Hashtags have become an obsession in the social media world. For some, they are just statement makers. For others, it is a way to connect social media content to a specific topic. They also make it easier to discover certain posts you may be looking for. When you use hashtags (as long as used correctly), they can help with increased engagement on your posts from your followers. Depending on the topic and hashtags used, your post becomes visible for that specific conversation. Hashtags can be helpful in so many other ways to. Growing your following, finding your target audience, contextualize what you are talkin about, show support for social issues and even build your very own brand.
But if you are looking to do any of that, there is more to using hashtags than just putting a word in front of a number sign. Finding which hashtag works best for you and your brand, takes a lot of trial and error, researching, knowing which hashtags aren't popular and having a better understanding of what your ideal audience is (who you want your post to reach). But that topic is for a later date and time and blog post!
Today, let's go over three things to avoid when using hashtags! You ready?
Using the same hashtags on each post. This is a big no no according to Instagram. Repetitively using the same hashtags daily, may flag your account as a bot. Copy and pasting the same hashtags from post to post may also lead to being shadow banned. How can you prevent yourself from being shadow banned or marked as a bot? Research and save a whole bunch of different hashtags you like and that match your brand/personality. Create groups in your notes section of your phone, of different hashtags. Switch on and off with using them for every post. Make sure you are throwing in some words and things that also match your post that day. It's ok if you reuse a few hashtags each day, but just be sure you are mixing in different ones with them each. Example: Monday- #lifewithkimberli #tuesdaythoughts #inspojunkie #socialmediamanager #itsagooddayforagoodday #sunshineday #positivevibesonly / Tuesday- #lifewithkimberli #gobigorgohome #inspojunkie #feelingfine #yougotthismomma #socialmediamanager / Wednesday- #lifewithkimberli #socialmediamanager #gogetter #inspiringothers #inspojunkie -- You will see that each day I used a few of the same hashtags but also added different ones blended with it. This keeps it from looking repetitive like a bot.
Using too many large hashtags (250K post or more). If you are a smaller account and most of the hashtags you are using are being used on millions of others accounts, your content will get eaten alive and most likely won't show up when others go to search that hashtag. So if you find your hashtags are not performing well, this could be reason number 1, you are using hashtags that are too big. To start, use hashtags with low - med volume. Low - under 50,000 posts / Med- 50,000-250,000 posts. Since we get 30 hashtags per post, here is what I suggest. Use 10 low volume hashtags, 15 med volume hashtags and 5 high volume hashtags (250,000+). Example of a low performing hashtag: #godknowsmyheart 22.4K posts) Example of a med performing hashtag: #worthyoflove 80.6K posts) Example of a high performing hashtag: #youareworthy 834K posts)
Not keeping track of your hashtag performance in your analytics and insights. This one is pretty self explanatory. You have the insights function on your account. USE IT! Go to your recent post, click it. You will see view insights right under picture. Click that. Scroll all the way down to hashtags. You can see how well that batch of hashtags is performing. If the number is low, look at the hashtags you used and try to switch them up.
What is one of your biggest hashtag struggles? ⤵