If you are doing everything from posting gorgeous photos on Instagram to writing witty captions, yet you feel that nobody is actually seeing and valuing your amazing content, then we are here to help you out!
If you are already creating shareable content, then half the work is done and the only piece you are missing in this Instagram puzzle is Hashtags!
Yes, #hashtags
The easiest way to understands hashtags is to think of them as road signs that lead people to your profile. They are like your own little Google keywords which people can use to discover you. They boost your visibility and allow you to be part of wider conversations online.
Even though hashtags are very important, most people aren’t able to figure them out. How many hashtags should you use? Where should you be placing them, in the caption or the comments? And how do you know which are the right ones to use, the ones that will increase your discoverability?
In this article, we will help you figure out the right hashtags to use for your content so that you can reach the right audience.
How many hashtags should you use on Instagram?
Instagram allows the use of 30 hashtags on each post. Our advice is to take advantage of this and use all 30. This will help you cover the most bases.
It might sound a bit much, but trust us, the more hashtags you use, the more eyeballs you stand to capture.
As to where to place them, there is no hard and fast rule. You can place them in the captions or as the first comment. It will look much neater to have it in the comments but if you manage to slide them in the caption, then that’s okay too.
Use Hashtag Sets
Just because you are using 30 hashtags in each post doesn’t mean that you will repeat them over and over again. Using the same hashtags means you are reaching out to the same crowd every time. It is also believed that the Instagram algorithm frowns upon usage of the same hashtags for every post.
Hence, it is important to keep things fresh and regularly mix up your hashtags. The best way to do this is by creating hashtag sets!
One way to do this is by using a visual scheduling app for Instagram. You have to just create smaller collections of hashtags and pick and choose from any of them every time you post until you hit your total of 30.
This way, you can organize hashtag sets for different themes like leadership, inspiration, education and so on.
Just create different categories and have sets of 5-10 hashtags per category, so that you can shake things up every once in a while. When you create a post that targets those categories, just copy and paste the hashtags to your post from any visual scheduling app. Plann is one such app that you can use.
What are the best hashtags to use?
Before you decide on the hashtags, you should take some time to ponder upon what type of content your audience is likely searching for.
Say, you sell products for dogs and your demographic is dog owners and dog lovers. So, the most basic hashtag which you can start with is #dogs. This is quite a vague and highly competitive space and we will address these issues later on.
But right now, you need to think of related hashtags, associated with the most basic one.
The way you do this is by heading to your Instagram feed, and typing ‘dogs’ into your search bar. This will bring up a dropdown menu of other similar hashtags related to that search term, as well as how many posts they’ve been used in.
You can go a step further by selecting one of the hashtags in the list. This will display another set of hashtags suggested at the top of the screen.
Another research strategy that you can employ is checking out the Instagram accounts of your competitors. You can tweak up their hashtags and repurpose them for your posts.
Size matters!
In case of hashtags, you don’t want to stick with one size.
Instead of opting for either too big or too small, you should use a mix of small-to-medium competition that sit just right.
If you use hashtags are too popular, you risk losing your content amongst hundreds of thousands of other posts using that same hashtag. But if your hashtags are very specific and niche, it’s unlikely that anyone will be searching for it.
You can check the number of posts on a specific hashtag by simply typing the words you’d like to use as a hashtag in the search bar of Instagram. The number under the hashtag will be the number of posts using it.
What’s a good Hashtag size?
To attract people who are really interested in your posts, we recommend that you find Instagram hashtags that have under 500,000 posts on them. Only work with bigger hashtags if you have a really large and engaged following already.
Hashtags with under 20,000 posts are ideal too as they may have super-engaged users.
The major reason for using hashtags in the medium or small range, instead of the bigger, more popular ones is simple: Visibility.
When someone does a search on Instagram, the most popular posts stick out in the Top Posts section. The rest are arranged in a chronological order from Most Recent to the older ones.
If any hashtag has millions of posts, then any post not making it to the top will quickly slide down the page and be lost in oblivion.
For example, consider that you took a photo on the Santorini beach in Greece. Now your photo will have much more chance of being in the Top 9 if you use the hashtag #santorinigreece which has under 100,000 posts rather than #beach, which has millions of posts under it.
You have to grab the highest chance of being visible while also not sacrificing on popularity of the hashtag.
Get specific!
Now, let’s step up our game with these hashtags.
Let’s say, you’re a fashion stylist.
It is very tempting to use #fashion. But this hashtag has over 350 million hits on Instagram. From what we have covered so far, you are smart enough to know that your photo will be at the top in the Most Recent section because of chronology for just about a split-second before other posts drown it.
Instead, we can get strategic and increase the specificity of our hashtags according to your business.
If you use the search bar, you will find #fashionstylist underneath #fashion with just over 2 million posts. Not the best, but still much better. You will post your photo and you’ll get lots of likes and people will know you’re a fashion stylist.
But we can do better.
But we can still do better. Think about other keywords that you could use in your business. For example, if you want to inspire your followers with some new season fashion, a good hashtag to use would be #winterstyle or #springstyle depending on where you live. At nearly 500,000 hits on Instagram for each of these hashtags, you’re much more likely to be found there than on #fashion.
At the same time, you’re able to really hone in on what your customers are looking for.
This way you can build your list of hashtags, choosing ones that really describe your business and your offering.
Avoid Spam hashtags
To make sure you attract authentic followers and your ideal audience, you want to carefully choose your hashtags for your specific business.
But be aware that some hashtags attract spammers and certain types of photos that you might not want to be associated with. The easiest way to avoid this is to check out every hashtag you plan on using to make sure you’re happy to be seen there.
The big culprits that attract spammers are hashtags such as #instagood, #happy, #love and #followme to name a few.
You should avoid these hashtags unless you want to be spammed with a whole lot of smiley faces or “follow me for free followers” comments.
These hashtags are easily recognizable as they have over 100 million posts on them. Checking out the number of posts under a hashtag will help you weed out the spammy ones.
Find hashtags for Feature accounts
Another type of hashtag to look out for is one started by someone who curates photos and re-posts them on their Instagram page.
How does this work?
Simple. You just add their specific hashtag to your photo and if the account likes your photo, they will repost it along with a link to your Instagram page.
These curator Instagram accounts usually have a huge following, so getting featured by them is a big deal that opens you up to a whole new audience.
Many people who are featured on a curated account find that their likes and follower count skyrockets as they’re found by a larger audience.
Below we have compiled a list of some different types of accounts that you can try getting featured on by using their hashtag. Remember to check out the accounts first to make sure that they fit your style of photo and aesthetic. This will increase your chances of getting featured and attracting a big audience.
- Use the hashtag #zomato on any food or drink photos.
- Use the hashtag #coffeeshots for photos of your coffee
- Use the hashtag #travelandlife on travel photography
- Use the hashtag #flashesofdelight on any pretty, pastel and feminine type photos
- Use the hashtag #HuffPostIDo to wedding photos
- Use the hashtag #wakeupandmakeup on photos featuring makeup