7 Essential Tips for Using Hashtags to Catapult Your Instagram Growth

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TechsPlace | Want to catapult your Instagram growth? #Hashtags are the way to make it happen when done correctly. Discover 7 vital tips for using hashtags for IG growth now. Instagram boasts over one billion monthly active users. There are over 500 million people watching Instagram stories every day.

Do you own a business? If Instagram isn’t part of your marketing strategy, you’re missing out!

If you’re new to Instagram, there are some things you need to know for better engagement. Even if you’re a long-time user, chances are you can up your game.

Read on for 7 vital tips for using hashtags to catapult your Instagram growth now.

What’s a Hashtag?

If you’re new to social media, you might be wondering what a hashtag is. A hashtag is any word with a pound sign (#) in front of it. The pound sign draws attention to the word or topic. Find out more here.

When you use the hashtag on your Instagram photo, the photo posts in the hashtag feed. Are you a newborn photographer? Use #newbornphotography. If a new mom is searching for a newborn photographer, she’ll see your feed.

Use Hashtags for Instagram Growth

The other big reason for using hashtags is account growth. You want people to discover your gallery and add it to their home feed. These are organic followers.

Don’t use third-party apps, fake accounts, or bots to grow your Instagram.

The more followers you have, the more people see your gallery. That means more potential customers seeing your products. Your followers can even shop straight from your stories.

What are the 7 tips for Instagram hashtags? Glad you asked…

  1. Use up to 30 Hashtags per Post

Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post. Past studies showed engagement jumped with 11 or more hashtags. If you’re looking for Instagram growth, use the full 30 hashtags.

Where do you post hashtags?

Post them in the caption or comment section. They’ll work either way. Some people prefer them in the comment section so they’re not visible. If you post them in the caption section, add some dots vertically down the page before adding the hashtags.

This is tricky. There’s no “return” key on the keyboard when you’re adding a comment. Click on the “123” button for access to the number keyboard. There you’ll see a “return” key.

Click on “return.” Then hit the “ABC” key and type a period. Then repeat the process until there are several periods down the page. Then post the hashtags.

  1. Use Relevant Hashtags

Do some research. In the search bar, type in a keyword-relevant to your business or product. Note what hashtags come up. Let’s take a look at the #newbornphotographer sample again.

In the search bar, click on “tags,” then type in relevant words. “Photographer,” for instance. You’ll see lots of other words relevant to “photographer.” Which tags should you choose? The tags that work best for your business or product. But, there is something you should pay attention to…

  1. Pay Attention to Number of Posts 

The hashtag “photographer” has over 100 million posts! That means your photo is buried almost as soon as you hit the post button. It’s okay to use high-volume hashtags now and then, but they won’t grow your account much. There are so many photos posted to those hashtags that most people won’t see yours.

Aim for hashtags with fewer posts.

  1. Watch Out for Banned Hashtags

Instagram sometimes bans innocent-looking hashtags. For instance, they once banned #happythanksgiving because it had so much spam. If you use a banned hashtag, you run the risk of your account being “shadowbanned.” That’s when Instagram limits your account visibility.

When this happens, your engagement falls and your posts might not show up under the hashtags. This is a frustrating situation that can take days or weeks to fix. If you get shadowbanned, stop posting for a few days and then start fresh making sure you’re avoiding banned hashtags.

How do you know which hashtags are banned?

Look for the hashtag in the search bar then click on the hashtag and scroll through. Keep scrolling down and look for a message that says the posts are “currently hidden.” If you see that message, the hashtag is banned. Don’t use it!

  1. Use Contests

Instagram is a great place for contests and giveaways. Have your followers leave a comment for an entry. Tell them they’ll get another entry if they tag a friend. As the contest spreads from friend to friend, so does your brand name.

  1. Use Phone Notes for Hashtag Groups

It’s time-consuming doing lots of hashtag research, but it’s necessary. You need relevant hashtags with followers but that doesn’t have too many posts.

Your phone’s notepad is a handy place for storing hashtags. Make lists of 30 hashtags. Keep at least 5-7 different lists. Instagram penalizes you for using the same hashtags over and over. Use the hashtags most relevant to your business for every list. But throw some different hashtags onto each list.

Check your hashtags for activity. Be aware of the content posted to the hashtags. If there’s any offensive content associated with the tag, stop using that hashtag. Do your research on a monthly basis and update your lists accordingly.

  1. Creating Custom Tags

You can hashtag any word you want by putting the pound sign in front of the word. Create custom tags for contests and giveaways. Or create a custom tag for a company event.

Before you use a custom tag, make sure you search it. The word might already be a hashtag and you might not like the content!

Driving Instagram Growth

Instagram growth takes time and effort but it’s well worth it. Instagram is a treasure trove of potential clients and one of the best free marketing tools available. Don’t forget to choose quality photos. You can have the best hashtag groups in the world, but if your images are lousy, you won’t get engagement. Here you can Get Instagram Followers for your Instagram profile.

Contact us here for more great marketing help.