Have you ever wondered what hashtags to use on Instagram?
Do you think you’re effectively using the hashtags you have selected?
Are you using the right amount of hashtags on Instagram?
In this article, you will learn how to effectively use Instagram hashtags to maximize your posts.
Instagram hashtags: the recipe and how to understand its structure
Hashtags aren’t new and you see them all over the place on any social media platform. There are numerous hashtags you can use to define your brand or gain views to any content on Instagram. Searching for the right hashtags on Instagram can be time-consuming, with that being said, it takes a lot of effort and research to come up with effective Instagram hashtags.
Having a well-crafted strategy for hashtag can help drive real conversions, from closing sales or gaining new followers.
Building an Effective Instagram Hashtag Strategy
You’ll need to combine Instagram hashtags from four categories. The proper use and combination of these hashtags will maximize your efforts and post-performance to capitalize on your target audience. This formula you can easily identify 15-20 hashtags for each of your posts.
• Select 5-7 Highly Popular Hashtags: Normally have 200,000 – 500,000 posts associated with the hashtag. Using hashtags with more than 500,000 results usually have bot activity. This will result in your content being buried in the archives within seconds of posting your content.
• Identify 5-7 Slightly Popular Hashtags: These hashtags are likely to have anywhere in between 10,000 – 100,000 posts.
• Choose 3-5 Niche Specific Hashtags: Normally these hashtags have fewer than 10,000 posts associated with them. They are directly targeted to your business and are hashtags your audience is searching for.
• Include 3 Branded Hashtags: These hashtags should all be about your brand. They could also be campaign specific if you’re trying to market a specific campaign.
Here is an example from our Instagram page @MagentivMarketing, it shows how we have incorporated the formula mentioned above.
There is a reason why this formula works and it’s all because of Instagrams current algorithm for its hashtag hub. Instagram reviews each post for performance, it looks at the engagement it generates from both your followers and non-followers.
Recieve Higher Post Engagement
Using highly popular hashtags, the content you post will appear in discovery searches for seconds and possibly minutes. This method will generate a sudden burst of engagement on your post. When you add slightly popular hashtags into the mix, it will keep your content in the search results for hours. This tells Instagram that the content you’ve posted has a long lifespan.
Lastly, niche-related hashtags are the hashtags you use to stand out. These hashtags are what your potential or current followers will be interacting with. Your content will be spiking with activity with time and your post will have a higher chance of appearing as a top post in the search results.
Doing all of the above will result in higher post engagement. The users looking at search results are normally seeking very specific posts and will surely see your post first. This will lead the users back to your profile. Depending on how your content is displayed or how valuable your content is to the user you will gain a following. If the product or services you offer is what your customers are searching for, you can close a sale from your post.
Hashtag all your posts for Maximum visibility
Now that you have a basic understanding of Instagram hashtag recipes and strategies, you need to figure out the best hashtags for your brand.
Every hashtag you use on your Instagram posts should directly relate to the content you post as well as the brand or industry.
Content Hashtags – Should relate to the items in the post.
Industry Hashtags – May not be directly related to a post but are specific to the industry and clients you serve.
Niche Hashtags – These are specific to your target audience that you’re trying to reach.
Branded Hashtags – These hashtags are all about your brand. If you sell products or services, this hashtag is what your customers would use to tag or mention your brand.
These examples of hashtag usage are very common. Some accounts will place hashtags in the comments as seen below.
Content hashtags vary depending on the content you post. Industry hashtags, niche hashtags, and branded hashtags should be relatively consistent for all your posts.
If you’re having trouble finding more or newer hashtags to use look into the suggested or related hashtags in the search results. When you search for hashtags a sub-list recommends related hashtags. You can also search for hashtag inspirations from your competitors and determine if the hashtags they use are good for your brand.
