Instagram is currently the biggest platform for creating short content in the form of posts, reels and stories. It is the best platform to increase your reach to the audience, connecting with them and grow your business and your brand.
With this growing popularity of the app comes various hacks, tricks to grow fast and easy. One of these hack is using Instagram hashtags.
What are Instagram Hashtags?
Instagram hashtags are fundamentally a way to label and categorize your content. They then help Instagram serve your posts to relevant users.
When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page for that hashtag.
Hashtags are clickable. Anyone who clicks on an Instagram hashtag he will see a page showing all the posts tagged with that hashtag.
You must have seen various hashtags been put in the description of posts , stories and reels with the “#” .
Some currently trending hashtags are
#instagood
#fashion
#happy
#summer
#selfie
#beauty
#healthylifestyle
#business
#healthy
So you can understand how important the game of # is as it shows your content only to the interested audience, your total addressable market.
How to Research Instagram Hashtags for your account?
We can categorize Instagram hasthags into majorly 8 different categories .
1) Location based hashtags like – #kolkata, #paris
2) Branded hashtags like – #nike, #starbucks, #tacobell
3)Industry hashtags like #SocialMediaManagers #WeddingPlanners
4)Community focused hashtags like #womenpower
5) Descriptive hashtags like #sunset
6) Daily hashtags like – #mondaymornings , #sundaybrunch
7) Emoji hashtags like , #$$$ , #!!!
8) Acronyms or short #TBT , #OOTD
Here’s how to conduct hashtag research for your account:
1) Conduct Research on the Instagram Explore Page
The Instagram Explore page is a great source of inspiration for your Instagram hashtag strategy.
For the best results, search for keywords that are relevant to your brand or content and check out the “Top” results.
These posts are clearly performing well with the Instagram algorithm, so take note of the different hashtags being used and whether they could work for your content.
2) Check Hashtag Volume Using Instagram’s Tag Search Tool
When it comes to finding the best hashtags, post volume is a really important determinant.
If a hashtag has already been used on millions of posts, the chances are that your post can be drowned out amongst all the other posts.
On the other hand, if a hashtag only has a few hundred posts, it’s likely that no one is searching for it on the Instagram Explore page. 10K-200K posts is a safe middle ground to aim hashtags.
3) Experimentation
Once you’ve found the hashtags you want to use, it’s important to start testing them and digging into your analytics.
Analyzing the performance of your hashtags is the best way to monitor the success of your experiments, and will allow you to improve your strategy over time.
It is a trial and error method. Some hashtags may click for you and give unexpected results whereas some would not work.
So the most important aspect to success in Instagram is patience.
4) Don’t use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags
It might be tempting to simply copy and paste the same long list of hashtags on every post, but don’t do it. Instagram community guidelines clearly state that “posting repetitive comments or content” is not okay.
If you use the same hashtags for every post, your content will be penalized by the algorithm.
5) You should properly understand the meaning of the hashtags
Not knowing the meaning of hashtag can result in wrong hashtag choices affecting the reach of the post or the reel to the audience as it will not reach to the audience initially targeted.
6) Analyze Your Competitors
Next, analyze your best competitors or the industry leaders in your field, and check out their top posts on Instagram.
What hashtags are they using? You might need to see through their comments and find the second post they have added to find their hashtags.
But just because they’ve had a successful post doesn’t mean you should immediately go and copy all their hashtags! Only use hashtags that are relevant to your business and your specific posts.
Some Instagram Hashtags frequently asked questions:
HOW MANY HASHTAGS CAN YOU USE ON INSTAGRAM?
You can include up to 30 hashtags in a single post. But although you can include 30 hashtags, there is some debate about whether you should.
Some people say it looks spammy. However, studies have shown that posts using 11 or more # get the best engagement. Best method is to experiment to determine what works best for you.
WHERE CAN WE PUT HASHTAGS?
We can put hashtags on comments, in our bio , in reels , posts , stories , basically anywhere you can in Instagram.
WHAT ARE BANNED HASHTAGS?
Banned hashtags are hashtags that have been blocked by Instagram due to reports of spam or violation of Instagram’s community guidelines. Posts tagged with banned hashtags will be hidden from the community.
Using banned hashtags can result in a decline in reach and engagement on your posts. There’s also a possibility of having your account being shadow banned, meaning that new posts would only show up for your followers.
So it’s important to avoid using banned hashtags when you can.
DOES PUTTING HASHTAGS IN COMMENTS WORK?
Some people put hashtags in their post descriptions, while others prefer to add them to the comments.
Both are effective methods of adding hashtags to your post, and there’s no real consensus on whether one is better than the other.
If you are using hashtags in your description, one of the perks is that you can go back and edit later to remove hashtags or add new ones.
How to hide Instagram Hashtags?
Many Instagrammers choose to bury the hashtags by typing a few periods and returns underneath their initial description. When people scroll past your post in the feed, the hashtags will be hidden under a “more” link.
FREE INSTAGRAM HASHTAG TOOLS
- All Hashtag generates hashtags for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Quickly generate 30 hashtags for one post using All Hashtag’s hashtag generator. Sort by top hashtags or randomize.
- Seekmetrics will generate a list of hashtags based on an inputted keyword. It’ll also provide an instant count of how many times this hashtag has been used.
- Instagram Tags generates hashtag suggestions based on categories. Choose a category from a dropdown menu for a list of related hashtags to try.
- Sistrix lets you do up to 25 queries a day for free. It’ll give you a list of the best 30 hashtags based on a single hashtag search.
COPYING HASHTAGS
Copying hashtags is very important as you will not be able to remember the required hashtags in every single posts.
There are two tricks pf doing so:
- Create 3-5 groups of hashtags that you find yourself consistently using. Open up Notes on your phone, enter each of the groupings of hashtags.
And the next time you’re posting on Instagram just open up that hashtag Note, copy the group of hashtags you want to use, and paste them into the instagram caption.
- Another option is to create a keyboard shortcut on your phone. It is the simplest and a more effective method than creating groups.
Also read – Add Hashtags in Instagram Stories (Invisible) and Boost Story Views!
Final Thoughts on researching Instagram hashtags
Instagram hashtags are powerful tools for growing an audience, boosting engagement and reaching potential customers on the platform.
Whether you plan to capitalize on the effectiveness of Instagram video content or use the visual platform as part of your social media selling strategy, hashtags are the ultimate way for you to give your brand a boost and increase your chances for success on the social network.
Successful Instagram hashtags have the ability to attract users curiosity and draw them in to join the conversation. Start by doing research specific to your brand and your audience, and you’ll be headed in the right direction.
With some solid research, a well-thought-out plan and good execution, you will be well on your way to making the most of Instagram hashtags for your brand.