H is for… Hashtags

Hashtags are essential if you want your contetn to be seen by anyone other than your followers. They help to be discovered!

Instagram hashtags are used as a way to categorise content and help people find the content that they are looking for. Most users follow their favourite hashtags to discover new and interesting content.

Even if users don’t specifically follow a hashtag, they will also use hashtags to explore and find similar content or people to follow if they happen upon an interesting account or hashtag.

Therefore, the right hashtag(s) will expose you and your brand or company to a must wider audience (and a targeted one).

By making yourself discoverable on Instagram you have a better chance of attracting new followers, getting more likes and increasing engagement.

Which Hashtags?

Deciding which hashtags to use is all about researching relevant and trending hashtags for your target audience and the people that you want to network with. Look at what hashtags your competitors and key influencers are using in your industry.

Use a mix of popular and niche hashtags. It is recommended that you use a blend of hashtags – 10% niche, 20% competitive and 70% popular.

You might also want to look at keywords that are relevant for your brand. Search them in the tags tab as Instagram will give results showing a list of top hashtags using your keywords. You might also want to think about using hashtags that relate to your theme. Alternatively, you could use location and geographical based hashtags to seek engagement locally with your local network.

Additionally, you may want to think about creating your own hashtag for your content. This might relate to a key message or theme, or it might be a branded hashtag or tagline.

How many hashtags?

On each post, you can have thirty hashtags. If you use all of the permitted thirty hashtags it can look messy. So don’t unless it is actually appropriate and relevant. Additionally, you may want to include some hashtags in the comments (not just the caption) if you want it to look less messy. However, for the hashtags to be counted, they have to be added immediately after the post is posted.

Keep a list / catalogue of hashtags that suit you and your brand that you can easily refer. However, sure that you mix it up and don’t include exactly the same hashtags each time.