How To Use Instagram Hashtags
Style dorsum in August of 2007, while you were singing along to Umbrella (ella…ella) on the radio, a product designer named Chris Messina proposed to Twitter the idea of "using #(pound) for groups."
Twitter's response? It was too nerdy and would never take hold of on.
Welp, 15 years later and hashtags are staples in social media platforms, peculiarly on Twitter, TikTok, and what we'll be talking about today: Instagram.
Read on to learn how to harness the power of Instagram hashtags to grow your following, engage your audience, and build your make.
Tabular array of contents
What is a hashtag?
A hashtag is a word, phrase, or acronym with the pound symbol (#) in forepart of it. On social media platforms, if yous tap or click on a hashtag, you'll exist shown all of the posts on that platform containing that hashtag. This makes it easy for users to categorize their content and to find specific content in the vast sea of social posts. Hashtags can be institute on the virtually popular social media platforms, including:
- TikTok
Why use Instagram hashtags?
While other social media platforms back up hashtags, Twitter and Instagram are really the ones where hashtagging is the near important. Here are some of the many benefits of using Instagram hashtags.
- Expand your reach. Hashtags brand your Instagram posts, Reels, and Stories discoverable past users in their regular Instagram meanderings, giving you multiple avenues for exposure to a larger audience.
- Increase appointment. Instagram posts that use hashtags gain a 12.6% increase in date compared to those without. Some other source says 29%.
- Build your following. Because hashtags assistance y'all to get discovered by niche audiences, they assistance yous to become more than Instagram followers—quality followers that have the potential to become customers.
- Strengthen your brand: Between branded hashtags that encourage user-generated content and merely flat-out funny hashtags that serve only artful purposes, hashtags play a role in expressing your brand voice and even building trust.
Prototype source
How to add together hashtags on Instagram
Calculation a hashtag on Instagram is literally every bit easy as putting the pound symbol in front of a give-and-take or phrase! Here are a few side notes:
- No punctuation. Practice not include punctuation or spaces in your hashtag. For case, #don't-detest or #do-not-hate will not work. #donthate will.
- Get in articulate. It tin can help to capitalize the beginning letter of the alphabet of each word in hashtagged phrases for easier comprehension (for example, #findyourpassion vs #FindYourPassion. Note that capitalization does not alter where the hashtag links to.
- Double-check information technology. Always search the hashtag first to make sure it's non associated with something inappropriate. Sometimes, combining words without spaces makes new words yous didn't intend.
- Don't repeat hashtags. Using the same hashtag twice in a post doesn't increase your chances of getting discovered or showing up higher in searches.
Types of Instagram hashtags
In that location are all kinds of hashtags to use on Instagram:
- Location hashtags: These are essential for local social media marketing and tin can assist you concenter nearby customers. Note that adding a location hashtag is non the aforementioned as adding a location on Instagram!
- #detroitrealestate
- #landscaperboston
- Popular hashtags: These are often super-broad, so they aren't likely to bring in the near relevant appointment just they can help you get exposure all the same.
- #waybackwednesday
- #dogsofinstagram
- Trending hashtags: These hashtags emerge from current events of varying tones.
- #marchmadness2022
- #quarantineworkout
- Branded hashtags: Businesses often create hashtags unique to their name or a specific campaign to encourage engagement and user-generated content.
- #goldiesquad (@goldieblox)
- #myDSW (@dsw)
How many hashtags on Instagram?
Instagram allows you lot to employ up to 30 hashtags, and while historically we've been advised to use around 10, new data from Later on shows that 20-30 hashtags is actually the way to get (for Feed posts). Here's what they recommend:
- Use xx hashtags for optimal reach rate.
- Utilize xxx hashtags for optimal engagement charge per unit.
Paradigm source
But don't force it. If your post doesn't need 30 hashtags, don't go searching for them. Remember, your goal is non to show up in every search, it'southward to show up in the right searches.
How to hide Instagram hashtags
If your post is, indeed, worthy of xx-xxx hashtags, there are a few ways to hide them and then they don't ataxia upward your postal service.
- Put them in a comment. Include only a few in your Instagram caption then put the residuum in a comment on your post.
- Push them down. Write your explanation, then create new lines with only a period on each line. Once there's plenty white space later on your caption, paste in your hashtags.
- Comprehend them. In Instagram Stories, you lot can make your hashtag text color the same equally your background, or cover information technology with a sticker.
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How to utilize hashtags on Instagram
Hashtags are a powerful tool to promote your Instagram business relationship for free. Hither are some ways to use hashtags on Instagram.
i. Care for them like keywords
Hashtags are the keywords of Instagram SEO. Y'all'll want to use a mix of high-volume hashtags to help you gain wide exposure, as well every bit lower-volume but college-intent hashtags to attract potential followers and customers. Hashtag research tools (which we'll cover below) can help with this, but it's also intuitive. For instance:
- Broad, low intent: #landscaping, #backyard
- Less broad, medium intent: #landscapinghouston, #residentiallandscape
- Specific, high intent: #landscapingserviceshouston
2. Salvage a default list
While you shouldn't echo hashtags in the same mail, yous tin can (and should) echo hashtags that work in different posts. Keep a notation handy so you can easily copy and paste them into your posts.
Only remember. Relevancy is disquisitional. Remove hashtags from your list where it doesn't utilize. If someone is exploring a hashtag and your super irrelevant post pops up, it'll make your brand expect unreputable, untrustworthy, and/or desperate.
three. Create your own hashtag campaigns
Some of the all-time Instagram marketing campaigns are hashtag-based. Take the unforgettable #IceBucketChallenge. The marketing team for the ALS Association was able to raise sensation with this hashtag campaign, only they also raised a substantial amount of money ($115 meg to exist verbal!). Recollect about how you tin practise something like by getting your followers to WANT to utilise your hashtag, which volition assistance spread brand sensation about your business concern to other Instagrammers.
Hashtags campaigns don't ever take to exist short-lived contests or trends. In fact, some of the most successful branded hashtags are the timeless ones, like Chewy's #petsbringustogether.
4. Create an evergreen branded hashtag for UGC
Take the hashtag created by the sneaker company, Allbirds. Rather than using generic hashtags on every post, they use #weareallbirds, and happy customers utilise it as well to share their new kicks!
Tips for creating a branded hashtag on Instagram:
- Make it unique. Be specific and include your brand proper noun
- Make information technology easy to remember. If a hashtag is too long and complicated like #wordstreammakesadvertisingeasy, your followers won't call up or utilise it.
- Check it. E'er search the hashtag to brand sure it'south not already being used, or worse, used for something inappropriate or insensitive.
5. Use hashtags for giveaways
Run an Instagram giveaway asking entrants to take a motion picture, tag your business, and use a specific hashtag. Not but does it make information technology easier for you to track entries, simply information technology tin can assistance you populate your branded hashtag with awesome content.
half dozen. Create a hashtag claiming
Hashtag challenges connect your followers and build a community around your brand. Here is a cracking instance from Lululemon Britain and Stava, which partnered to run a fun challenge encouraging followers to complete a 40-80K run and tag their Instagram posts #4080challenge.
Merely every bit I've said before, ever check the hashtag. If you search #4080challenge on Instagram, you get more auto results than runners.
#4080challenge…a Lululemon campaign and a car
vii. Tag other brands
In add-on to tagging other brands in your Instagram posts, use their branded hashtags too. It'south a good way to support other businesses in their Instagram marketing strategies, and y'all never know—they simply might characteristic you or use your hashtag to return the favor.
Want more inspiration? Bank check out these 157 Authentic Fall Hashtags to Harvest More Customers.
8. Follow hashtags
There are a few hashtags you should follow on Instagram.
- Your ain branded hashtags: To stay on top of appointment and monitor your reputation. Users may non ever tag your business in the same mail service where they use your hashtag.
- Your competitors' hashtags: To continue tabs on them.
- Industry hashtags: To stay on top of news and trends in your niche.
To follow a hashtag, but search that hashtag and select the "follow" button in search results.
How to find hashtags on Instagram
To use hashtags in your Instagram content in a meaningful and effective mode, you need to do your enquiry. And then where to start? Here are a few ideas…
Hashtag research tools
There are tons of Instagram hashtag generators out at that place—like All Hashtag and Sistrix—that will generate relevant hashtags and requite you some data on what hashtags are popular.
Instagram search
Type hashtag ideas into the Instagram search bar and run into what car-fills. Easy peasy.
Check your competitors
Keep an centre on your competitors and manufacture influencers. If y'all're not sure what tags would be worth using, but take a look at what others are using successfully in your industry, That will requite you a expert starting signal from which to mold your own strategy.
Instagram hashtag analytics
Information technology'south time to talk reporting. You tin can't know if your hashtags are improving your social media marketing without the numbers. Luckily, y'all accept lots of tools at your disposal. Here are exactly 3.
1. Instagram Insights
First upwards is Instagram's analytics. Y'all tin can access this on mobile if you lot have an Instagram business account. Yous can also view an individual post's hashtag performance by tapping "View insights" under that mail.
2. Sprout Social
If you are looking to get a bit more item on individual hashtag operation, information technology might be worth investing in another reporting tool that digs into the details, similar Sprout Social. This robust social reporting tool will let y'all to generate Instagram hashtag performance reports to do a variety of things, including:
- Compare your most used Instagram hashtags to the ones that get the nigh date.
- See how branded hashtags perform relative to broader hashtags.
- Employ their tagging feature to build campaign-specific hashtag reports.
three. Iconosquare
While the pricing is a scrap higher for Iconosquare, there is a ton you tin practise, from scheduling social posts, tracking and responding to comments, and accessing detailed analytics all from one place.
When it comes to hashtag tracking, this tool provides quite sophisticated analytical information in regards to hashtag engagement and whether or not certain hashtags are contributing to make and/or campaign growth.
For more, see Brand24'southward list of hashtag trackers.
The most popular Instagram hashtags of all time
Popular hashtags aren't going to help you to stand out, but they tin't injure in giving yous some exposure. Plus, they're a good "seed" hashtag that you can change for relevancy.
- #love (1.835B)
- #instagood (i.150B)
- #mode (812.7M)
- #photooftheday (797.3M)
- #beautiful (661.0M)
- #art (649.9M)
- #photography (583.1M)
- #happy (578.8M)
- #picoftheday (570.8M)
- #cute (569.1M)
- #follow (560.9M)
- #tbt (536.4M)
- #followme (528.5M)
- #nature525.7M
- #like4like (515.6M)
- #travel (497.3M)
- #instagram (482.6M)
- #style (472.3M)
- #repost (471.4M) (How to repost on Instagram here!)
- #summer (454.2M)
Recollect, the all-time way to apply these hashtags is for inspiration—non for hashtag stuffing.
Daily Instagram hashtags
We actually have an entire post on hashtags for every day of the calendar week, simply here's a super-distilled version:
- Monday: #mindfulmonday, #mondaymood, #mondayquotes
- Tuesday: #tooltiptuesday, #traveltuesday, #tuesdaytrivia
- Wednesday: #waybackwednesday, #wellnesswednesday, #woodworkingwednesday
- Th: #throwbackthursday, #thankfulthursday, #thursdaythought
- Friday: #fearlessfriday, #flashbackfriday, #featurefriday
- Saturday: #saturdaysweat, #saturdayselfie, #saturdaysale
- Dominicus: #sundayfunday, #spotlightsunday, #sundaysweets
#thursdaythoughts
Instagram hashtags for growth
The all-time Instagram hashtags to use for growth are those that are specific to your niche. You tin can then alter them to include your location or even business name. Steph has you covered with over 300 more industry-specific hashtags to use in your posts, but here's a taste:
- Existent manor: #newlisting, #openhouse, #mortgagetips, #townhouse
- Instruction: #highered, #virtuallearning, #alumni, #go[schoolname]
- Automotive: #carsforsale, #cardealership, #collisionrepair, #tirerotation
- Healthcare: #getyourcheckup, #telehealth, #cancerawareness, #hearthealth
#carmechaniclife…not shown in the prototype due to the hiding trick mentioned higher up
Mental health hashtags
#stigmafree, #mentalhealthadvocate, #mentalhealthawareness, #anxietyisreal,
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