4 Instagram Hashtag Hacks You Need to Know

Let’s face it, hashtags are a national treasure! They are a great way to get your content seem past your audience and allows us to be connected to other with commonalities all across social media. Hashtags have adapted so much over the years with all the Instagram updates and social norms, leaving many wondering how many to use, if we should use them at all, and how to use them effectively.

First, what is a hashtag? A hashtag is a searchable tag that you can use on your posts. Hashtags help your posts get seen by more users than just your followers. If you aren’t putting hashtags on your posts then it is like you are having a yard sale without any signs or advertisements. Yes, when someone drives by your house they will see that you are having a yard sale and might stop by. However, you aren’t going to make as much sales as you would without putting out signs.

When it comes to our little Instagram yard signs - we obviously can't stick them in the street and move on, so how do we use them effectively? We have the top hacks for you to hashtag your heart away!

Hack #1: Use all 30 hashtags

You get up to 30 hashtags on Instagram to categorize and capture your intended audience, so some careful planning and thought is necessary. Our opinion? There's absolutely no shame in our hashtag game when we say, use all 30! Instagram wouldn't put them there if they didn't want us to use them all.

Hack #2: Use a variety of hashtags types!

Hashtags are broken down into different types depending on what you are focusing on. A branded hashtag is a specific hashtag for your original business content. This can include your name, brand name, the name of a specific campaign, or tag line. This is where you can track specific content in relation to your brand. For example, ours is our Instagram handle: #SocialSavvyCollective. Usually you only use a few of these on your post.

Industry or Profession Hashtags are typically highly competitive hashtags that allow you to showcase what you do. These usually include hashtags such as #photographer, #webdesigner, #socialmediamanager, etc. We recommend using about 10 of these on your post.

Niche Hashtags is where you can get more specific! Niche hashtags are primarily related to hashtags with 100K posts or less. These are typically the best hashtags to use because they aren't too crowded and your content won't get hidden beneath millions of other posts, but they are also still relevant enough to get your content seen. Try to use many of these, preferably about 10!

Lastly, community hashtags are helpful to use as well. Social media is all about community! So, use hashtags to find and relate to the community you want to be involved in! These are hashtags that target a specific group of people and are great for building relationships with other social media users. Try to use at least 10 of these on your post.

Hack #3: Hashtags should not be used as describing words for your content

For example, if you are a Social Media Manager posting a photo of you drinking coffee at a coffee shop, you don't want to use #coffee #coffeeshop because that's where you'll find other coffee shops and companies within that industry. You want to use hashtags that are in your industry, and are where your audience will be!

Hack #4: Use hashtags with different amounts of posts.

Underneath a hashtag you type in, it will list how many other posts also tag the same hashtag before you select it. Using a variety of different hashtag categories can be helpful for your post visibility.

While we don't recommend using hashtags with under 10K, there are benefits to using hashtags with lower amounts of posts, such as 10-25K. This allows your content to be on a relevant hashtag, without competing to be seen by too many other posts. You should also have hashtags with higher amounts of posts thrown into the mix because they are more commonly used, searched, and found, but, with these, your content probably has a higher chance of over-casted by other content.

Ready to take your hashtag knowledge to the next level? Join our membership to get an exclusive hashtag guide organized by industry, masterclasses, and more!

Happy hashtagging!