Recent statistics show that Instagram has one billion of monthly active users. To communicate effectively with that amount of users and execute Instagram marketing campaigns successfully, it’s essential to learn the language of Instagram – hashtags.
A hashtag is a hash symbol (#) with a keyword or a phrase, for example, #business #fashion #sunday. Its primary purpose is to categorize content and make it more discoverable. When a person taps on a hashtag or looks for it, there will be a page with all the posts containing that hashtag.
Besides, using the right hashtags will help you gain new followers and get more exposure on Instagram. But first, let’s learn some Instagram language basics.
#Types of Instagram Hashtags
There are different types of Instagram hashtags, and it’s important to choose one according to the aim of your post.
1. Branded hashtags
As the name suggests, a branded hashtag is a hashtag that reflects your business. It can usually be your business name, slogan or a name of your product, service or campaign. On the other hand, it can be all about your brand identity and company culture, without mentioning its name explicitly.
It’s recommended to use branded hashtags when you organize some contest or campaign, like a product launch because it will help you increase engagement and organize all the posts with that tag. Also, branded hashtags are convenient when you want to promote your company and show your company values, culture and achievements.
The role of branded hashtags is to make you closer to your audience. When your followers use your brand hashtags in their posts, the higher are the chances that you’ll get discovered and have more visibility. Consider it as a word of mouth recommendation.
2. Community hashtags
Community hashtags are the type of hashtags that connect people with common interests around a particular subject. A difference from branded hashtags, community hashtags are less company oriented, and they can be broader.
For example, Herschel Supply’s created a #welltravelled hashtag to bring together like-minded people around their passion about travel and travel photography.
Community hashtags represent a great way to improve the visibility of your posts, connect with others, gain new followers, and grow your online community.
3. Campaign hashtags
As branded hashtags, community tags also refer to a specific campaign, but the difference is that they aren’t supposed to last as branded hashtags.
The reason why campaign hashtags expire so quickly is that they are related to a particular campaign that has a specific duration, such as a couple of days or one season. When the promotion is on, this type of hashtag is actively used, and once it is over, a campaign hashtag is no longer used.
#5 Instagram Commandments for Stellar Hashtags in 2018
Once you’re familiar with the types of hashtags, it’s time to learn how to craft the best ones by following Instagram holy commandments.
- Use only relevant hashtags
Keep your hashtags relevant to the post and avoid hashtag stuffing because it will probably annoy your followers. As a result, they can mark your post as “Don’t Show for this Hashtag.”
So, make sure you use appropriate hashtags that your audience is looking for. It’s the only way to increase engagement in the long term.
- Be careful with the number of hashtags
Again, you should avoid spamming and use the appropriate amount of hashtags. In other words, try to stay relevant and use as many as hashtags you need to describe your post. Nothing more, nothing less.
It’s possible to add up to 30 hashtags to a post, but according to TrackMaven research, posts with 11 hashtags have the most engagement. However, test this and find your formula for success.
- Keep them short and easy to remember
It’s important to keep your hashtags short and sweet. Therefore, forget about a never-ending line of words and give them more natural sense.
For instance, it’s better to use #USAAirplaneLovers, instead of #AmericanMilitaryAirplaneEnthusiasts.
- Make sure your hashtag has the right meaning
Sometimes when you combine a couple of words, it can spell out something that wasn’t your intention, and you don’t want to be remembered by a failed or raunchy campaign.
So, maybe it would be good to consult with professionals, such as AussieWritings Service to make sure your hashtags are both creative and accurate.
- Include emoji hashtags
It’s possible to include emoji in your hashtags, besides letters and numbers. These eye-catching visuals will help your content stand out from the crowd and keep it short as well.
#How to find the right trendy hashtags for your business
If you want to get excellent results from your efforts on Instagram, it’s crucial to find the trendy hashtags for your business account. Just follow these practical tips:
- Avoid using popular hashtags, like #happy, #travel, or #likeforlike because it won’t help you find targeted and engaged followers. Better focus on more specific hashtags, for example, relative travel location or hotel’s brand hashtag.
- Choose hashtags that describe your business and your target audience. For instance, a vegan restaurant can use #veganfood #plantbasedfood to describe its products and #vegan #vegangirl to describe its market.
- Find inspiration from your audience or influencers in your niche and see which hashtags they use, but they have to match to your content.
- Check out what hashtags your competitors are using, and maybe you’ll find some new ones to add to your list.
- Use the Instagram search function to discover related hashtags. Just type your hashtag in the app’s search bar and select some of the tags listed below.
- Play with follow hashtag option and check other suggested tags that you can include to your list.
- Use Later’s hashtag suggestion feature to quickly and easily find the right hashtags for your account.
Once you apply these tips and create appropriate hashtags, you’ll see for yourselves that they work. You’ll be able to fluently speak the language of Instagram and deliver your message which will result in achieving your business goals.
Plus, hashtags represent a great way to connect with customers, find content created about you by your followers, and build long-term relationships with customers and partners.
Author bio:
Lilian Chifley is an IT specialist, teacher, and blogger from Sydney. She loves to talk about artificial intelligence and modern education. You can find Lilian on Facebook and Twitter.
