4 Hashtag Tips for 2021!
What’s the first word that comes to mind when you say Instagram?
It’s hashtags! Because hashtags can make or break your Instagram
organic reach, following and engagement. Yes, the pictures you post
are important (Instagram is, predominantly, a visual platform) and so
are the captions (must be catchy, controversial, funny) but there’s a
lot more to the hashtags than just a snazzy symbol. So much so that
you can increase your reach by almost 14% just by using the correct
hashtags!
Here are some tried-and-tested tips on how to effectively boost your
organic reach with hashtags.
1. Do not copy and paste the same hashtags for every post
This is an extremely common mistake most novice Instagrammers
make. And while you assume you are upping your Instagram game by
using hashtags, this one mistake could actually be harming your
reach. Here’s why…
- The hashtags won’t be post specific if you simply copy and paste
them. Yes, even if you post content only related to your niche, every
photo or caption will not be about the same thing so you are
potentially missing out on reach from hashtags that are relevant to
THAT particular post!
- Remember the ‘doing more harm than good’ bit I mentioned? By
doing this, the post will in fact rank low for hashtags it isn’t relevant
to, including the hashtags that are apt for that post, in turn lowering
the overall reach of the post itself. So, in essence, the use of hashtags
would be pointless in this case.
- If Instagram sees this often, it might tag your account for spam-like
activity
2. Use a variety of hashtag types
Mix up your hashtags according to community, niche and popularity.
Hashtags should be relevant to the photo, the caption, your niche and
the subject matter of that particular post. Keep these points in mind
when choosing your hashtags and you’ll get a good variety.
Remember: the more the variety, the more the organic reach, as
simple as that!
3. Do your research
A little bit of effort in the beginning will take you a long way as far as
hashtags are concerned. Think of five larger core niche hashtags to
use as your base and start researching what other popular
Instagrammers in your niche use. This is a great way to discover new
hashtags that you can use to optimise your own reach and growth.
Two ways of doing this are by downloading and using the app
‘Hashtag Expert’, or searching a hashtag in Instagram, and seeing
what IG suggests as a ‘related hashtag’.
4. Get your numbers correct
It’s not just the hashtags you use that affect your post’s reach and
engagement but also the number of hashtags you use. The maximum
hashtags for posts and reels are 30 and for stories are 11.
While logic implies that the more hashtags you use, the more your
reach will be, sometimes it could be detrimental to use hashtags that
don’t match with your post or niche.
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