Tagging and Mentioning On Social Media: what's the difference & how can it help you grow?

Have you ever been asked to "Tag someone in your post" or "Make sure you mention that account"?

In this blog post you'll learn the difference between the two and how you can use both to get more eyes on your content on Facebook and Instagram.

Tagging and Mentioning are tools you can use in your social media posts to increase your reach, and nurture relationships, and they are very easy to use too.

Both Tags and Mentions are accessed by using the @ symbol or selecting the tagging tool as you post.

A tag is used when you want your post to tell people who you were with (Facebook Personal Page) who is in the image or you want to draw someone's attention (the person you are tagging) to the image (Facebook Personal Page & Instagram) .

The tag will link back to that person/account and they will receive a notification to let them know they have been tagged. They then have the option to allow it on their timeline (Facebook Personal Page) or leave it up under their tagged photos (Instagram).

Tagging On Your Facebook Personal Page

On Facebook you can tag people in a personal page post by selecting 'tag friends'. This then brings up the 'who are you with?' text. As you type the name in, it will bring up your options to tag them.

Your post will then say 'Your name' is with 'tagged person'. You can only tag your friends in this way.

You can also tag someone in an image on your personal page like this:

Tagging On Your Facebook Business Page

You can tag products in your images of your posts on your business page, but you can't tag personal accounts or business pages.

Tagging On Instagram

On Instagram you can tag people in your image by tapping 'edit', going to your image and tapping the 'tag' option (see the images below). Then you can select the account you want to tag and they will also get a notification. This tagged image will also appear on their profile under their 'tagged images', unless they have turned that option off.

Mentions are more like including someone in a conversation. You can mention someone in a caption by using the @ symbol in the body of your text.

When you use a mention the person's name or page's name is visible to everyone, but the person or page can still choose whether they allow it to publicly display on their own page.

You can mention a personal page, a business page and a group on your personal page:

You can mention a business page and a group on your business page:

And you can mention a personal page on your business page

You can mention another Instagram account in your captions, your comments and even in your Instagram bio.

In your caption you simply type @, followed by no space and the name of the account. The account will pop up and you can select it.

In your bio you can type @, no space and the name of the account you want to mention in your bio (this is a good idea for a linked or partnered account, as pictured below).

And finally you can mention someone in your comments. When you reply to a comment, it will automatically @ them, and if you want to mention someone else in the same comment, or in any comment, just use the @, no space and the name of the account. See how this looks in the images below.

You can also mention several accounts in your Instagram stories. Instagram have created a mention sticker in stories to make this really easy for you to do (see below).

When you mention an account in your Instagram story that account is notified and given the option to share that mention in their own stories.

Basically, it increases the chances of your content being seen by more people. If I tag a product I'm using or a business I am visiting the chances are that business will share that content with their own audience, which means their audience is seeing my content.

If this is done strategically, you can both build business relationships and increase the size of the audience who see your content.

Let's take an example.

If I post a photo of Small Dogs Big City at the Molly Malone Statue in Dublin, and then tag Lovin' Dublin's Instagram account in that photo, there is a good chance that they will share that photo with their huge audience. Their audience is based largely in Dublin and so the content on Small Dogs Big City is relevant to them.

Start by doing your research.

Find accounts that have an audience who would benefit from and be interested in your content. Engage with that account regularly. Create content that you know has a high chance of being reposted by that account.

Then you can tag them in the posts you create that are relevant to their audience. Always make sure there is no space between the '@' and the name of the account, and double check your spelling too so that the tag/mention is active.

Don't just randomly tag people as that will feel spammy and maybe get you blocked!

There are plenty of accounts out there that look for content to share that is relevant to their niche, work with them by providing them with the content you know they want to use and tagging them in it.

Then when they do share your content, you can repost it and thank them by mentioning them.

Mentioning is also great when you are sharing content that you know your audience will find relevant. It's your way of not only giving credit to the source of the content but also showing them that you have shared their content in a positive way with your own audience.

Tagging and Mentioning are great tools for growing your audience and building strong online relationships with the right people.

Take the time to find the right people to digitally network with through tags and mentions.

What is tagging? 

A tag is used to show who you are with/who is in your picture. You can also use it to attract the attention of an account.

What is mentioning? 

A mention is more like a conversation. You can use a mention to talk about someone, give them credit for something etc.

How does it benefit my business? 

Tags & mentions are a great way to increase the reach of your content to the right people and it also helps you develop strong business relationships.

What should I do? 

Create a list of accounts that would make sense for you to be connecting with.

What should I not do? 

Don't randomly tag accounts all the time, regardless of the content. This can be seen as spammy.

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