Instagram hashtags: how can you use them smartly for more followers

How to use hashtags on Instagram? Do you ever ask yourself that? Then read on. Hashtags are indispensable on Instagram. That is if you want your content to be found. But how do you use these Instagram hashtags? And which hashtags are best to use on Instagram?

How to use hashtags on Instagram

In any case, it is good to use hashtags on social media. You can think of a hashtag as a kind of label that indicates what your post is about. So if your post is about Instagram hashtags, you can add hashtags like #Instagramtip #Instagramhashtags

The purpose of hashtags is to group messages about one and the same topic. These can be events, events, or topics. Users search for these hashtags to find certain content.

With your posts, you may reach your existing followers, but with hashtags, you also reach new people who are not yet following you. That is why it is good to use relevant hashtags that indicate what your content is about, especially on Instagram. Why are Instagram hashtags so important? You can read that in this article.

Why use Instagram Hashtags

You can also think of Instagram hashtags as your Instagram SEO. This makes your content easier to find on Instagram. On Instagram, you can only search for people, places, or hashtags. That is why it is good to use hashtags. It’s actually the only way you can influence Instagram so that more people find your content (unless you’re going to advertise on Instagram, of course). So if you’re low on followers and likes, you may want to start tweaking your hashtag strategy.

Advantage of Instagram hashtags

The biggest advantage of the hashtag is that it makes your content easier to find for people who don’t follow you yet. If you use Instagram hashtags properly, people will see your content when they search for a hashtag that you use in your Stories or your Instagram posts. Hashtags are clickable, people can search for them and they can also follow certain hashtags. And because so much content is posted, users search for topics they find interesting. This is possible with the search function on Instagram.

For example, if you search Instagram hashtags, you will see an overview where you can choose ‘popular’ or ‘recent posts. How high your message scores depends on several factors such as:

• the number of posts using that hashtag.
• how many comments and likes your post gets.
• how recent your message is.
• the quality of your Instagram account.

How to Use Instagram Hashtags.

You can use hashtags in different ways. You can use this in your bio, in your Insta stories, and with your messages. Especially with Instagram posts, it is very common to use multiple hashtags. Avoid putting too many hashtags in the text of your caption itself. This makes it illegible. Don’t just post a whole bunch of hashtags here either because this caption is really meant to describe what your photo is about.

Usually, those hashtags are placed at the bottom of the text or as the first response to the post. The latter only works if you do it immediately. Not if you only do this after a few hours.

How many Instagram hashtags use Instagram

You can use a maximum of 30 hashtags with an Instagram post. But should you also use 30? No, you certainly don’t have to. If you already have a lot of followers or are a celebrity, you can afford not to use hashtags at all. But if you don’t have that many followers yet, it’s good to use hashtags.

Perhaps you think 30 hashtags are way too many and do you think that is spammy? Then use at least 4 to 5. I usually use about 15 – 20 myself because I notice that this produces a good result. This is also a matter of testing because this changes every time.

Which Instagram hashtags to use?

In principle, you can use any word as a hashtag. Good hashtags are words that your ideal customers look for and that are relevant to your niche topic. Every company and target audience is different, so the Instagram hashtags that are of interest to me don’t have to be that to you. Of course, it is tempting to use very popular hashtags like #love, #instafood, or #happy. But then ask yourself:

• What is the chance that your post will be shown at the top of the search results?
• How relevant is this to the content you share?
• How relevant is this to your target audience?

So relevance is more important than popular hashtags. You may have a smaller reach, but you will reach the right people.

Cheating how others use hashtags

Have no idea what relevant hashtags are for your post? Then investigate. If you have no idea which Instagram hashtags to use, check out how others are using them. View Instagram accounts targeting a similar audience. Because you want to use hashtags that your ideal customers look for. And then it is a matter of trying and seeing which hashtags work best;) How can you find the right hashtags?

• Competitors (especially those who have a lot of followers on Instagram).
• Your followers (then you see what they find interesting).
• Your ideal customers (then you see which hashtags they use).
• Influencers in your industry (they have a lot of followers and know how it works).

How to find Instagram hashtags

You can do hashtag research on Instagram yourself. You can just use the search function on Instagram and type in a hashtag there. Then you will also see related hashtags and how often they are used.

Write these hashtags in an excel sheet or your phone’s notes so that you have a file of hashtags you can use. Then it is only a matter of copy-paste. Do vary it a bit. It doesn’t work to use the same hashtags for every post. In fact, it’s against Instagram’s guidelines to keep using the same content, comments, or hashtags.

You can also use all kinds of tools for this. These tools all work in a similar way. You enter a hashtag and you will see all kinds of related suggestions.

• Tagsfinder
• Keyword tool
• Tag blender
• All hashtags
• Hastagify
• MetaHastags

NB: Before you blindly copy the hashtags, it is wise to check them first on Instagram itself. Sometimes a hashtag is also used in a different context. Then it is again not that convenient to use 😉

Popular hashtag or niche hashtag

On the one hand, you naturally want to reach as many people as possible. And on the other hand, you want to reach the RIGHT people. You might reach a lot of people with popular hashtags like #instagood or #photooftheday. But are these also your ideal customers? Relevance is therefore much more important.

• The hashtag should suit your ideal customers, so whatever they are looking for.
• And be directly related to the content you post and indicate what your photo or video is about.

Also, popular hashtags are used so much that your post quickly disappears in the millions of posts with these hashtags. With a more specific hashtag, you have a better chance that your content will stand out and that you will get more interaction because it appears at the top of the search results.

Also, don’t use hashtags like # follow4follow and # like4like. This may give you more followers and likes. But you are definitely not reaching the right target group.

Dutch or English hashtags

The most popular Instagram hashtags are often in English. Is there any point in using these? Certainly, if you work internationally. But many English-language hashtags are also used in the Netherlands. Keep in mind that you automatically have a lot more competition with these hashtags. So always ask yourself: do you want to reach as many people as possible or the right people?

But if your customers are Dutch-speaking, it is better to use Dutch-language hashtags as well. You may reach fewer people, but you will reach the right target group. So make sure your hashtags are descriptive, specific, and relevant to the content you’re sharing.

A suggestion:

• Popular hashtags: if you choose popular hashtags, choose hashtags that are relevant to the topic and have a reach of a maximum of 500,000 because if you choose the very popular hashtags you have more chance of bots and they will be undercut by new posts.
• Niche hashtags: choose hashtags that are used less than 10,000 times and that are relevant to your business and whatever your ideal customers are looking for. For example #onlinemarketing, #socialmedia #blogtips
• Target group hashtags: words that fit your target group, for example #female entrepreneurs #zzp
• Branded hashtags: are fixed hashtags that you use, often this is your brand name but this can also be something else. For example, I use both #themarketingfactory and the hashtag #socialtalk.
• Campaign hashtags: are temporary hashtags to measure the impact of a campaign and to filter user-generated content (think of a giveaway, promotion, or event).

Finally: Instagram hashtags tips

Unfortunately, there is no single standard success formula. Every company and every target group is different, so that means that every company will have to develop its own hashtag strategy. Do research and test what works for you! In any case, use some relevant Instagram hashtags so that your content is better found by the right people. This way you ensure more interaction: clicks, shares, likes, and followers.