How to Choose Hashtags on Instagram?
Do you run an Instagram account and despite your best efforts, the posts you publish do not get as much publicity as you would like? Don’t worry – this is a relatively common problem, and as it turns out, the reason for this state of affairs may be, among other things, poorly selected hashtags.
It is worth keeping this in mind, because it is really not difficult to make a mistake here – if only because many people think the biggest ones are the most effective. Get advantages from Singapore Followers and level up your post with many viewers.
How to choose hashtags on Instagram?
The mistakes that many of us make when choosing hashtags on Instagram are quite diverse. Let’s start with the most basic and already mentioned above – betting on (too) popular hashtags.
Too many hashtags
Once again, it turns out that the most popular is not always the best choice. It is understandable that large, popular hashtags with a huge reach seem to be the optimal solution – but the reality shows that this is usually a wrong assumption.
Firstly, the biggest hashtags are usually very general, and secondly, their popularity means huge competition. This, in turn, means that it will be difficult for you to reach your target group with them. Most likely, the photo you uploaded will in fact cease to be visible in a few seconds, as a result of literally millions of other photos uploaded by users from around the world.
Even apart from this fact, using hashtags as general as #summer, #happy, or #forest, you have no guarantee that your posts will reach the people they should. Even if someone sees a photo tagged in this way – most likely it will be randomly selected Internet users.
Random hashtags
Of course, adding heavily random hashtags also misses the point. By supplying your photos with randomly selected hashtags that have nothing to do with what is presented in the photo, you will not gain interest. On the contrary – you can unintentionally alienate potential future followers (and if you run a business – future customers) with them.
If they’re looking for photos that match specific hashtags and themes, and instead see your non-contributing post, they’re unlikely to remember you in a good light, right? So always choose hashtags according to what the photo actually represents.
Banned hashtags
It will probably come as a surprise to some, but yes – not only users, but also hashtags can be banned on Instagram. What happens after a hashtag gets banned and you still use it? Well, if Instagram’s algorithms catch it (or a large enough number of people report this fact), your photo may simply be hidden by the service. Remember – just one banned hashtag is enough for this to happen.
To minimize this risk, try to avoid using hashtags that indicate potentially controversial content (for example, erotic). Remember that in some cases (e.g. if you regularly use illegal hashtags) your account may be temporarily or permanently banned by Instagram.
How to choose hashtags?
Now that you know a few tips on what not to do when choosing hashtags, let’s now consider what to do to maximize the potential of these tags.
First of all – instead of blindly following the most popular hashtags, use the ones that match the size of your profile. Secondly, get inspired by how people who deal with topics similar to yours run their profiles. Also, remember to analyze the materials you upload in terms of their reach. Finally, it’s a good idea to use your full 30 hashtags. Try to choose hashtags of different sizes (but avoid the general and extremely popular ones).
Frequently asked questions and answers
What impact do hashtags have on the visibility of posts?
Hashtags on Instagram are one of the most important elements affecting the visibility of posts. Thanks to hashtags, your posts are visible to a wider audience, which is why it is extremely important to choose them correctly. Hashtags have also increased in importance with the introduction of Instagram’s ability to be followed by users.
The method of selecting hashtags determines how quickly your account will gain likes and comments, and thus higher engagement. Let us show you a few rules that you should follow when choosing hashtags for your posts – we invite you to the next part of the article.
How many hashtags to use in a post?
Instagram allows you to add up to 30 hashtags to each post, this value can of course be extended by publishing an additional comment under your post with a new set of hashtags in a short period of time. However, it’s not always worth betting on quantity because the limits and restrictions on Instagram are merciless … We suggest betting on quality and carefully choosing 15-18 hashtags that match the photo.
How long do hashtags “work” for my posts?
Hashtags on Instagram have a short life cycle that lasts from a few seconds to a maximum of several hours. The length of such a cycle depends primarily on the popularity of the hashtag and the speed with which your account and posts published on it gains likes and comments. In the case of popular hashtags, the size of your account and the engagement that this account has are important.
You can extend the life cycle of a photo under a popular hashtag by going to the “MOST POPULAR POSTS” section, where 3 to 9 photos with the best engagement are displayed.
If your photo goes to the best posts section, Instagram will display it at the top of the list until there are photos with better engagement. Photos with a low engagement rate go to the “RECENT” section, which is located under the “MOST POPULAR POSTS” section, where the time in which they are visible to users depends on the popularity of the hashtag.