How To Run A Hashtag Campaign To Boost Engagement

Social media has fundamentally changed how brands connect with audiences. Maintaining an active presence across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X is no longer optional, it is expected.

Hashtag campaigns are one of the most effective ways to drive engagement on social media. By encouraging users to post with a specific hashtag, brands can spark conversations, collect user-generated content, and expand reach through organic sharing.

In this guide, we break down what a hashtag campaign is, why it works, and how to run one successfully, including real examples and practical guidance for managing campaigns with Gleam.

A hashtag campaign is a social media strategy where a brand creates a unique or branded hashtag and encourages users to post content using it.

These campaigns work across multiple platforms, but they are particularly effective on Instagram and X, where hashtags still play a role in discovery, feeds, and search.

A strong hashtag strategy focuses on relevance, clarity, and consistency. When paired with clear instructions and incentives, hashtag campaigns can increase reach, generate authentic content, and strengthen brand awareness.

One of the simplest hashtag campaign formats is asking users to answer a question or share a short story related to your brand or niche.

Blue Apron used #BlueApronWins to encourage customers to share their cooking success stories, generating positive discussion and brand advocacy.

Charmin’s #TweetFromTheSeat campaign used humour to spark participation and went viral by inviting users to share light-hearted thoughts.

Hashtag campaigns are also an effective way to collect testimonials and referrals. Asking customers how they use or benefit from your product encourages authentic promotion.

Sephora’s contouring hashtag campaign generated high volumes of user content while showcasing real results from customers.

Creative prompts encourage higher engagement. Lay’s annual Do Us A Flavor campaign asks fans to submit flavour ideas, generating massive awareness and ongoing participation.

Hashtag campaigns pair naturally with giveaways. Asking users to post with a campaign hashtag allows entries to be public while extending reach organically.

Deliveroo’s #FridayNightDeliveroo giveaways encouraged participation while keeping the brand visible in social feeds.

Collecting photos and videos is one of the most valuable outcomes of a hashtag campaign. Visual submissions help brands build libraries of authentic, reusable content.

This approach is particularly effective for ecommerce brands, where customer photos often outperform branded imagery.

Hashtag campaigns offer a low-cost way to increase visibility, generate content, and build stronger connections with your audience.

When users post on your behalf, your brand reaches new, relevant audiences organically. Lonely Planet’s #MyLPGuide campaign is a strong example of this effect.

Conversation-based hashtags help brands stay top of mind. Spotify regularly uses listening prompts to encourage sharing and discovery.

Once you’ve decided on the goal of your campaign, the next step is choosing the right hashtag. This choice has a significant impact on how easily users understand, remember, and participate in your campaign.

A strong hashtag should be clear, relevant, and closely tied to your brand or campaign concept.

Your hashtag should immediately signal what the campaign is about. Users should not have to guess how it relates to your brand or what they are expected to do.

Apple’s #ShotoniPhone works because it clearly communicates both the content format and the product involved.

Including your brand name or a clear brand reference ensures the content generated remains associated with you, even when shared beyond your own audience.

You can also reinforce this by asking users to tag your account in addition to using the hashtag.

Hashtags should be short, readable, and properly capitalised. Avoid long strings of words that are difficult to parse at a glance.

Corona’s #ThisIsLiving is effective because it is concise, legible, and easy to remember.

Before finalising your hashtag, search for it across platforms to avoid overlap with unrelated or inappropriate content. Small oversights can quickly turn into public mistakes.

Promotion is key to a successful hashtag campaign. Clearly explain how to take part, lead by example with your own posts, and continue to remind users throughout the campaign period.

Early momentum matters. Posting initial examples and resharing early submissions helps set expectations and encourages others to join in.

Gleam allows you to support hashtag campaigns without relying on hashtags alone for validation, which is increasingly important as platform APIs change.

Using Gleam as a central layer allows your campaign to live on social platforms while still giving you structure, moderation, and reliable entry tracking.

Hashtag imports can still be useful for surfacing content, but they should not be your only method of validation. Platform limitations mean access to hashtag data can be restricted or delayed.

Gleam’s import actions work best when paired with additional entry requirements such as mentions, submissions, or widget-based actions.

For higher reliability, you can ask users to submit a link or upload media directly via a Gleam widget. This approach allows you to collect consent, metadata, and entries in one place.

Direct submissions also make it easier to reuse content later across galleries and marketing channels.

After your campaign ends, the value does not stop. Reusing submissions across social media, galleries, and landing pages extends the lifespan of your campaign and reinforces social proof.

Sharing user-generated content helps build trust, demonstrates authenticity, and keeps your audience engaged beyond the giveaway window.

Displaying hashtagged content on your website allows potential customers to see real people engaging with your brand. Galleries act as visual testimonials and can support conversion on landing pages and product pages.

Gleam Galleries allow you to curate, moderate, and automatically update content sourced from your campaign.

A well-run hashtag campaign combines a clear idea, a simple hashtag, consistent promotion, and the right supporting tools.

By using Gleam to manage participation, validation, and content collection, you can run campaigns that feel native to social platforms while still maintaining control, structure, and long-term value.

Whether your goal is awareness, engagement, or content creation, a focused hashtag campaign can deliver meaningful results long after the campaign itself ends.