Instagram hashtags can make or break your Instagram strategy.
Use them properly to get your posts seen by more people who are likely to be interested in your products or brand.
But if you use them wrongly, it can damage your page; From annoying potential followers to being penalized by the Instagram algorithm.
To use hashtags effectively on Instagram, you need to know exactly how they work and follow a proper strategy.
You have come to the right place, Follow this article to learn everything about hashtags on Instagram.
What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, or an emoji preceded by a hash sign (#) (for example, #ads). They are used to categorize content and make the content more discoverable.
Hashtags are clickable. So when anyone clicks on an Instagram hashtag or searches for a hashtag on Instagram, they will see a page with all the posts tagged with that hashtag.
Why use Instagram hashtags?
Hashtags are an important way to expand your Instagram audience and gain more reach. When you use a hashtag, your post will appear on the page associated with that hashtag. If you use a hashtag in your story, you can be included in the corresponding story hashtag, which will also appear on the hashtag page.
People can also follow hashtags. This means they can see your hashtagged post on their page. Even if they haven’t followed you yet.
Instagram hashtags can also be a great way to build an online community and campaigns to motivate people to engage with your brand. For example, in 2020, after the arrival of Coronavirus, the way people used to exercise suddenly changed; Nike company used the hashtag #playinside to show people’s sports activities in their homes.
Types of popular Instagram hashtags
Instagram hashtags can be divided into several distinct types:
- Product or service hashtags:
Some basic keywords to describe your product or service, such as #handbag or #mug - Location hashtags:
These hashtags are a little more specific and show what field or industry you are active in, such as #travel_blogger or #food_blogger. - Hashtags of Instagram industry associations:
Communities exist on Instagram and these hashtags help you find and join them. Like #Instagram_gardeners or #Instagram_cooks - Special event(s) or seasonal hashtags:
These can refer to actual holidays or seasons, such as #summer, or they can refer to all public holidays or national days. Like #Mother’s Day or #Tree_Day #Nowruz and… - Location Hashtags:
Even if you geotag your Instagram post, it can still be a good idea to add a hashtag to your post with your location, such as #Qazvin or #Iran. - Emoji hashtags:
These hashtags can consist of emojis alone or words or phrases with associated emojis such as #sunglasses.
Use some hashtags on Instagram.
You can use a maximum of 30 hashtags in a normal post and a maximum of 10 hashtags in a story. If you try to add more hashtags, your comment or description will not be posted.
But just because you can use a lot of hashtags for Instagram doesn’t mean you should. There is no standard for using the right number of hashtags for each business or even for each post of a business.
The consensus is that around 11 hashtags is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 1 and 3.
To determine what works best for your particular business, you need to experiment and review the results.
How to use hashtags on Instagram: 7 tips and tricks
۱٫ Use Insights to see which tags work best
If you have switched to an Instagram business profile, then you will have access to statistical information. This will tell you how many followers you have received from the hashtag.
First, select the post you want insights on and tap View Insights under the post on the left.
Then swipe up to see all the information about that post, including the number of hashtag impressions.
This data will help you understand which hashtags are most effective for improving reach.
۲٫ Use hashtags in Instagram stories
Story pages have a hashtag icon in the upper left corner. Click on it and you’ll see a collection of posts and stories tagged with hashtags from people with public profiles.
There are two ways to add hashtags to a story. The first method is to use hashtags.
Or you can simply use the text tool and the hashtag symbol to type the hashtag in the same way you would in a photo or video post.
۳٫ Avoid banned hashtags and spam hashtags
When inappropriate content is associated with a hashtag, Instagram may ban that hashtag.
This does not mean that you cannot use it at all. Instead, It means that if you click on the tag, you’ll only see the top posts. You won’t see the recent posts and there won’t be any stories associated with the hashtag.
When you encounter a banned hashtag, it looks like:
The only way to know if a hashtag is banned is to check before using it. This is a good practice to do every time you add a new hashtag. Using banned hashtags can reduce engagement.
Using unconventional hashtags attracts bots, spammers, and other Instagram users who don’t intend to follow your irrelevant content.
۴٫ Understand how hashtag pages work
Hashtag pages are a great way to expose your content to a new audience, especially if you can stand out in the top section.
Hashtag pages show all content related to a specific hashtag. If someone searches for a post and your post is the most recent for that hashtag, it will be the first thing they see in the “recent” section.
Note that the recent section is sorted by when each post was originally shared. If you add a hashtag later, either through a comment or by editing the caption, this will help your post rise to the top.
۵٫ Do not use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags
It might be tempting to simply copy and paste the same old long list of hashtags into every post but don’t. Instagram’s social guidelines clearly state that “posting duplicate comments or content is wrong. If you use the same hashtags for every post, your content will be penalized by the algorithm.
When you create a post, only use hashtags that make sense. For example, if you tag a post with #travel, your content should be something that travel enthusiasts or travelers want to comment on, like, and share.
It is not important to be seen by many people, It is important to be seen by the right people. This is how hashtags lead to more engagement and more followers. Choose and use the right keywords for each post individually.
۶٫ Make sure the hashtag used means what you think it means
Hashtags are often strings of words strung together, But in the Persian language, this is a problem. It can cause problems when It is not clear where one word ends and where the next begins. To solve this problem, use the underscore. Or space.
Sometimes brands are too eager to jump on a trending hashtag without fully understanding it. When the context is challenging, this can create a PR disaster for the brand.
And sometimes a brand doesn’t check if a hashtag is already in use before creating a full campaign.
۷٫ Save hashtags for future use
If you often use the same hashtags, you can save them in a note to reduce the time of typing them repeatedly and also avoid possible typos.
But wait! Did we tell you not to use the same hashtags in every post?! That’s right – you shouldn’t use the same set of hashtags. However, It’s useful to have a list of hashtags relevant to the different types of content you post. You can even create separate lists of hashtags related to the different types of posts you create.
Just create a list of hashtags in your notes to add to your posts.
You can then select and use multiple hashtags at a time instead of having to remember hashtags or search for new hashtags for each post. This also gives you time to check what kind of content has already been posted to these hashtags, so you avoid the mistakes mentioned above.
Just remember that any Instagram hashtags you use in a post should match the content and not be too repetitive. Do not copy and paste your entire saved list into each post.
PM agency offers you a diverse list of hashtags to help you according to the post and story content that you use for your brand and business.
- Hashtags related to cooking
#cooking_training #cooking #Iranian_cooking #kitchen #home_cooking #easy_cooking #Iranian_food #kitchen
#cooking_in_nature #life #dinner #lunch #breakfast #food #fast_food #what_to_cook - Hashtags related to the store
#online_store #internet_store #clothes_shop #shoe_store #book_store #women’s_store #household_goods_store #array_shop #comfort_store - Hashtags related to lifestyle
#life_style #life_style_blog #healthy_lifestyle #life_style_diet #relaxation #life #love #good_life #love #travel #pose #God - Hashtags related to photography
#photography #photography_Art #portrait_photography #advertising_photography #Children_photography #Nature_photography #modeling - Hashtags related to clothes
#clothes #dress #unique_dress #party_dress #wedding_dress #children_clothing #pregnancy_clothing #comfort_clothing - Hashtags related to jewelry
#jewelry #unique_jewelry #cheap_jewelry #girly_jewelry #accessories #gold #silver #diamond #style #necklaces #bracelet #ring #earrings - Hashtags related to education:
#education #free_education #institute #teaching #training #language_training #content_production #cooking_training
