If you use social media you will have come across #hashtags (if you don’t and are considering it, read our article to find out if it can help promote your holiday home). Hashtags were first used on Twitter in 2007. Since then they have grown to become a standard tool to make social media feeds more effective. Essentially, hashtags are labels that allow your posts to become searchable. For example, if you add #holidaycottage to your social post, it will appear when people search for #holidaycottage. Using the right hashtags will allow more people to view your posts and potentially like and follow you.
The aim of this article is to give you some ideas of popular useful travel related hashtags, to improve the visibility of your holiday home on social media. If you are new to using hashtags use this list as a starting point. If you are a seasoned hashtag user keep this list up your sleeve for those days when the inspiration just isn’t flowing!
Popular hashtags
The more popular a hashtag, the more people you will reach when you are trying to share your content with others. In order to ensure your hashtags are relevant you should generally use holiday, travel and accommodation related hashtags. Some of our favourites include: #travel, #holiday, #romantic, #bookdirect, #holidayhome, #holidaycottage, #dogfriendly, #familyfriendly, #break, #staycation, #vacation, #summerholidays, #shortbreaks, #getaway, #weekendaway and #luxury.
People will also search for #thingstodo and specific #activities and #attractions that might include: #walking, #hiking, #adventure, #explore, #beach, #surfing, #cycling, #golf, #hottub, #photo and #logfire to name just a few. Useful tip: If you type a hashtag into the search box at the top of Instagram, it will show you how many posts include the hashtag and give you some insight into popularity.
It is also a good idea to hashtag your location, such as #Cornwall, #LakeDistrict or #Suffolk. Check if the local tourism board has a special hashtag for your region and if any local events or attractions have a specific hashtag.
Daily and seasonal hashtags
There will always be days when you are struggling for ideas so it is useful to have a few hashtags that can be used on specific days of the week. Here are a few examples that you might find helpful:
You can also hashtag seasons and special times of the year for example: #StDwynwensDay (Welsh Valentine’s day); #HalfTerm; #SchoolHolidays; #BackToSchool; #Spring; #FirstDayOfSummer; #BankHoliday and #Autumn.
National and International Days
If you are looking for something a bit different, or a fun way of creating a ‘hook’ for your hashtags, consider using relevant National or International Days. This list is by no means exhaustive but here are some travel related National Days to get you going:
#BestPractice
It is relatively easy to stick any old hashtag on the end of your social posts. However, in order to be as effective as possible and to reach the right audience there are a few key points that you should consider.
Ideally you should use a mixture of popular hashtags that are likely to boost the views of your post, alongside more niche hashtags that will get your post in front of the people who are most interested in seeing it.
Whilst it is useful to have a list of hashtags that you can use, make sure you only use ones that are meaningful and relevant to your post. Also make sure that you don’t use the same ones all the time. Make a note of which hashtags work best so you can reuse them but also add new ones.
Whilst hashtags have a place on Facebook, they are more suited to Twitter and Instagram. On Twitter you should stick to one or two hashtags. Instagram allows up to 30 but don’t feel you have to use 30 hashtags every time you write a post!
Whilst hashtags can technically be any length, shorter ones are generally better, especially as you will want to write some text to go with them.
Use your hashtags to engage with other relevant accounts, such as local businesses or attractions. Click on one of your hashtags and see what posts come up. They should all have something in common with you and you may find you can create some useful new relationships.
Next steps
The information in this article should be used as a guide rather than a hashtag bible. Take some of the generic and popular hashtags and start experimenting with them. Add some niche hashtags for your property and see what works and what doesn’t. Check what hashtags other holiday home owners are using. They might work for you. They might not. Lastly, keep posting regularly and let us know what works by leaving a reply below!
Really helpful blog. Would you be prepared to make this available to your cottage owners as a PDF with all the #s mentioned? It could be a little handy go-to reference for us all to use!
Pleased you liked it Wendy and do feel free to leave any useful hashtags you are happy to share with other owners (by leaving a ‘reply’ at the bottom of the article) as I know you are a bit of a whiz on social. Great suggestion and we will look at doing this as soon as possible.
Many thanks
I’m an old-fashioned gal and I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. I’m on Facebook (under a different name only my friends know about), and I’ve heard of the others but I’ve no idea why I’d want to be on them. As far as I can see, Twitter is mostly used by journalists and other people (TV, film, politicians etc) who want to – well, not sure really, make a noise? What would I get out of it? I don’t have any friends using it. And I haven’t a clue about Instagram. What’s it for? How would they help me get bookings? Facebook doesn’t.
Hi Mary, you may find this article helpful as it provides more of an introduction into social media and the platforms holiday home owners may wish to consider using. Hopefully it will also provide a greater understanding of the benefits of using social platforms.
I totally agree with Wendy; thanks Sarah for a very helpful blog, a PDF version if possible would be wonderful.