HOW NOT TO BE HAUNTED BY YOUR HASHTAGS
31st October 2019
#Happyhalloween! Hashtags, love them or loathe them, for certain social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram, they are a terrifying necessity. It can be a bit hit and miss as to how to find the right hashtags to help your business and posts to be found.
Our first recommendation would be to read them back and make sure that they can’t be read as something else. We all remember Susan Boyle’s Album Party hashtag (as it’s a family show, we will leave you to Google it if you don’t know). It now has it’s own anniversary celebration on Twitter. A great PR stunt or a genuine accident? We will never know but it certainly isn’t remembered for her debut album!
Now we’ve got the most obvious out of the way, here we offer some guidance on using hashtags for Instagram – hopefully turning your hashtag nightmare into a dream…
HOW MANY HASHTAGS?
You can use 30 hashtags in a post and 10 hashtags on a story.
It is believed that 9 is the magic number and on average, posts with 9 strong hashtags get the most interaction. Try to avoid making them visible in your accompanying post and post them as a comment instead. You can also connect your Instagram account to Facebook and post to both pages in one go. By putting the hashtags in the comments stops them being posted to Facebook where they will serve little purpose as Facebook has now stopped showing which hashtags are trending.
Using hashtags in stories is another way to be discovered. As stated above, don’t do too many. Keep them key to the post. Keep them small or hide them with stickers, emojis or a GIF. We want to be able to see your amazing work!
USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION
Using the search function, type in the keyword that you want to use and then click on the Tags tab. You will then view a list of all the hashtags with that keyword and posts that are using those tags.
Remember, whilst the most popular tags are great, you will have a MASSIVE amount of competition within them so use a mix of popular and some niche tags.
USE THE RELATED HASHTAGS
When you click on the hashtag you are working on, click on the actual page. From here you will see a list of related hashtags that will help you engage with the right audience.
Also follow these hashtags so you can see what posts are popular whenever you login to check your own account.
USE UNIVERSALLY POPULAR HASHTAGS*
I would never rule out using the popular hashtags that we see daily. #TBT is tagged over 428 million times. You are going to be seen by someone who hasn’t seen you before. Mixed with niche and popular, you should get results. The most popular hashtags are as follows:
#instagood: Use this on photos you’re particularly proud of.
#photooftheday: Also reserved for your best work. There’s an associated @photooftheday Instagram account that selects one “winning” photo with the hashtag each day and shares it with their more than 269,000 followers.
#picoftheday: Same concept as above.
#instagrammers: Popular with Instagram influencers and other power users.
#igers: Short form of #instagrammers.
#instamood: Intended to be used in photos that reflect the publisher’s mood. Typically #instamood posts are not of people, but scenery. So if your brand is celebrating a big win, then you could post a photo of a fireworks display.
#TBT (and #ThrowbackThursday, the longer and less frequently used version): As noted above, this all about nostalgia marketing.
#FBF or #FlashbackFriday: Because one day a week dedicated to nostalgia isn’t enough. The concept is the same as #TBT, although the Friday tag isn’t as popular.
#ManicMonday: Use on posts that illustrate your busy week ahead or wacky company culture.
#WisdomWednesday: Post a quote or piece advice that your target audience will find helpful.
#FridayFunday: A chance to humanize your brand and entertain your audience with some lighter content.
#NoFilter: For photography purists. Use on posts that you haven’t applied a filter to.
#selfie: Self-explanatory. As a social media marketer, you can use this hashtag when you’re representing your brand at an industry event.
#regram: Use this when reposting a photo from someone else’s account to your own. Make it a part of your user-generated content strategy. To learn how, check out our tips for reposting content on Instagram.
#contest, #giveaway, #sweepstakes, etc.: Use these if you’re looking to give something away to full-time contest contestants. Hopefully the winner will share their prize and promote your brand with their audience.
CONTACT US
The use of hashtags is an ever-evolving art. If you don’t want them to come back to haunt you, we are always happy to help! Please don’t hesitate to contact us!
*SOURCE – HOOTSUITE BLOG
