Have you ever wondered why some Instagram post works well and some don't?
The reason is that most Instagram users don't know about these 9 important things before using Instagram Hashtag. Instagram has certain rules and algorithms for using hashtags that you should know before you post anything on it.
Knowing these 9 important things before using Instagram hashtags will let you choose the right set of best Instagram hashtags and avoid mistakes that can ruin your hard work on content.
Before beginning this article, let's have some brief about Instagram hashtags. What are Instagram hashtags? Why it is used? and How Instagram can help you grow your followers and engagement?
What are Instagram Hashtags?
Instagram hashtags are certain keywords or phrases with a '#' prefix which Instagram uses to categorize its content. This helps Instagram to show the right content to the right audience who are more likely to watch it.
Instagram hashtags are also a way to tell Instagram about the context of your posts and reels. By using the right hashtags you can explain Instagram about your target audience, the interest of the audience, and keywords that lead to your content if your audience searches.
Why Instagram Hashtags are used?
As explained above, Hashtags let Instagram choose the right audience for your content. This certainly increases the chance for better engagement on your posts, reels, and stories. There are some more benefits of using Instagram hashtags as mentioned below:
- Increase the discoverability of your Instagram account
- Boost your posts' reach to the engaging audience
- Rank you at the top of the Instagram recommendation list
- Increase profile visits leading to more followers.
- Explains the context of your content to Instagram
1. Don't Cross the Limits
Instagram has a limit for the number of hashtags you can put in your post description. Don't cross the limits otherwise, Instagram will take it as spammy content and remove all hashtags from your post.
Instagram's recommended limit of hashtags is 30 but it is not a good idea to exhaust the limit and always go up to a maximum of 20 hashtags per post.
Using too many hashtags also makes it difficult for Instagram to choose the type of audience it should show your content to. It may increase your reach but it drops your engagement percentage because your post will be visible to an irrelevant audience.
2. Narrow down your hashtag sets
The next important point to consider while using hashtags is to narrow down your hashtag sets with time. If you have just started a new account on Instagram then you can try various different combinations of hashtags to find out which hashtag set gives you more engagement.
But, with time when you start working on your content, keep an eye on the performance metrics of different hashtag sets you use. This way you can filter out hashtags that don't work with your content niche and narrow your set to specific ones.
3. Stay up to date with trends
Sometimes new hashtags evolve with social trends on Instagram. It is always beneficial to stay up to date with trends to grab trending hashtags and include them in your post. For trendy content and hashtags, you should stay connected with the latest news or follow media pages on Instagram.
4. Create your own unique Hashtags
Most of us try to steal hashtags from other Instagram accounts that have more followers than yours. Stealing hashtags can be harmful in the long run because if both you and other accounts use the same hashtags then Instagram will prefer content from the accounts which has more followers.
So it is better to create your own unique hashtags for Instagram. Creating a unique hashtag will help Instagram and your audience distinguish your post from others. Also, if they copy your hashtag you will get extra engagement juice.
You can create your unique hashtag by adding your Instagram username as a prefix or suffix to your hashtags. Maybe you can also use any specific word that other Instagram competitors are not using.
5. Try A/B testing on Hashtags
Trying A/B testing on hashtags is always the quickest way to find out what works and what does not. Divide your hashtags into two sets and create the same post with two different hashtags. After one week check the insights of both posts to find out which one works.
This way you can try multiple pairs to create a set of best-performing hashtags for your Instagram account. A/B testing also helps you narrow down your hashtags set as we discussed previously.
6. Encourage Hashtags Replies
Many of us don't know that we can reply to hashtags by clicking on them. Also, we can encourage the audience to comment on their reviews using certain hashtags for a post. Just for example,
Say, it's Women's Day and you created a post wishing your audience a happy women's day. In such posts, you can either mention the picture or in the description use any certain hashtag while commenting on your post.
Instagram also keeps a record of the number of posts under a particular hashtag. The more engagement it sees for your hashtag the better it will suggest your posts to others.
7. Keep Track of Hashtags
Most of the time our Instagram growth is hindered because we don't keep track of Hashtags. Always keep your eye on insights of hashtags used in your posts. If you have a Professional Instagram Account, it has an option to view Insights per post.
Keeping track of hashtags insights will give you a clear understanding of which set of Instagram hashtags is made for you. Sometimes the result is completely different than what we assume.
8. Use keyword research tools
Instagram is not a search engine but it does have a recommendation algorithm. It knows the interest of people when they search and browse online. That's why it's better to use keyword research tools like Keywordtool.io, Google Keyword Planner, or even Chatgpt.
Using trendy keywords related to your Instagram account's niche is a great way to keep the audience searching for such content online. Such audiences are more likely to engage with your posts or stories.
9. Make a Long Term Hashtag Plan.
Nobody knows the future. That's true but what about planning a year ahead. That's possible certainly.
Planning your Instagram hashtags strategy, one year ahead will let you think of all events that will happen throughout the year. You can create a set of hashtags for festivals, product launches, milestones, anniversaries, etc.
You don't need to create a year post together but thinking of all hashtags priorly will strengthen your research and provide good results
Wrap Up
Thanks for being with us in this short article. In this article, we explore about 9 Important things to know before using Instagram Hashtags. Instagram is getting more complex day by day, and hashtags have become an integral part of Instagram. It's a fundamental way for Instagram to categorize and recommend content to their user. That's why for constant growth on Instagram, always keep these 9 important things before creating your Instagram hashtag strategy.
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