Instagram Hashtag Tips and Tricks

It’s important to do a research on hashtags before using them, whether it’s for your personal account or any brand/company accounts that you’re currently managing.

Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way:

Say no to irrelevant hashtags

No one likes spammy behavior. You don’t want people to get annoyed and use the “Don’t Show for this Hashtag.” Instagram option.

Make sure you use hashtags strategically so you can increase engagement by giving your audience what they’re looking, and so that you achieve your goals by attracting the right kind of people.

For example, using a popular hashtag like #followmeback can get you new followers, but they’ll probably be the wrong kind, like spammers that will not engage with your brand/company.

Don’t go extreme with the amount of hashtags

Depending on the type of content that you’re sharing you can use different amounts of hashtags, but it’s important to use the right amount, so once again it doesn’t look like spam content.

I tend to not use more than six hashtags per post. This makes me be very conscious about which hashtags I’m going to use, so only relevant ones will be chosen.

Use specific hashtags

 This is crucial if you want to target a specific audience, which leads to a higher chance of quality engagement.

If you’re after cat lovers, for example, the hashtag #catsofinstagram will get you in front of a higher converting audience than something more broad like #cat.

Visit the hashtag before using it

Sometimes a very good hashtag has already been used for another brand or concept completely different from yours and you don’t want your followers to get confused about it.

It’s also important that you checked the content that has already been shared on a specific hashtag that you’re looking to use, because sometimes the content can be inappropriate and you don’t want people to link it to your brand/company.

Use brand hashtags

A branded hashtag is one that’s unique to your company or campaign. It can be your business name, tagline, or name of one of your products.

If you’re running an Instagram campaign, having a brand hashtag will help drive more participation and engagement. It will also organise all the posts that are tagged with it on a hashtag page. This is helpful for you, especially when you’re using the hashtag to collect entries for a promotion or contest submissions.

A bit of advice…

No matter how popular these can be, you should avoid hashtags asking for followers and likes—#followme, #like4like, #follow4follow, #tagsforlikes. These will attract bots, spammers, and other users who have no intention of engaging with you in any meaningful way. Also, you don’t want your followers to know that you are engaging in spammy behaviour.

Here are a few hashtags that I’ve already tested with clients and work pretty well:

#TBT or #ThrowbackThursday – These ones are all about nostalgia marketing.

#ManicMonday – Useful for posts that show your busy week ahead.

#WisdomWednesday - Post a quote, stat or piece advice that your target audience will find helpful.

#FridayFeeling - A chance to entertain your audience with some lighter content.

#contest, #giveaway, #sweepstakes, etc.: Use these if you’re looking to give something away.

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