Three ways to optimise the hashtag and avoid being ‘too commercial.’
Ah, the hashtag. Like many of you, we can be a bit squeamish about it.
We haven’t always been this way. We used to frequent the hashtag in 2000, leaving a waffle-y voicemail on a best friend’s Nokia 3210. But it’s time to challenge our view of it being too commercial or try-hard. Using it right can blossom your marketing strategy.
Use it correctly, and you’ll get your posts seen by more people likely to be interested in your products or brand. But first, you’ll need to understand precisely how it functions.
When a person clicks or searches for a hashtag, the page shows all posts tagged.
Therefore, the hashtag is a fantastic way to expand your Instagram audience and reach. Your post will appear on the page for that hashtag. The same applies when you use hashtags in your stories.
People do choose to follow hashtags. This means they could see your post in their feed even if they don’t follow you.
Here are three top tips to get you started.
1) LESS IS MORE
You can use up to 30 hashtags per post. In a recent Hootsuite webinar, the host raised a valid point: just because you can use that many hashtags for Instagram doesn’t mean you should. There’s no right or wrong number (apart from 31) for a business or every post. It’s figuring out what works for you.
How to figure out what works best? Look at your analytics to determine or run some testing; even better, ASK your audience.
They advised that 11 is a good number to start with. But the best number of hashtags to use is between 3 and 5.
2) DON’T GO OFF-GRID.
No, we don’t mean that kind of off-grid (we can dream, eh?)
But a hashtag with 5 million tags can easily get lost. Be more specific so that your post doesn’t go off the grid. Remember, lots of people do what you do, so be particular and unique to your brand. #HealthandWellnessTips will have more visibility than #HealthandWellness, for example. And it’s specific to this post.
Use a branded hashtag for a new product, service or campaign. It boasts individuality, and We think it’s an excellent way to show that you’re not just hashtagging for the sake of hashtagging. Plus, people can tap on the hashtag and view all posts about this exciting new thing. Experiment. But be cautious. Remember, #susanalbumparty?
3) AVOID SPAM
Community guidelines state that “posting repetitive comments or content” is a no-no. If you use the same hashtags for every post, the algorithm will penalise your content.
The mistake we commonly make on Instagram is to hashtag what everyone else is hashtagging.
Yes, it’s vital to do your research to see what your competitors are doing, what your audience is responding to, and which hashtags are worth using. (Two tips in one: follow other Hashtags on
Instagram.)
We’re not talking about no-nutritional-value ham in a tin here. We’re not sure which is worse. Obvious spammy hashtags include -instagram -instadaily (guilty in the early days) -like -love -tagsforlikes.
Ugh. Processed ham in a can? No thank you.
Worth mentioning that there are banned hashtags, too. We’re not going to hashtag them for obvious reasons. The best thing to do is do your research. Please search for the hashtag you want to use, and see how it’s doing. If it is banned, Instagram will tell you.
So now it’s your turn. The main thing to take away from this is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Hashtag, you’re it.
Team Branch Out x