Instagram hashtags can be a real lever to gain Instagram followers and boost engagement in your posts, but best practices are constantly evolving. A good strategy for using hashtags is not to reach more people but rather the right people for your brand. Throughout this article, we will introduce you to different methods to optimize your use of hashtags when writing your post, captions.
Stay relevant in the choice of hashtags
The maximum number of hashtags allowed by Instagram is 30. Although this number seems high, it is sometimes interesting to add as many as possible to increase the chances of being discovered. However, this can appear as not being very aesthetic, a little spammy, and favors the risks of shadowban, that is to say, that some of your overused keywords could cause your posts not to be displayed in the search results. The other option is to add a limited number of hashtags, between 5 & 10 per post, which seems reasonable and accessible for everyone.
In any case, be sure to identify relevant hashtags using different methods that we present to you below.
Use hashtag generators
Some complementary and external tools to Instagram allow you to generate long lists of related hashtags than those offered on the application.
These are hashtag generators, some accessible via a website, or via a smartphone application. For example, the All-hashtag.com site allows you to create a list of keywords ready to be copied and pasted into your post captions.
Observe the volume of posts for each hashtag
Once you have determined which hashtags seem most relevant to you, it is important to take into account the number of posts using them on the application.
If a hashtag is too popular, your post will undoubtedly be buried in millions of other posts, and if this one is little used, you will not get engagement coming from this keyword.
A good target is that hashtags used 10,000 to 200,000 times can be interesting. This indicates that there is some activity around them without seeing your content drowned out. You could then choose some hashtags close to 10,000 uses and others close to 200,000 uses. This mixture of hashtags can allow you to increase your performance significantly.
Categorize your hashtags by brand, industry, target audience and location
When you produce the list of your Instagram hashtags, it can be interesting to divide them into different headings. For branded hashtags, this is to list, for example, the hashtag #yourmark or something more original like #withyourmark.
For hashtags related to your industry, consider the keywords most relevant to your products & services. For example, if you market sustainable fashion, you could use hashtags like #cotonbio, #durable, #moderesponsable, etc.
For hashtags related to your target audience, watch the hashtags that are important to them daily. In the field of interior architecture, it can be, for example, #architecturelovers, #addictdeco, or #interiordesign. Finally, don’t forget the place hashtags, specifying the city, district, or business in which the post was created.
Separate your caption from hashtags
According to ACTIVEIG.COM, Hashtags can be particularly useful for boosting the development of your community, but they can quickly make the captions of your posts loaded and unpleasant to read. To avoid this, a common option is to add either a line break or black bullets to create a clear distinction between the descriptive text and your hashtags.
Don’t forget the hashtags in your Stories
Did you know you can add multiple hashtags to your Stories slides?
Like popular posts, you can significantly increase the coverage of your posts by adding these keywords.
You can add up to 10 hashtags on each Story using the “Aa” text functionality or one hashtag via the corresponding sticker.
And if you are afraid that it will not look nice on your visual, you still have the option to hide these keywords below a sticker or gif!
