Instagram is a massive platform, one with incredibly engaged users, and a chance to show off your company visually. It can bring out personality for your brand, connect you to popular influencers, and open your brand up to millions of potential customers. But what if your follower count isn’t growing? One of the biggest reasons people see anemic growth often comes down to a very simple reason- poor use of hashtags.
Along with Instagram’s decision to allow businesses to schedule posts, you will also be able to follow hashtags. That means it’s more important than ever to nail your hashtag game! Avoiding a few common mistakes can be the difference between your inability to grow and a massively successful account.
Always Use Hashtags!
A key component to Instagram is the hashtag. They are the key to getting in front of viewers, and the more you use, the better. Find popular users, or users in your industry and find out what hashtags they are using. Search for hashtags and see what kind of content matches up with them. And don’t forget to come up with branded hashtags for your business! Currently, about 70% of Instagram hashtags are branded, so it is absolutely vital you have your own tags to rally your followers behind.
Mix It Up!
When you’re using numerous hashtags, it’s tempting to write them out once, put them in a text document and just copy and paste for every image you upload. While those tags can put you in front of an audience, spamming your content into the same bucket each time is going to burn people out. You will also fail to catch new eyes. Limiting yourself to the same 10 hashtags is almost as bad as not using them.
Repeatedly posting in the same tags can also make your account look like spam, which will be quickly punished in terms of reach, and could even get your account suspended. Be creative with your tagging, and you’ll reap the benefits.
Keep On Top Of Your Tags
The landscape of Instagram changes constantly, just like every other social media channel. Often, a hashtag will shift to a different audience, or the tag might be restricted, or outright banned. Tags like #dating, #kickoff, and #tgif are all restricted, which most people would never think of. Make sure you are checking your work and not hindering your reach by using the wrong tags!
Using effective hashtags with compelling, clever content is one of the keys to making your account successful. Keep up on the changes, and make sure you are using Instagram to the best effect!
