From Twitter to Instagram, hashtags have brought about a revolution in the world of marketing, facilitating online brand monitoring for businesses.
While good hashtags can be powerful in driving community engagement and boosting your brand’s visibility, some people may still find it difficult to launch a dedicated and successful hashtag campaign.
To simplify this for you, we will have a look at some of the best hashtag campaigns of all times. But before that, let us understand why do brands run hashtags on social media?
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Understanding the concept of hashtag campaigns
Hashtag campaigns are emerging marketing initiatives in which businesses create and promote a specific hashtag on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter to boost user participation and engagement.
Users can use these hashtags on their posts, including texts, images, and videos related to the brand and even win exciting prizes for the same.
Why is it important to run hashtag campaigns?
Brands run hashtag campaigns for several reasons. Let us understand some of the major ones, one by one.
Increased visibility:
Hashtags make it easier for your audience to find and engage with your brand’s content. When users use your brand’s hashtag, it can significantly improve your visibility among the wider audience.
User engagement:
Hashtag campaigns promote the use of user-generated content, which helps create a sense of community around the brand. This further fosters interaction and engagement between the brand and the audience.
Viral content:
Interactive and creative hashtag campaigns have the potential to go viral and reach the masses, without much effort. When users find the campaign interesting, they are more likely to share its content with their followers and friends.
Brand awareness:
Hashtag campaigns are majorly launched to raise awareness about a brand’s products and services. Using hashtags is a great way to spread the message and publicize across social media platforms.
Data and insights:
Hashtag campaigns can be tracked and measured to gauge the performance of your campaign’s success, which includes user engagement, sentiment, and social media performance. These help businesses gather valuable data about their audience.
Popular Hashtag Campaigns of All Times
Now that we know why hashtag campaigns are increasingly becoming popular these days, let us check some of the most successful campaigns that have ruled the hearts for long.
#NationalFriedChickenDay by KFC:
The hashtag originally started to trend on Twitter, driving the attention of thousands of food enthusiasts who wanted to dedicate a day for fried chicken and demonstrate their love for it.
This was one of the most popular hashtag campaigns launched by KFC to celebrate World Fried Chicken Day, and the campaign witnessed some hilarious posts and great engagement.
#ShareACoke by Coca-Cola:
Share a coke with Coca-Cola was a campaign launched by Coca-Cola to create a more personal relationship with customers, asking them to share their moments of happiness.
The campaign was initially launched across Australia in 2011, wherein the brand replaced its branding on the bottles with a customized phrase “Share a coke with…..”, followed by 150 popular names across the country.
The idea behind was to connect the brand to the Australian audience and inspire virtual moments of happiness.
#PutACanOnIt by RedBull:
The objective of this campaign was to build brand awareness, connect with the consumers, and collect user-generated content.
This was an Instagram and Twitter hashtag campaign that encouraged consumers to get creative with Red Bull cans, using them in day-to-day lives.
In a short span of a few months, the brand received around 10,000 entries, showcasing people putting a can on minis, trucks, bikes, and even dogs.
Also Read – How To Run An Effective Hashtag Campaign?
#WorthSaying by L’oreal Paris:
The campaign, with an objective of increasing engagement around sexism both on and off the red carpet, was launched by L’oreal Paris, which is a well-known beauty brand across the world.
The brand created this campaign for women, to go beyond beauty and say what actually needs to be said.
It witnessed immense participation from women celebrities, and earned a large audience in no time.
#WeAccept by Airbnb:
Airbnb was once accused by a guest of being a company of discrimination. Soon the company launched this initiative, wherein it invented a policy requiring users to treat everyone in the community respectfully, regardless of their sex, disability, or religion.
The hashtag campaign launched by Airbnb showed acceptance and support for immigrants and refugees, earning the brand a big exposure.
#LetsDoLunch by Domino’s Pizza:
Domino’s Pizza in the United Kingdom launched this campaign to win over its social media audience. For people, all it was required to tweet #LetsDoLunch on their social media profiles to get an immediate discount on their Tuesday pizza orders.
The hashtag got trending on Twitter in no time, witnessing massive participation from the audience.
#OreoHorrorStories by Oreo:
An interesting hashtag, launched by Oreo, took the social media by storm some time ago.
While the company has already won the hearts over Twitter and Instagram with its hashtag campaigns, such as #OREODunkSweepstakes and #PlaywithOreo, this time it was a bit different with Halloween around the corner.
Around that time, the brand posted several hilarious vines, parodying famous horror movie scenes that won the hearts of fans and got the hashtag trending during the holiday season.
#HereToCreate by Adidas:
This campaign was launched by Adidas with an intent to inspire creators across the world to share their inspirational stories.
The campaign easily caught on with the audience as the brand later roped in popular personalities, such as Dua Lipa and Lionel Messi to push the campaign.
#ShotoniPhone by Apple:
Apple’s #ShotoniPhone campaign was one of the most popular hashtag campaigns of all times that continued to witness significant usage until a very long time.
It intended to inspire iPhone users to get creative with their cameras and share their photographs with the hashtag, showcasing the potential of iPhone cameras.
The campaign, which solely depended on user-generated content, encouraged millions of users to participate and make it a success.
#ReverseSelfie by Dove:
In 2021, Dove launched a viral hashtag campaign, addressing the pressure on women to look good on social media, and their lost self-esteem in the process.
The brand created a short yet powerful video of a girl reversing the process of posting an edited selfie.
The hashtag, which was launched, for promoting a cause, trended on popular platforms like Instagram and was used by a lot of people in their posts.
Similar to the ones mentioned above, there are several other hashtag campaigns that have caught the attention of millions over the internet. Some of these include #TweetFromTheSeat by Charmin, #ShareYourEars by Disney, and #WantAnR8 by Audi.
These campaigns became popular due to their ability to resonate with a wide audience, address significant social issues, and foster community engagement, while leveraging the power of social media to create a high-level impact.
The Bottom Line
When used strategically, hashtag campaigns have the power to raise brand awareness exponentially. These can be leveraged by businesses of all sizes—big or small to promote their products and services.
However, it is important to do your research before launching a campaign or it may negatively impact your brand’s image and turn into a disaster, only to be remembered for years.
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