I know many people know about hashtags and know that hashtags are important to use on Instagram but really, the biggest question that gets asked is how best do we use them and how can we get results?
One approach to hashtags is to think about them as a search term that your audience would type to find inspiration or content related to that topic. So, for example, if you are a jewellery designer, then you can use hashtags such as, #jewelleryofinstagram or #goldjewellery if what you have posted is gold and you create gold jewellery.
Instagram users also follow hashtags. This means that using a relevant hashtag means that even if users are not following your account, but are following the hashtag, then chances are that they will be able to see your post.
What hashtags to use?
There are various hashtags you can use. Location hashtags, branded, daily hashtags such as #MondayMotivation or #SundayFunday, seasonal or special day hashtags such as #WorldEmojiDay, and of course emoji hashtags as well.
The list is endless and of course it would be best to include a hashtag or two that describes your product or service as well. You can use up to 30 hashtags in your Instagram post however research has shown that the optimum amount to use is anywhere between 9 and 11. It’s probably best to see what works for your business and test to find what the best number of hashtags is to use for your account.
You can do a search to see how many posts have been associated with a hashtag as well. It’s always best to use a mix of popular hashtags and those that are not so popular to improve your chances of getting seen.
For more hashtag inspiration, I would suggest looking at what your competitors do. You can also use Instagram’s search tool (on your phone) to look up various hashtags and it will tell you if anyone you follow also follows that hashtag.
Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t like repetitive hashtags and the hashtags must be relevant to your post. It wouldn’t make sense to post an image of a diamond necklace and then use a hashtag that says bracelets.
Having said that, I would suggest keeping a library of hashtags that you can use and keep swapping them around.
Did it work?
Instagram allows you to gain insights on all your posts and it also tells you how many people saw your image through your hashtags. Monitor that. While it doesn’t tell you exactly which hashtag works it’s something that you can keep experimenting with.
Often, we forget about this feature and don’t end up checking our insights beyond the number of likes but really, if we’ve got the ability to, then it’s something that can be done once a week. At least we’ll know how many people saw the post. The number of likes doesn’t necessarily get you the sale. You’ll often find that people who don’t follow you might have seen your post, not liked it, but actually bought from you. So keep trying and keep experimenting!
I hope this helps and if you have any more questions around hashtags then feel free to reach out!
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