Introduction
It’s the year 2021 now and some of you may be wondering if using hashtags on Instagram is still relevant for your business.
Here’s the truth, hashtags will never run out of business, they will always add immense weightage to the reach of your business.
As a matter of fact, any post that has an Instagram Hashtag shows an increase of 12.6% in engagement. I’ll let this stat do the talking.
Hashtags on Instagram can seem vast and endless, but believe me, it’s one of the easiest features that will bump up your business.
Still a beginner? Know more about Instagram.
With no further ado, let’s get into mastering Hashtags on Instagram.
In this blog, we will be going through:-
- Understanding Instagram Hashtags
- How to Use Instagram Hashtags
- Advantages of Instagram Hashtags
- Tips to Nail your Hashtag Game on Instagram
Understanding Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags have been with us for over a decade now and we’ve made formidable use of them.
But some of you must have a few doubts and it might sound like “How do Hashtags work?”. So let me start with the basics.
Using hashtags on Instagram can make your business more discoverable. By adding hashtags on your Instagram post, you will be categorizing the post into a specific field or library.
Let’s see an example – if you’ve set up a page for your restaurant on Instagram and want to give your page more visibility, you might use hashtags like #bestmexicanfood or #tacodelight. Once you’ve posted this, Instagram will store your post under the hashtag you used.
When a user enters a similar-sounding hashtag or even the exact one, Instagram will display your post. On seeing your post, the user will get acquainted with your restaurant and might even pay a visit!
However, Instagram does not work the same for all its users. Since different users have different interests, IG focuses on catering content that fits their likes.
So the results that one person sees for a specific hashtag can be different from the results another person sees. This means that you may not always be visible even if users enter the exact hashtag you used.
From this, it is clear that while there is no certain guarantee that hashtags will rapidly increase your visibility, you will make a comfortable number of new users and will definitely have no loss.
What’s stopping you from trying?
How to Use Instagram Hashtags
It’s time to answer the big question now, you’re going to learn how to set up hashtags on Instagram.
Your main aim is obviously to be found in the search results, and in order to do that, Instagram gives you three options. Here are the three slots you are given to post your Instagram hashtags:-
- Instagram Feed Posts
- Instagram Stories
- IGTV
Instagram Feed Posts
There are a million questions that can pop into your head. You can be unsure at first and resort to brainstorming ideas that may or may not be very helpful.
Instagram allows you to enter hashtags in the same place where you give your post a caption.
Here’s how you master Hashtags on Instagram Feed Posts.
The best thing to do is to have a strategy that is uniquely devised to come up with the perfect combination of hashtags for your post.
Now, how do you figure out the perfect blend? No worries mate, I’ve got your back!
To begin with, decide the number of hashtags you wish to incorporate with your post. Instagram allows you to post up to 30 hashtags in one post.
Well, this does not mean you go berzerk and fill your post with hashtags. The ideal number of hashtags on Instagram would be from 15-20.
You may now come up with a question “how do I know what hashtags will work?”. To be honest, I wouldn’t blame you for it. It can be confusing, given the number of options that you have at your disposal.
However, to make the best use of it, you need to make sure that you come up with hashtags that are both popular and related to your business.
You can determine this by doing research on your hashtags. Enter the hashtag in the search box on Instagram and you’ll see the number of posts under the respective hashtag. If you see a lot of posts, you can consider the hashtag to be pretty popular and can count on it to drive your results.
I said it once and I don’t mind saying it again, make sure the hashtags you pick are related to your business niche. Adding hashtags like #positivevibe or #tbtuesday will not help your business. You may get views, but views that will not lead to a purchase of your service/product.
Instagram Stories
The Instagram Story feature is considered one of the most interactive features. Businesses use it to have a direct connection with their audience. Hence, it is a no-brainer that IG came up with the hashtag feature for Instagram Stories.
But remember what I told you about using hashtags on Instagram News Feed? Forget all of that if you decide to use Hashtags on your Instagram story post.
I’ll tell you why.
You know the case with IG stories right? They last only for 24 hours. This limited time frame makes it hard for you to capture all of the users.
At this point, using hashtags that are narrowed down to your business niche would yield results that are not optimal. Instead, use hashtags that are broader, but still connected to your business in a minute way.
But how many hashtags can you add to your Instagram Stories? The answer to that is somewhat long, but here we go.
IG stories have two ways in which you can add hashtags:-
- Hashtag Sticker – you can add only one hashtag per story
- Text Box – You can enter up to 10 Hashtags here but only the top 3 will be recognized by Instagram.
You might feel that Instagram is trying to limit you with its stringent features. But you never have to worry. You can add location tags or mention the names of ambassadors, sponsors, and businesses to increase visibility.
The right combination of the above-mentioned features can help you in the long run.
IGTV
Posting hashtags on IGTV and on your Instagram Feed have the same kind of process, however, IGTV can be a lot more effective in my opinion.
You can post up to 30 hashtags in the slot where you type your video description. You can make it a combination of popular hashtags and niche hashtags to get more visibility.
IGTV has an advantage since Instagram allows you to post a preview of the video on news feeds if the video is over a minute long. This way, you will be found by users through both IGTV and News Feeds.
Now that you’ve learned how to use Hashtags, let’s quickly go through the advantages that come along with it.
Advantages of Instagram Hashtags
Your content has the ability to become viral and be the talk of the town for days and even months together if you find the perfect blend of hashtags that will accompany your post.
A viral post will drive you more non-followers and your followers will make desired actions that will greatly benefit your business.
Moreover, you have nothing to lose while using hashtags on Instagram. This means you can try how many ever combinations you want to come up with the best hashtags.
You guessed right, we are nearing the end of our blog. But just like always, I’m going to give you a few tips before I let you go.
Tips to Nail your Hashtag Game on Instagram
If you’ve already worked with hashtags, you know how they are. There are no rules to come up with the perfect hashtag and what works for you may not work for me. But don’t worry, there is a common ground.
Here are a few tips for your business hashtags:-
- The length of your hashtag must be optimal. 10-20 characters would be ideal.
- Find something that’s unique to your brand and focus on associating it with your hashtag. You don’t want too many people using hashtags that are the same. So staying unique is key.
- Keep it simple. Your hashtag must have a sort of jingle effect on people and they must recall it easily. Having a simple but catchy hashtag will surely be helpful.
Head to Later.com to find out the popular hashtags you can use along with your business-niche hashtags.
Conclusion
Hashtags are the easiest possible tools that will get you where you want to be in no time.
I hope this blog gave you what you were looking for. You can also track your posts on IG using Instagram Insights.
Have a Good Day!