In the second part of this guide to using Instagram hashtags, we went through the 5 first tips. Continue reading to find out more 6 strategies that will help you accomplish your Instagram goals.
6. Save hashtags for future use
In case you usually use the same hashtags for every post, you can save them in a note to save lots of time. (Notice: use this trick sparingly. Keep in mind, every hashtag you put on a post should match with the content and shouldn’t be too repetitive.)
How to do it:
- Create a new note in your notes app
- Add all your most-used captions to a running list
- Whenever you upload a post on Instagram, go to the note apps, copy your text then paste it in the caption on Instagram.
- Hide hashtags
7. Hide hashtags
Don’t clutter your content. Keep the reader focused on what’s necessary: your compelling caption.
How to do it in a comment:
- Upload your content as usual however leave out the hashtags in the caption box
- Once your post is published, tap the speech bubble icon under your post to write a comment
- Now type out or paste the hashtags you want to comment box and tap Post
- Once your photo or video gets more comments, your hashtags will be seen if users tap the “View all comments” button.
How to do it in the caption:
You may also bury your hashtags within the caption itself.
- Tap the 123 key when composing a caption
- Then tap Return
- Enter a piece of punctuation (whether a period, bullet, or dash), then click Return again
- Repeat steps 2 to 4, do it at least five times
- Instagram hides captions from the third line, so your hashtags won’t be shown unless your followers click “more” option on your post
- Add a hashtag to a post you’ve already uploaded
8. Add a hashtag to a post you’ve already uploaded
If you want to add hashtags to a post you’ve already uploaded, tap the three dots in the top right corner of your screen and choose Edit to add to the caption.
Once more, you may also add hashtags post-publishing by tapping the speech bubble under the photo and typing the hashtags in as a comment.
9. Think about using brand hashtags
A brand (or brand, in case you want) hashtag is one that’s unique to your organization or campaign. It might be as simple as your business name, tagline, or name of one of your products.
Herschel Supply Co. uses many branded hashtags, including #herschelsupply and #welltravelled. The latter was created for a campaign to encourage customers to share travel pictures featuring Herschel products. Now tagged in millions of posts, it is usually cited as one of the most popular travel hashtags on Instagram.
Like Herschel, you may create a brand hashtag for a specific campaign or to easily showcase your company culture, products, or services.
In case you’re running an Instagram campaign, having a model hashtag will assist drive participation and engagement. It can also organize all the posts that are tagged with it on a hashtag page. This is useful in case you’re using the hashtag to collect entries for a promotion or contest submissions.
Or you should use branded hashtags to simply promote your company—the individuals, wins, and culture. Let’s take a look at an example form Hootsuit, they use #HootsuiteLife for that purpose.
10. Make your brand hashtags short so people find it easy to remember
That way your followers and customers can easily keep in mind it. You need to be specific, however, something like #SanFranciscoLuxuryCarEnthusiasts for a high-end auto show won’t catch on because it has too many characters. “#SFCarLovers” makes more sense in this case.
11. Experiment with emoji hashtags
In addition to numbers and letters, hashtags can include emoji (spaces and special characters, such as % or $, don’t work). These animated icons are eye-catching and, because they can stand in for entire words, will keep your hashtags short.
Popular Instagram hashtags
Regardless of how popular they could be, you need to keep away from hashtags that shamelessly solicit likes and followers—#followme, #like4like, #follow4follow, #tagsforlikes, and so on. Using these will attract bots, spammers, and other customers who have no intention of engaging with you in any meaningful way. They also show your followers that your brand is okay with engaging in spammy behavior. And that’s not a great look.
However again, that doesn’t mean you should ignore every popular hashtag.
Tagged in over 428 million posts, #TBT (Throwback Thursday) is one of the most used hashtags on Instagram and a perfect nostalgia marketing opportunity. In case your brand has a past, use #TBT to share it. If your brand is newer, you should use the hashtag to dig into the history of your products or industry.
Here are many more universal and universally popular hashtags your brand may need to consider using—sparingly:
- #instagood: Use this on pictures you’re particularly proud of.
- #photooftheday: Also reserved for your greatest 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: Similar idea as above.
- #instagrammers: Popular with Instagram influencers and different power users.
- #igers: Short form of #instagrammers.
- #instamood: Intended to be used in photos that reflect the publisher’s mood. Typically #instamood posts aren’t of people, but scenery. So in case, your brand is celebrating an enormous win, then you might post a photo of a fireworks display.
- #TBT (and #ThrowbackThursday, the longer and less frequently used version): As noted above, this all about your memories to look back.
- #FBF or #FlashbackFriday: Because in the future a week dedicated to nostalgia isn’t enough. The concept is similar to #TBT, although the Friday tag isn’t as popular.
- #ManicMonday: For posts that describe your busy week ahead, you can use this hashtag.
- #WisdomWednesday: Post a quote or piece advice that your target audience will find useful.
- #FridayFunday: An opportunity to humanize your brand and entertain your audience with some lighter content.
- #NoFilter: For images purists. Use on posts that you haven’t used any filter.
- #selfie: Self-explanatory. As a social media marketer, you should use this hashtag once you’re representing your brand at an industry event.
- #regram: Use this when reposting a photo from another person’s account to your own. Make it a part of your UGC strategy. To learn the way, take a look at our tips for reposting content on Instagram.
- #contest, #giveaway, #sweepstakes, and so on.: Use these in case you’re trying to give something away to full-time contest contestants. Hopefully, the winner will share their prize and promote your brand with their viewers.
There are of course popular Instagram hashtags specific to every industry. Real estate, for instance, has: #realestate, #architecture, #realestateforsale, and #realestatephotograhpy. To surface the ones that are related to your business, refer back to our recommendations on the way to find the right hashtags.
Okay, so, the key takeaway: Be considerate about how and which hashtags you use. Like every type of content you share on social media, it’s all about the audience. What value are you offering? What’s in it for them? What is the reason to make people engage with your post? In case you don’t have an answer, don’t share.