With all of the activity on Twitter, it’s easy to feel like you’re screaming into a void of noise whenever you tweet. By using hashtags, you can have meaningful conversations with your target audience in one single stream, while keeping your current followers engaged. The simple act of adding a pound sign (#) to your keyword phrases can help you attract new Twitter followers, establish your expertise on certain topics, and improve your brand’s SEO. The following are some do’s and don’ts to help you use hashtags that make your business more visible on Twitter.

Do promote a brand, marketing campaign, or event. When you promote your brand, you should create a hashtag that people can associate with your company in the long-term. To do this, craft a unique hashtag that defines your brand. You can also use short-term hashtags that promote sales you’re having and events you’re involved in. In these cases, create tweets that get your audience excited enough to participate in the conversation and share.

Don’t overdo it. Although using several hashtags in the same tweet may seem like a good way to expand your reach, it’s a waste of space that can actually water down your message. It’s better to pick one or two hashtags that are most relevant to your narrative and use the rest of the space to create a strong tweet that resonates with your target audience.

Do follow a trend. If you see a trending hashtag that is relevant to your company, take advantage of its popularity by joining the conversation. Create a witty or informative tweet about a trend to get the attention of potential followers and customers.

Don’t spam. Tweeting about trends that aren’t relevant to your business or sending the exact same topical tweets over and over again will not raise your visibility on Twitter. It will only annoy people and cause them to ignore your messages. If you do it often enough, you may even put your company’s Twitter account at risk.

Do keep it simple. An effective hashtag should be easy to spell and remember. If you make it too complicated or too long, people won’t use it—which will result in a missed opportunity to inspire your audience to spread the word about your brand to their own followers.

Twitter is an effective marketing tool that can attract new followers and keep current followers engaged. By the right use of hashtags, you can increase the success of your messages and encourage users to share your content—which will ultimately get more people interested in your services or products.