Hashtags have been a part of the Instagram culture since its incorporation in 2010. Through all the changes Instagram has gone through, hashtags have been a constant.
Even after 11 years, in 2021, hashtags are one of the best ways to increase engagement on your posts! They help you reach new audiences which in turn give you more followers. They help you put in front of an audience that may have not connected with you before.
The importance of hashtags makes it essential that you plan your use of hashtags.
You can also use the help of a Digital Marketing Agency to optimize and reach the full potential of your Instagram Business Account.
Here are a few ways to use hashtags on Instagram to increase the reach for your Instagram business account:
1. Identify the different types of hashtags
There are 9 different types of hashtags that you can use-
- Hashtags specific to the product/service you’re offering. E.g.: #marketing
- Hashtags representing your niche in the industry. E.g.: #marketer
- Hashtags are used for communities in your industries. E.g.: #marketersofinstagram
- Hashtags for specific days/events or seasons. E.g.: #nationalpetsday
- Geographical hashtags. E.g.: #dogsofnyc
- Daily hashtags. E.g.: #throwbackthursday #weekending
- Hashtags with phrases. E.g.: #ilovemydog
- Hashtags with abbreviations. E.g.: #ootd (outfit of the day) #tgif (thank god it’s Friday)
- Hashtags with emojis.
You should include a variety of hashtags in your posts.
2. Monitor influencer and big business accounts
Hashtags can be used in two places- Instagram feed posts and Instagram Stories. One of the easiest ways to know the kind of hashtags that are working best is to monitor other business accounts and influencers of a similar industry.
As hashtags help you reach new audiences, using similar hashtags can put you in the eye of their followers. Make note of the hashtags that they use often and are performing best based on the likes and views on the post.
3. Find Related Hashtags
When you search for a hashtag on the explore page, Instagram shows a bar of related hashtags. These hashtags are usually more specific and will help you reach your target audience. You can also check top-performing posts of the hashtag for different hashtags used by them.
4. Analyze which hashtags were successful for you
Consistently analyzing your performance is key to a successful Instagram business account. This should also include keeping a track of the hashtags you have used till now and find out the best forming hashtags.
You can use them again in your future posts and look for hashtags related to them. But you have to keep in mind that using a hashtag too many times may result in Instagram penalizing your account. Your posts might be pushed down and Instagram may even ban your account. Using identical hashtags over and over will be identified as spamming and users won’t be able to engage.
Keep rotating your hashtags for the best results.
5. Number of Hashtags
The average number of hashtags on a post on Instagram is 11. You can use as low as 2-5 hashtags per post and as high as 25-30 hashtags.
You can use hashtags according to your marketing goal. The maximum number of hashtags on a post is 30 and on a story is 10.
The optimal number of hashtags for posts would be 11-15 and the story would be 3-5.
You can easily find 12-15 hashtags for your posts using the following strategy-
- Use the top 3-5 popular hashtags with 300,000 to 1 million posts. Anything over 1 million would be too saturated to be useful for your post.
- Select 3-5 moderately popular hashtags with 80,000 to 300,000 posts.
- Next, pick hashtags more specific to your niche. Use industry-targeted hashtags.
- Include 2-3 hashtags of your brand.
6. Run hashtag-based campaigns and promotions
You can increase your engagement by encouraging your audience to use your hashtags by building contests around user-generated content.
You can create different contests or campaigns where users can participate through your brand hashtag or show support for your campaign. Motivate users to use your branded hashtags while uploading their posts or stories. This will help you reach their followers which can, in turn, help you gain more followers and increase engagement.
7. Avoid using banned hashtags
Some hashtags are disabled by Instagram and that makes them completely useless for your brand’s exposure. Hashtags are banned as the posts might be infringing Instagram’s community guidelines.
To check banned hashtags, you can use various tools available. Make sure you don’t use banned hashtags as Instagram may ban your account. You can also check banned hashtags on Instagram by searching for the hashtag. If a message appears that says, “Recent posts from #______ are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines”, the hashtag is banned and you should refrain from using the hashtag.
Conclusion
Hashtags when used properly will show you significant results. Hashtags are a substantial way to increase your reach on Instagram. Make sure you include them in your social media marketing strategy. Following the best practices, you can increase your follower count and generate more leads every day!Contact Buffalo Soldiers Digital for all your Digital and Social Media Marketing needs today.
Also Read: Followers Gallery: The way you can grow your Instagram followers and likes for FREE