Instagram has become one of the most powerful platforms for businesses to share their stories, products, and services. One of the most effective ways to increase visibility and engagement on this platform is through a well-crafted Instagram hashtag strategy.
Posts with three to four hashtags enjoy 3.41% more engagement than those without one. And on top of that, the right hashtags embellish the content you roll out, ensuring that your work is not in vain and that more audiences are able to see it.
This blog post will provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to build an effective Instagram hashtag strategy, drawing from tried-and-true tips and strategies.
Understanding Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags categorize and organize your content, helping Instagram serve your posts to the most relevant users. This is why you need to pinpoint the right hashtags that will perfectly pair with your content output.
All in all, hashtags are one of the most effective ways to ensure your high-quality Instagram content gets prioritized in search results and on the Instagram Explore page, a place where each business wants to find itself.
Building Your Instagram Hashtag Strategy
Find Popular and Relevant Hashtags
The first step of every solid Instagram hashtag strategy is identifying tags that are relevant to your brand and are being used by influencers and brands in your industry. Your posts will appear in search results on Instagram when someone searches for a hashtag or keyword associated with your post or your company. This is an excellent approach to ensuring your posts are seen by the right people.
To ensure your hashtags are always relevant, you can scour the internet for the latest trends or simply use an Instagram hashtag generator. The best IG hashtag generator tools get updated regularly and will always provide you with relevant hashtags to adorn your posts with.
Research Hashtags Before Using Them
Before you use a hashtag, research who else is using it and what content others are generating around it. This will help you ensure that you’re using the most relevant hashtags for your brand or content.
In addition to that, you will ensure that you are doing something original, which is paramount if you want to amass a larger following on Instagram.
Use a Mix of Well-Known and More Niche Hashtags
Instagram advises combining trending and specialized hashtags to appeal to a range of audiences, from general to niche. It might be easier to rank for smaller, niche hashtags because so many accounts are using popular ones. Therefore, ensure all your Instagram posts use a mix of hashtags that will boost your reach while also targeting your ideal customers.
Use the Right Number of Hashtags
While you may use up to 30 hashtags per post, and Instagram allows you to do so, it’s better to use only those that are relevant and targeted for the content. Instagram advises utilizing three to five hashtags that are very relevant to your post’s subject.
Hide Your IG Hashtags in the Caption
Instagram puts a cap on how much text is displayed in your feed and hides more content behind a “show more” button. Your objective is to have your hashtags follow that link.
Type your caption in a different text editor, add line breaks, and then copy and paste the whole thing into the Instagram caption editor. This way, you will get the benefits of using the most relevant hashtags and exposure without sacrificing content quality.
Review Your Hashtag Results and Adjust Your Approach
It takes some trial and error to develop a successful hashtag strategy on Instagram. Therefore, it’s imperative to keep track of your insights to monitor performance and decide which hashtags to reuse.
You can measure the performance of your hashtags by looking at how much interaction they receive, tracking the engagement rate, and then readjusting your plan accordingly.
Bottom Line
The idea of creating an Instagram hashtag strategy can feel a bit overwhelming at first. But with a little bit of planning and effort, you can really amp up your Instagram game. The secret ingredient? It’s all about trying different things, keeping an eye on what works and what doesn’t, and tweaking your approach as you go along.
By putting these tips into action and mixing up your hashtags, you’re not just throwing your message into the void. You’re reaching out to people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say. And who knows? They might just turn into your biggest fans and most loyal customers.
