Instagram Hashtags Strategy: 9 Ways to Grow Engagement on Instagram
Instagram is all of the buzz lately. It’s where kids and audiences want to be, and where content creators and brand advertisers NEED to be.
However, Instagram is unlike any other website, search engine, or social media platform out there.
Having quickly approached well over a billion active users, the platform replies on images, videos, comments and hashtags to create content for their audiences. There is also little-to-no URLs and clickable links on the platform — except for in the author bio and through advertisements on the site.
With all of this in mind, a lot of time, work and effort needs to go into an effectively Instagram marketing strategy.
To help with this process, today we are highlighting a few of the best tools, working methods, and tricks to properly use Instagram hashtags, while reaching new audiences around the world.
9 Useful Instagram Hashtag Tools, Tips and Tricks
- Use Relevant Hashtags Only
It might seem appealing for you to include a countless amount of hashtags, merely because they are slightly related to your niche. This might also make you think that you are reaching onto a larger audience, however this is often the complete opposite and just makes your content look like a spammy mess. Be careful to select on the necessary and high volume hashtags that are relevant to your audience.
- Pinpoint the Hashtags Trends for Your Hashtags
If you want to find the best Instagram hashtags, then you need to dive down into smaller niche markets. You can do this by sorting through content manually on the platform, or by using a Instagram hashtags resource site that highlights the top hashtags trending for the day, or around specific topics.
- Consider The Strategy Used by the Leaders in the Industry
Now it may be difficult to come up with the perfect strategy to increasing your engagement overnight. In fact, the possibility of this happening is slim! This is why you should watch what the successful leaders in your industry do and try to implement the same strategies, see if they work.
- Be as Specific as Possible
The reason why you should be utterly specific when it comes to choosing your hashtags is because this notably narrows down the pool of customers. This will make it easier for you to create a highly engaged audience. For example, if you had an axe throwing business and were looking for new customers, take a look at what other competitors in your area are sharing, and also see what hashtags they are using as well. This is a method that has worked extremely well for Kicksta and the many accounts they help manage through their social sharing platform.
- Use Hashtags in Captions and in Comments
Another highly used strategy is incorporating hashtags in captions and in comments. While they are not clickable, the use of a visual hashtag within your videos and images is always a good idea. This will further increase the visibility of your account, granted that you choose your hashtags most sensibly.
- Consider Your Target Audience
Just as you always consider your target audience before creating an eye-catching Instagram bio, the same goes for hashtags. Hashtags ought to be customized depending on your target audience; otherwise, you won’t manage to achieve your targets.
In addition to creating customized content for your targeted audience, it’s also a good idea to start implementing video into your Instagram marketing strategy as well. When doing so, make sure each video is short, has some type of branding and call to action, and is also something that your audience will enjoy. If not, creating and launching such videos could backfire and just hurt your overall brand and social media presence.
- Place Hashtags in Your Instagram Stories
Moving on to another tested strategy – namely incorporating hashtags in your Instagram stories. This increases the possibility of your account showing up to a new user, thus, potentially growing your engagement and your base of followers.
- Incorporate Geographical Tags
Research points out the high efficacy rate of implementing geographical tags, as they do what you expect them to do: increasing your rate of engagement. You can include a location to any video or photo you post.
- Create Your Own Hashtag
And finally, another approach that will most likely help you reach your goal is to come up with a hashtag of your own, something that is characteristic and representative of your account. Not only will this make for something unique and exciting of your own, it will also make the process of following relevant comments and Instagram updates from other people using your unique hashtag as well.
There you have it: Nine efficient ways in which you can increase the rate of engagement on Instagram by using hashtags sensibly. Remember, hashtags, if used correctly, are the key to growing your account!
If you would like to learn more about growing your Instagram following and improving your branding and marketing efforts, be sure to check out each of the articles below:
