Hashtag How-To 101
Do hashtags feel... irrelevant? Or maybe they’ve never really made that much sense to worry about? Let’s clear out the confusion and enable you to harness their #purpose!
We’ll walk you through why they matter, how to figure out which hashtags make sense for your account, where to find the best ones, and how I use them #without #overusing #them, because no one likes that!
Here’s a quick run-down to up your hashtag game!
THE ALGORITHM
IG allows up to 30 hashtags per post, so a lot of people get a little lazy as they copy + paste the same list into every post. But the algorithm sees all, and penalizes any post with hashtags that are irrelevant.
Pick 5-7 hyper-focused hashtags per post at the most! Make sure they’re relevant to what is in the PHOTO (rather than the caption) and you’re good to go!
HASHTAG RESEARCH
This should NOT take up much of your time!
Take a few minutes to jot down ideas, topics, and phrases that relate to you.
Think about who you serve and what your brand signifies! Then use those to search through Instagram’s hashtags for a master list.
Keep them on note in your phone so you can pick strategic ones before you post.
YOUR FOLLOWERS
Stop and show them some love. And then peep the hashtags they’re using so you can be in those kinds of conversations with other people LIKE them! Aka your perfect customers.
THE COMPETITION
Take a look at how your competitors are tagging their posts - they might have a few that are spot-on for your kind of content, too! Warning: don’t just copy and paste what they’re using!
LOCATION TAGS
This one is straight-forward and pretty underutilized! Use local hashtags to reach people in your community or spot on the map since they’re naturally relevant hashtags.
YOUR BRANDED HASHTAGS
These are so useful as your business grows & help keep track of a topic you talk about a lot!
DO-NOTS
We highly recommend you stick to your on-brand topics! Posting vague, common, overused hashtags (aka broken hashtags) won’t get your content seen. And make sure each of them serve a purpose. Don’t use #unnecessary #hashtags #like #this. ;)
