Hashtags Are A Powerful Tool.
Hashtags help you reach new people on Instagram. They organize and categorize your content and, with over 95 million photos and videos being shared on the ‘gram every day, that’s definitely a good thing. After all, you’re creating all those amazing posts and Reels to help people out and showcase your business! So, making sure they can be found is pretty important.
More Strategy. Less Stress.
Instagram lets you use up to 30 hashtags per post. That’s 30 opportunities to connect with people! But, figuring out which hashtags to use can feel like A LOT.
If you don’t have a hashtag strategy, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused. The stress can get to you and make you either start choosing hashtags at random (which is not effective) or avoiding hashtags altogether (which is a missed opportunity).
Before you throw up the white flag, listen up! I’ve got a very important tip to help you focus on collecting the best mix of hashtags to grow your business. Ready? Here it is:
Break your hashtags down into categories.
Collecting different types of hashtags will make your search for relevant hashtags easier, more efficient and will leave you with a curated library of the material you need to build some kick-ass hashtag sets for your posts.
4 Types Of Hashtags You Need (And How To Pick Them)
A great hashtag set combines hashtags that are specific to your business and your audience. Because you can use up to 30 hashtags per post, you have a lot of room to play with different category combinations.
When you’re building your hashtag sets I recommend drawing from the following 4 categories: location, audience, industry and topical.
Let’s take a closer look 🔎 at each type of hashtag and some questions you can ask to help make your search easier and less stressful.
📍Location
Location-specific hashtags help you target people in your location and the locations of your ideal audience. When you’re looking for location-specific hashtags, ask yourself:
➡️ Where does my audience live?
➡️ What nicknames do people have for my location/my audience’s location?
➡️ Where does my business operate?
🙂 Audience
Including hashtags that your audience is using in their own posts is a smart way to make sure your content is found by the right people. To help you collect a list of audience-approved hashtags you’ll have to do a little research. Before you get started, ask yourself:
➡️ What hashtags does my audience use?
➡️ What hashtags do the accounts my audience follows use?
➡️ What hashtags does my audience follow?
✍🏻 Industry
To gather a list of industry-specific hashtags, think about the keywords your ideal audience is using to find content about the products or services you offer. Here are some questions to help you start your search:
➡️ What keywords or search terms are relevant to my industry?
➡️ What do I do? (Get specific!)
➡️ What hashtags are my competitors using?
➡️ What hashtags are complementary businesses in my industry using?
Hot Tip Alert! 🔥 Combine industry and location keywords to niche down your hashtags and reach the right peeps! For example, instead of #WeddingPhotographer try #OntarioWeddingPhotographer.
❗️Topical
This category can be one of the most fun! Adding post-specific hashtags makes your content hyper-relevant. These hashtags will change from post to post so remember to round out your hashtag set with a few hashtags from this category with each post. Not sure what fits the category? Here are some questions to get you started.
➡️ What trending hashtags make sense for this post?
➡️ What themes are my content touching on?
Keep Your Hashtag Sets Handy And Current.
Once you dig in and collect a selection of hashtags from each category, make sure to save them in a spreadsheet or in a notepad on your phone for easy access. This way you can just cut and paste to add your hashtags to a post or Reel in seconds. (Don’t forget to add those post-specific hashtags before publishing!)
Finally, schedule some time every quarter to review your analytics and see which hashtags are working for you and which ones you can replace. Updating your hashtag bank regularly helps to keep your content current in search results.
Combining Different Types Of Hashtags Gives Your Content A Boost.
Hashtags are a powerful tool. 💪🏻 When you use them strategically, they can get your content in front of the right people at the right time. Each hashtag you use is a chance to connect with someone so don’t hesitate to use your full 30 for every post and Reel. Combining hashtags from all 4 categories is part of a winning hashtag strategy and will help you connect and engage with more people on social.