stick to our hour-a-week rule, but because we work in focused blocks, that hour now generates an entire month of content.

This streamlined approach also allows us to refine our messaging, making it more impactful — keep an eye on our Monday posts for examples.

The results speak for themselves

So is it working?

Absolutely!

Facebook shows:

• 541% increase in reach
• 200% boost in interactions
• Higher link clicks

Our own data shows that we've seen a 25% increase in traffic from socials, which is a significant number of visitors.

Do hashtags really work?

We've all seen them scattered over social media posts, but are they there for a good reason or do people just include them because everyone else does?

Are hashtags worth the hype?

Our data says yes!

The A/B tests I've run show that a post has about 36% more engagement if it includes at least one hashtag.

This is especially true for Instagram. where hashtags help attract genuinely interested viewers who are likely to convert to customers.

So should we just stuff our posts full of hashtags?

While more might seem better, 3-5 hashtags per post seems to hit the sweet spot. Too many hashtags can make posts look cluttered and unprofessional.

Instead, focus on using tags that align with your content and brand, rather than hopping on trends that don’t align with your message.

Although it might be tempting to include a load of trending hashtags to gain some views, these tend to be over-saturated so people are unlikely to find your content. The views are also unlikely to be from people who want to engage or convert, so are wasted.

One thing that works really well is using your company name as a hashtag.

Our #CostumeSource hashtag is a great way for customers to share experiences and for us to foster community — they can tag us in their photos or videos, giving a sense of connection and a hub for brand-related content.

So what's next?

I'll be back in a few weeks to share more, once we're had some time to tweak and analyse.

As always, don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see what we're doing and stay updated.