Are you struggling to grow on Instagram? This is because your content isn’t compelling and does not reach more users. No doubt, reaching new people on Instagram has become quite challenging. Around 1.16 billion users are competing on Instagram against each other. Yes, there are a lot of users. Therefore, reaching more users is becoming more complex over time.
So, is there still any way to boost your Instagram posts’ reach and impressions? Instagram hashtags are one of the best ways. Hashtags are one of the most effective ways to get more engagement on your Instagram posts. Instagram hashtags work as fuel for creators or businesses like us.
Instagram hashtags can help you break through your Instagram marketing strategy. If you are a small business or a creator promoting your brand or services on Instagram. You need to understand Instagram hashtags in-depth. Instagram hashtags are a whole different game to master.
We have created a detailed guide on Instagram hashtags for you. This guide will explain everything you need to know about Instagram hashtags. It will cover everything from understanding how hashtags work to finding the best hashtags for your brand.
So, read ahead and understand the significance of hashtags on Instagram in detail.
What Are Instagram Hashtags?
Hashtags are the combination of letters, numbers, and/or emojis starting with the (#) symbol. You would have indeed seen hashtags like #NoFilter, #Trending, #Love, etc. We also know them as Instagram hashtags. Hashtags help us categorize the content and make it visible to more users. So that more and more Instagram users can interact with your content. It is a great way to increase your content reach on Instagram. Hence, it will result in more followers and leads.
Instagram lets you add hashtags in single posts, carousels (set of ten photos), reels, IGTV videos, guides, and stories. You can include hashtags in every post type and be seen by more people.
Hashtags are also clickable. When someone clicks on the hashtag, they see a new page including all the posts tagged to that particular hashtag. They see all content types (photos, stories, and videos) tagged to that hashtag on a single page. They can interact with those posts.
Understanding it from a creator or business perspective, not consistently your post will rank on top of the hashtag page. Multiple factors determine the ranking of your posts on a hashtag page.
How Do Hashtags Work On Instagram?
Before using hashtags on Instagram, it is essential to know how hashtags work. The functioning of hashtags is a bit tricky to understand. This is because Instagram modifies its algorithm regularly, making it difficult to understand for businesses and marketers. Still, let’s look at how hashtags work on Instagram.
As we know, Instagram hashtags are the combination of letters, numbers, and/or emojis starting with the hash(#) symbol. Hashtags help us categorize the content according to the topic. For instance, if you create content around dogs, you can use the #Dogs tag in your post description. When users click on the #Dogs hashtag, they see a new page with all the posts tagged with the hashtag. It can also show your post to the users, but it isn’t promised. This way, it will automatically categorize the content and drive more visibility.
Hashtags help Instagram show your content to relevant or interested users. Let’s understand this with an example. Let’s say you are already following dog-related Instagram pages. Now, Instagram understands that you are already interested in dogs. Now, they will use posts from the #Dogs hashtag to discover that specific user.
In simpler terms, the hashtags we use influence the search results on the Instagram Explore page. It shows results on the Explore page based on our hashtags history.
To sum up, Instagram hashtags help us organize content by topic. In addition, it also allows Instagram to recognize the subject of our posts. So, this is all about how hashtags work on Instagram.
Why Should You Use Hashtags On Instagram?
Hashtags are an integral part of Instagram marketing. The primary benefit of using Instagram hashtags is to get more eyeballs on your content. Hashtags assist us in getting more reach and expanding your audience. You can include relevant hashtags in your posts, IGTV videos, reels, guides, and stories.
In addition, Instagram allows users to follow hashtags of their interests. After following the hashtags, users will see posts tagged with the hashtag. The best part is they will see the posts, even if they don’t follow the account yet. As a result, it will improve reach and impressions. There are multiple other benefits of using hashtags on your Instagram posts.
Standout From Your Competition: Instagram is popular among businesses and marketers. It is a perfect way for them to get the attention of their target audience. You need to understand that your competition is also present on the same platform and targeting the same consumers. So, there is a lot of competition. Hashtags help you stand out from your competitors if they don’t have a good hashtag strategy.
Promote Your Business: Another benefit of using hashtags in your Instagram posts is to promote your business. Hashtags help you promote your business or products and services. You can promote your business on Instagram with zero investment with hashtags.
These are the benefits of using hashtags on Instagram. Read the following section to know how many hashtags you should use on Instagram?
How Many Hashtags Should You Use On Instagram?
First, let’s understand the basics of using hashtags in our Instagram posts. Instagram enables us to use hashtags in posts, reels, one-minute videos, IGTV videos, and stories. Here’s all you need to know about the number of hashtags in your Instagram posts.
- Single Post: 30 Hashtags
- Carousel Post: 30 Hashtags
- Reels: 30 Hashtags
- IGTV Video: 30 Hashtags
- Stories: 3 Hashtags (One Sticker Hashtag and 2 Text Hashtags)
You can’t use more than 30 hashtags in a single post, carousel post, reel, and IGTV video descriptions. Instagram will automatically delete hashtags above thirty. Sometimes, it also deletes the whole captions and hashtags after uploading. This is because it is against their guidelines. So, be careful while adding hashtags to your posts.
Till now, this was about how many hashtags you can use in your Instagram posts. We will now talk about how many hashtags you should generally use on Instagram?
This is the most common and debated question we have ever got. Most people get confused between using a few hashtags or all 30 hashtags. You don’t need to worry anymore. We will answer your question right here.
According to the Instagram Creators account post, users should use 3-5 hashtags in their Instagram posts. Besides, they also mentioned that using 10-20 hashtags won’t help you get additional reach.
Sometimes users use all 30 hashtags, and it makes their posts look spammy. On another side, research by Later.com shows that using more hashtags leads to better results. Later.com analyzed over 18 million feed posts, and the results were amazing.
According to Later.com, posts with 20 hashtags got maximum reach. Whereas posts with less than ten hashtags got a minor reach amongst all.
To sum up, Instagram said that using 3-5 hashtags is best to go with. Later found that users should use around 20 hashtags to get maximum reach. You can try using both different frequencies of hashtags and analyze which performs better for you.
What Are the Types Of Hashtags On Instagram?
Before selecting the hashtags for your Instagram posts, it is essential to know the types of Instagram hashtags. So, there are six types of Instagram hashtags and a few more. But we will discuss the most common ones. Read about those hashtag types below.
- Product Or Service Hashtags: Businesses use these types of hashtags on their products and services-related posts. These hashtags describe the products and services you offer. You might have seen hashtags like #Handbag, #Shoes, etc.
- Niche Hashtags: These hashtags describe your category or topic. They get a little specific as compared to other hashtag types. You might have seen hashtags like #travelblogger, #travelvlogger, #fashionvlogger, etc.
- Instagram Community Hashtags: There are a lot of communities on Instagram. And these hashtags represent those communities. These hashtags help you find and join those communities. It includes hashtags like #gardenersofinstagram, #craftersofinstgram, and more.
- Seasonal Hashtags: Seasonal hashtags are the type of hashtags that people use on a specific day or time. These hashtags can refer to real holidays or seasons. For instance, #summerdays, #independencedays.
- Location-Based Hashtags: These are hashtags associated with a particular place. You might have seen hashtags like #vancouvercraftbeer, #londoneats, etc.
- Relevant Phrase Hashtags: Relevant phrase hashtags combine different elements of product hashtags, niche hashtags, and community hashtags.
These are the different types of hashtags on Instagram. Read the next heading to understand how to find the best Instagram hashtags for your business.
How to Find the Best Instagram Hashtags For Your Business?
Follow the given steps to follow the best Instagram hashtags for your business.
Browse Instagram Accounts Similar to Yours
This is the most basic step of finding the best hashtags for your business. If you are working in a particular industry, you must be aware of your competitors or fellow creators. Before stepping in, you must research the niche and the top brands or creators in that niche. So is to start analyzing their profiles and taking note of their hashtags.
Thoroughly look at the hashtags they are using in their Instagram posts. You can choose the number of accounts according to you. We would advise you to choose five large accounts and five accounts similar to your follower count.
Take Note Of What Industry-specific Hashtags They Use
Start browsing the top branded accounts and mid-size followers accounts in your niche. And, take note of the hashtags used by top accounts in your industry. In addition, also note down the hashtags accounts similar to your follower size accounts. This will help you find the best hashtags for your Instagram posts. The best thing about this is you will get active and best hashtags for your Instagram posts.
Check Posts In Each Hashtags
Here comes the critical part. Now, you don’t need to add each hashtag to your posts. Your competitors might be using some quite competitive hashtags. It would be best if you don’t use those competitive hashtags. Ranking on competitive hashtags would be difficult for you. So, open a few Instagram posts of your competitors, and check each hashtag. You need to observe the posts tagged with the particular hashtag.
For instance, if a hashtag has 5 million posts, there is no point in using that particular hashtag. The reason is you won’t be able to rank high on that. But if you find a hashtag with around 10 thousand posts, you can use that hashtag in your Instagram posts.
7 Best Instagram Hashtags Tips and Tricks
Here are the 7 best Instagram hashtags tips and tricks.
Use Instagram Hashtag Generator Tools
Earlier in the article, we mentioned the best way to find the best hashtags for your business. If you genuinely want to dig deep and find great hashtags, that particular method is the best to go with. But it will consume a lot of time. If you don’t want to spend plenty of hours just finding the hashtags, there are a lot of hashtags generator tools.
Here are some of the most popular hashtag generator tools:
- All-hashtag
- Inflact – AI-Based Hashtag Generator Tool
- Keywordtool.io
- Photerloo
- Display Purposes
These are some of the best online hashtag generator tools. These tools help you find the best hashtags for your business. Again, don’t rely on these tools only. Conduct your own research also.
Use Long-tail Hashtags
Most creators and businesses use short-tail hashtags in their Instagram posts. Unfortunately, those short-tail hashtags don’t drive good results for them. Short tail hashtags are highly competitive as compared to long-tail hashtags. Most users use short tail hashtags which makes it even more competitive.
Besides, long-tail hashtags are the best to get effective results. Long-tail hashtags are known for their less competition. Fewer users use these hashtags, which makes it less competitive. So, always use long-tail hashtags in your Instagram posts to get more impressions.
Include Hashtags In Your Stories
Instagram allows us to add hashtags to your stories also. Hashtags on Instagram stories also work well and get the best results. It lets you add three hashtags to your Instagram stories. You can include one hashtag sticker and two hashtags in the text. In addition, when we include hashtags in our stories. When someone visits the hashtag page, they also see stories on that particular page as mentioned in the given image.
Avoid Banned Hashtags And Spam Hashtags
You don’t know which hashtags are banned or spammy. When Instagram users put inappropriate content with the hashtags, Instagram bans them or marks them as spam. When somebody uses that prohibited or spam hashtag, they get some point of flak or zero results.
You can check whether the hashtag is banned or spammy by visiting the hashtag page. When Instagram bans the hashtag, you will see a page conveying this message. You can see the message in the given image.
Don’t Use Irrelevant or Repetitive Hashtags
It seems easy to copy and paste the same hashtags on all your Instagram posts, so you don’t need to find more. We know this is easy because you don’t need to spend much time finding hashtags for your posts. But, we would advise you not to do it. Using the same hashtags two or three times might get good results. But, not always.
According to Instagram Community Guidelines, posting repetitive comments or content” is unacceptable. If you use the same hashtags in every post, Instagram will penalize your content or Instagram account.
In addition, using irrelevant hashtags won’t get you good results. Instagram’s algorithm is smarter than using. It knows what kind of hashtags you are using on your Instagram post. You shouldn’t use hashtags like #like, #follow, #share, #comment, etc.
Use Different Hashtags In Your Posts
We know what you are thinking, will using small hashtags drive good results? Yes, they do. But if you still think they don’t. Then, we have a good hashtag strategy for you. You can combine popular hashtags with your niche hashtags. With this, you might get effective results. This will drive you to a wider reach. You will be seen by more users and get good engagement. Using both popular and small niche hashtags will get better results for you.
Use Hashtags In Your Caption
According to a study, SocialInsider examined around 650,000 Instagram posts. They examined Instagram posts to determine how hashtags work and how they affect their performance. As per the report, Instagram posts with 7 or 30 hashtags got the most engagement in the captions.
The report shows that the placement and number of hashtags matter a lot for better engagement and results. They found that users use hashtags in their captions and first comment. According to SocialInsider, accounts with 0-5k followers used 6 hashtags in their captions. Whereas accounts with 10k-50k followers used 2 hashtags in their captions.
These are the best Instagram hashtag tips and tricks for you. Continue reading the next section to know whether you should use hashtags in the posts description or comment section.
Should You Use Hashtags In the Instagram Caption or Comments?
You can either include hashtags in your Instagram post description or comments according to Instagram. Both are effective ways to go with. Whether you want to add hashtags in the comments or description depends on you.
Additionally, you can’t include hashtags in both places. Either you can add them in the description or comments. So, you can choose accordingly.
Tip: If you want to keep your clean and simple, you should include hashtags in the first comments.
Conclusion
This is all about the Instagram hashtags guide. In this article, we explained everything you need to know about Instagram hashtags. We discussed everything from understanding how hashtags work to finding the best hashtags for your brand. Hashtags are an integral part of Instagram marketing, and you finally aced it with this guide. We hope you understood everything correctly. We are happy to see you grow your business on Instagram.
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