Instagram has become the favorite social network of many — and not just for teens and Millennials. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 35% of online adults use Instagram — up 3% from 2016. Compare that, for example, to 24% on Twitter.
Whether you are a marketer in the ecommerce industry or an individual who’s just looking to use Instagram in the best ways possible, there are Instagram hacks for hashtag and direct messaging here for you.
Instagram hacks for hashtag
1. Find the best (and most related) hashtags
Because utilizing the right Instagram hashtag will help your content more discoverable and permit you to develop your audience.
How to do it:
- Choose the magnifying glass icon to go to the Explore tab
- Type in a keyword and choose the Tags column
- Select a hashtag from the listing
- It will take you to a page of posts bearing that hashtag
- Above the “Top” and “Recent” portions of the page, there appears a small bar labeled “Related.” Next to this, Instagram will show a list of related hashtags that you could swipe through for inspiration (and further analysis)
2. Follow your favorite hashtags
Good for content inspiration!
How to do it:
- Choose the magnifying glass icon to go to the Explore tab
- Type in the hashtag you want to follow
- On the hashtag page choose the Follow button
3. Save hashtags for future use
When you usually use the same hashtags for every post, save them in a note to avoid wasting time.
How to do it:
- Make a new note in the notes app in your cell system
- Add all your most-used captions to a running list
- Whenever you are sharing a post, navigate from Instagram to the notes app, copy your text, then paste it in your caption
4. Hide hashtags on your Instagram posts
Do not clutter your captions. Hide your hashtags to hold the reader focused on what’s vital.
How to do it—method No. 1:
- One simple method to hide your hashtags is to easily leave them out of your caption altogether and place them in a comment under your post
- When you have got another comment, your hashtags shall be safely hidden in the comments part
How to do it—method No. 2:
- Another way is to separate your hashtags from the rest of your caption by burying them under an avalanche of line breaks
- Simply choose the 123 key when composing a caption
- Choose Return
- Enter a piece of punctuation (whether a period, bullet, or dash), then hit Return again
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 at least 5 times
- Instagram hides captions after three lines, so your hashtags will not be viewable unless your fans tap the more option on your post
5. Hide Hashtags on your Instagram Stories
You could embrace a maximum of 10 hashtags on an individual Story, which will greatly improve the number of people who will see it. Nevertheless, you might not want your Story to look too cluttered. Fortunately, there are two simple methods to hide your hashtags and keep your Story looking clean and polished
How to do it, method 1:
- WWhen you have typed your hashtags out, shrink them to as small a size as possible utilizing your thumb and index finger.
- Place a sticker, giant emoji, or GIF over them.
How to do it, method 2:
- When you have typed your hashtags out, shrink them to as small a size as possible utilizing your thumb and index finger.
- Choose your hashtags again.
- Then select the ink dropper icon in the bottom left corner.
- Choose in the area where you intend to hide your hashtags. It will turn the hashtag text the same color as the background, effectively hiding them from view.
Instagram hacks for direct messaging
1. Turn off your activity status
When you do not want your fans to know once you were final active on the app, you could turn off activity status within Instagram Direct Messenger.
How to do it:
- Choose the profile icon at the bottom right of your screen
- Tap Settings
- Scroll down and tap Activity Status
- Toggle off activity status
2. Send disappearing content to other accounts
You may send a disappearing image, video, or Boomerang to another account or a group of friends utilizing Instagram Direct Messaging.
How to do it:
- From the home screen, choose the camera icon on the upper left of the screen. Or swipe right to open the camera. Or open Instagram Direct by choosing the paper airplane icon at the high right of the screen, then tapping the camera icon in the high left
- Shoot a photograph, video, or Boomerang
- Edit it as desired
- Choose the > icon at the below right of the screen
- Select your recipient OR tap New Group to send your message to several people in a single group chat
- Choose Send at the bottom of the screen
Note: If you choose multiple recipients without making a group, each user will be sent the same message separately.
3. Send a live video
You could send your own live video or one you are viewing to a user or group of users.
How to do it:
- When shooting a live video, choose the Direct icon (paper airplane) at the bottom of the screen and send your live video to friends (you will also have this feature when going live with a friend)
- Once sent, the recipient will see your live video in their Direct inbox. Friends could only view your video when you are currently live
4. Edit a friend’s picture and send it back to them
How to do it:
- When viewing a picture message from a friend, choose the camera icon at the bottom and capture a reply
- Your reply includes a sticker of what you are responding to
- Move and resize it, and add your own twist with stickers, text and drawings
We do hope that these Instagram hacks for hashtag and direct messaging is useful for you!