A Comprehensive Instagram Hashtag Guide with Valuable Tips and Tricks
Can hashtags really be helpful for business growth on Instagram? How to use hashtags appropriately and become a hashtag Pro. 5 ways to find the most relevant hashtag for your post (hashtag generator, competitor's account research, and more methods of hashtag search).
Whereas five years ago, we used hashtags more for "kicks" and didn't pay that much attention to them, today, no marketing strategy to increase sales on Instagram ignores the use of hashtags. Or ignore those who don't see hashtags as a powerful sales booster. To understand what hashtags (HS) are, how they can help boost your inst sales, how to become a hashtag pro and use HS effectively, we've written this complete and detailed guide. Now it's all in order.
What does a "hashtag" mean?
A hashtag or the "#" symbol itself has been used in different variations on the internet, but in the meaning we now give it on Insta, Chris Messina first suggested it in 2007. He proposed it for use on Twitter, but at the time, no one believed it would work at all. But he persuaded his audience to use hashtags in tweets, and in 2009, Twitter adopted a feature that allowed users to search info for hashtags. As we can see today, it's still working! So, Messina is the founder of today's hashtags.Types of hashtags today
Community HS
It is the most extensive group of hashtags and is widely used by the Instagram public. Their main point is that they bring like-minded people together in a particular area. There are different variations of these hashtags. For example, some describe a product, some — specific areas, events, places, daily hashtags, etc. (#coffeeshop, #travelphotographer, #mondaymood, #nationalpark, #welldressed, etc.). Thus, hashtags are a great way to search for people, locations, products you are interested in.
NB: to find the most corresponding hashtags for your posts and save your time, try hashtag generator services (Inflact hashtag generator, Sistrix, All#ashtag, Keyword tool, etc.) or find hashtags by yourself if you prefer to make your own "investigation" (see below for more details).Branded HS
A branded hashtag is created to distinguish your brand from the rest. It is as if you are making a name for your brand in the language of hashtags. It's an excellent option for taking your Instagram business to the next level. It could be your company, brand name, or company's logan.
While the first group of hashtags is more about increasing reach, the branded ones are designed to unite your audience and boost UGC.Campaign HS
These are the most highly specialized hashtags, usually existing for a short period (from one day to a maximum of one year). Usually, they describe a particular event, launch days, etc. The purpose of such hashtags is to reach a new audience in a short time and, of course, gain a higher engagement rate.Why are hashtags so powerful today?
Why are hashtags a major "must-have" item for successful brand development? Do they help promote a product, or are they just illusions? Here are some reasons why they can be helpful if applied in the right way.Your posts are easier to discover
Thanks to hashtags, your post can be seen by a more enlarged audience. Audiences will also be interested in what information is in the post because a hashtag is like a navigator for them to look for and what they're currently interested in.
So that all your grind work in creating a post (from designing a photo to writing engaging text) will not be wasted but with the application of relevant hashtags will reach its IG "recipients".
Look at a more detailed explanation: the entire search engine is based on a unique algorithm of the Instagram search engine. The main priority of such an algorithm is to offer and search for content according to a user's interests and frequent requests. In other words, if we take an account where the main content is about cosmetics, there will be posts and accounts related to this field in "Suggestions". Accordingly, if your post and hashtag are also directly related to the area of cosmetics, it can be seen by the user. In this way, you can not only expand your audience but also make it a target one.Discover top niches effortlessly
You can use hashtags not only to promote your post but also to do some research to find out the hottest hashtagged niches. It's a great way to discover an area of interest if you're still searching for a way to grow your business or want to take your existing business to the next level and give it a new "lease of life". Of course, you are free to use a hashtag generator that can ease your search.Make your product more recognizable
It's those branded hashtags mentioned above that can make your product recognizable on the platform and beyond. Of course, creating a branded hashtag won't always lead to success. It takes patience and, of course, an audience willing to use your proposed hashtag and thereby spread it in their posts and Stories. It's like a never-ending chain of hashtag use, which you create and others support.Make a search more convenient
With more than 1 billion MAU, Insta doesn't even think about dropping down in the rankings and continues to get more and more users, remaining one of the most popular social networks. Can you imagine how much content there is on Insta? There are all sorts of topics, and hashtags are a great way to help you find what you're looking for quickly! They are like content sorters that make it easier for users to come across a necessary post/account.
For example, if you enter #travel photographer, the search engine will give you all the relevant posts and accounts. That way, you can quickly find what you need.How to find a perfect hashtag
Let me make it clear at the outset that today's important thing is not just to insert any hashtag under your post or in a Story, but to insert the ones that work best and are most effective; otherwise, it will all go to waste. Here are some ways to find that coveted hashtag that will work for you (from hashtag generator usage to competitor's account exploring).Use hashtag generator tool offers
One of the most common ways to go today is to use generators, or more precisely, online tools that have been designed to suggest the most relevant hashtags according to your request.
They function in the following way: you open a web-based generator and insert keywords into an empty field (some offer a search by an image or post, too) according to which you wish to get hashtags. A hashtag generator gives you the most suitable choices, and some services also offer an analysis of how often a hashtag has been used. Anyway, it saves your time instead of researching by yourself.
Photerloo, Inflact.com, HashtagsForLikes, Tailwind, Instavast, Webstagram, Seekmetrics hashtag generator, etc. — are examples of web-based services, but some of them have only a paid plan (just for you to be aware).Investigate your audience
If you desire to spend more time searching for hashtags, you could take the long but equally effective route — researching your audience's hashtags. Of course, don't go through all of your 1000+ followers' posts — it's sure to take a long time. Instead, pick out those accounts that are the most influential and trendy. This way, you will enhance your account/brand awareness and find out what hashtags popular profiles use so that you may insert them in your posts. Pay attention to the content of respectable competitor
If you have a worthy opponent in your business area, you are in luck because there is always the motivation to improve the way you do business. Suppose you have a decent competitor on IG. In that case, you're in luck twice over: you can do a detailed analysis of their posts to identify those that get the most likes and engagement, and then look at the frequency of hashtag usage, so at the end of the "investigation" you'll have a list of hashtags that have proven to be the most potent and productive. You may highlight them for your future posts.Explore influencers
Every area has its top accounts and influencers. Why not take the opportunity to look at the hashtags they use. The most important thing here is to identify an influencer account with which you have similar audiences. In that case, you're sure to hit the bulls-eye.Use IG tag search
If you've already discovered your most relevant hashtag and want to expand your hashtag base, you may go the more traditional way — use Instagram's search engine. All you should do is pick out the "Magnifier" icon, then choose "Tags" to insert a necessary hashtag and discover suggestions of similar hashtags offered by Insta.How to become a hashtag PRO and set up your hashtag campaign
Okay, let's say you've used the advice above and made up a list of hashtags that will be most helpful for your account and thus become a significant tool for increasing engagement and inflow of a new targeted audience.
Now it's time to consider how all this can be used to leverage the use of hashtags. Here are some more tricks or, so to say, tips that it is advisable to take into account while setting up a hashtag campaign.Strive to get to the Top with the chosen hashtags
Of course, getting to the Top is not that easy. There are two reasons why posts make it to the Top: how much involvement the post has and how quickly it got that involvement. If you can make your post go viral within 24 hours of publishing it (hashtags will help you achieve that), then to be on the "Top" is just around the corner.Include a created branded hashtag in your IG bio
We've already mentioned how helpful a branded hashtag can be, but once you've developed it, there's another challenge — promoting it. One of the ways to tell a new audience about it is to mention it in the bio. The description is the first thing a new user will notice (after your photo and username, of course). Thus, your branded hashtag also will be seen.Don't ignore hashtags mentions in Stories
It is another approach for reaching a new public. If a hashtag is trendy enough, when users search for content via this hashtag, they will get results that include Stories with that hashtag, which means your Stories may be among them.
NB: you may include no more than 10 hashtags plus a clickable one. But If aesthetics are your priority, you could cover the HS with a sticker, for example, so that a user does not notice them.Don't overdo with hashtags
You may insert up to 30 HS in a post, but let's be honest, if you browse a post with a bulk of hashtags, it immediately seems insincere: as if the user only wants to promote the post, and that's it. It is, but it can be promoted in more subtle ways. For example, select the most relevant ones (optimum number — 11) and use them only in your post: that way, your post will look aesthetically pleasing without the hashtags "piling" but still have the possibility to be promoted.Run contest with a branded hashtag pasting
Contests are another cool trick to boost a branded hashtag. Competitions involving UGC are always exciting and ways to engage new audiences and entice existing ones. You may make one of the conditions for your contest is tagging your hashtag. No banned HS
Before you include a hashtag that sounds nice at first glance (#girlsonly, #hotweather, #ice, #parties, etc.), check twice to see if it is banned (or use a hashtag generator service to trip yourself up); otherwise, the hashtag mention will be useless (Insta bans them due to a breach of their guidelines).
According to the 2021 banned hashtag article, there are a vast number of such hashtags. So, remember this while inserting HS into your post.
If you have any feedback or complaint with this tool, feel free to comment below and we will make sure that we get some company representative to reply to you. Hope you liked the article!!