Using Hashtags On Instagram Can Assure More Engagement
Hashtags play a significant role in gaining more followers on Instagram and increasing the level of engagement among the users. However, most of the users do not actually know how best they can use hashtags on Instagram. Well, for them, and if you too are one of them, this article will prove to be extremely helpful.
Starting from the very beginning, hashtags have really taken over the internet and the social media landscape, though it was originally popularized by Twitter.
- The term ‘hashtags’ refer to keywords or keyword phrases.
- It is represented by the # symbol and the words are spelled without spaces after that.
The primary use of the hashtags is to use it as a reference for a varied number of things such as:
- An event
- A conference
- Pop culture
- A social or other movement
- Entertainment or
- Any reoccurring themes.
Ideally, using hashtags is a great way to make your content more visible on the platform and far more accessible to your users. Is fact, hashtags are so popular a component on this platform that the Instagram followers buyanything that is advertised prefixed with the tempting and engaging # sign.
Usefulness of the hashtags
When you consider the Instagram platform, there are about 80 million photos are shared everyday on this platform! This is an exceptionally large figure which makes sense that the Instagram feeds are changing always.
However, the gist of the matter is that with such a huge number of contents out there, it may be really difficult for your account to get noticed on this platform This is where these hashtags come in handy.
- The primary objective of using hashtags on Instagram is that it aggregates posts from a large variety of users into one single feed.
- However, while searching for accounts using hashtags, it is only the public accounts that are shown.
The good thing about Instagram is that it makes things simple and easy for the users looking to find tagged content. On this platform when a user searches a word or phrase, the search results page will typically show them four parts. These are:
- Top: This section displays the top Instagram accounts, locations, and hashtagsthat include the keyword. These are the accounts that the users may be currently following or the most popular ones.
- Accounts: This is the section that shows the user all of those top Instagram accounts that include the keyword.
- Tags: This is that part that suggests the popular hashtags that include the specific keyword and the number of other Instagram posts that have been shared with that particular hashtag.
- Places: This displays nearby locations that include the given keyword.
This means that when you want to search an account with a particular keyword with a hashtag, you can broaden your search by using other related keywords with hashtags.
Using hashtags is really easy. All you have to do is simply create hashtags using numbers, characters, or emojis. You can add up to thirty hashtags to the caption on Instagram but remember that your account must be public so that your posts appear on the hashtag feeds.
Choosing a hashtag
When you want to use hashtags for your posts you will first need to select the best possible hashtags that relates to your posts. But how do you choose which are the best hashtags for your individual post? Well, the best answer could be by brainstorming all the related keywords and then researching on the relevant trends. This is actually very easy within Instagram itself.
To start your search for the best hashtags first look for the Explore tab. This is actually the magnifying glass icon located on the bottom menu. You will find all the popular posts in here to see whatare the types of hashtags used.
If you have a particular hashtag in mind already you can also use this page to find the more popular and related hashtags. This will give you the chance to make your posts even more popular. The process to follow for your hashtag search includes:
- Typing the hashtag in the search bar
- Filtering your results by Tags
- Seeing how many posts have used that particular hashtag and
- Look for other related hashtags as well.
Remember, all the time you should focus on blending general and trending hashtags. However, if you use specific hashtags it will surely increase the reach of your posts as well as its relevance.
Create branded hashtags
You may also consider creating your own branded hashtag. In fact, many businesses today use their own hashtags for a variety of reasons such as:
- To launch a new product
- Manage their Instagram campaign
- Promote any specific eventand
- Collect user-generated content.
If you want to do the same for your business you must make sure that the hashtag you want to include is not being used for any other purpose. Then encourage the audience to use it.
Formatting the hashtag
In order to incorporate hashtags in your content, there are a few things that you should essentially do and keep in mind.
- First and foremost, make sure that no matter whatever you do, you do not look spammy. Typically, the hashtags you use should look natural and seamlessly blend in your caption. Anything that is unnatural will not grab the attention of the users and they will soon unfollow you.
- Next, you should focus on using the right number of hashtags for your posts. Normally, most of the businesses use 2.5 hashtags for each of their posts. You should ideally aim to use one to four hashtags. This will ensure that you do not overwhelmyour audience with your hashtags in your captions make it hard to read for them.
Lastly, if you find out that none of the hashtags that you have chosen blends naturally and seamlessly into your caption, there is nothing to worry and drop the idea altogether. You can tack them in the first comment or even at the end. These hashtags will work in the same way as desired no matter where you place them.
Author Bio: Karen is a Business Tech Analyst. She is very responsible towards her job. She loves to share her knowledge and experience with her friends and colleagues.