Hashtag tracking is the process of social listening, monitoring, and analyzing the performance of hashtags across social media platforms. It helps brands understand how specific hashtags contribute to engagement, reach, and overall campaign effectiveness. By tracking hashtags, marketers can identify trending topics, measure the success of marketing campaigns, and gain insights into audience sentiment.
What is hashtag tracking?
Hashtag tracking involves collecting data on how often a hashtag is used, the context in which it’s mentioned, and how much engagement (likes, comments, shares) it generates. It’s especially useful for tracking campaign reach, identifying top-performing content, and analyzing community-driven conversations.
In EmbedSocial, hashtag tracking is powered by official APIs across Instagram, X (Twitter), YouTube, and Facebook, making it easy to monitor mentions across multiple accounts and locations.
How does hashtag tracking work?
There are two main sources for hashtag analytics:
- Platform-native insights (like Instagram Insights or Twitter Analytics) provide engagement metrics related to hashtag use on your own posts.
- Third-party tools like EmbedSocial offer cross-platform tracking, giving you a consolidated view of public posts using your branded or campaign hashtags.
You can also filter hashtag performance based on sentiment analysis to understand the emotional tone of user-generated content.
Why is hashtag tracking important?
Hashtag tracking is critical for:
Campaign measurement
Track reach, engagement, and public response to branded hashtags.
Trend spotting
Discover what’s gaining momentum in your niche or industry.
Community engagement
Find and connect with users who organically promote your brand.
Improving your share of voice (SOV)
Hashtag data directly contributes to calculating your brand’s share of voice, especially on platforms like Instagram and X.
How to improve hashtag tracking results
Create and promote branded hashtags
Encourage customers and influencers to use your hashtag when sharing content.
Monitor real-time performance
Use tools like EmbedSocial to see new posts as they happen.
Analyze engagement + sentiment
Combine hashtag metrics with sentiment analysis to get the full picture.
Benchmark against competitors
Track hashtags your competitors are using and measure how yours stack up.
