Hashtags are an integral part of the machine that is Instagram, and for good reason! For growth, branding, and discovering new profiles, hashtags are a great way to market on Instagram, and it’s something everyone that is looking to grow on the platform wants to get right.
Unfortunately, most businesses and users do not know how to properly use hashtags and end up making some crucial mistakes.
Here are a few ways mistakes are made regarding hashtag use, and how to avoid them.
1. Ignoring Local Hashtags
For service-based businesses that are looking to grow on Instagram or any other social media platform, local hashtags are great at attracting potential local clientele. Show support to your community by using hashtags that people in your city or town use regularly, like the name of the city for example.
If you do not know local hashtags to use, try following pages for that particular area you are trying to market to, and see which hashtags they are using.
2. Putting Hashtags That are Irrelevant in the Post
Using the same hashtags for every post could be potentially problematic for two reasons:
- You risk looking like a bot to the algorithm and therefore risk being banned
- You lose visibility by not branching out with the use of different hashtags
After you upload your image and write out the caption, think about keywords or phrases that align with what the post is truly about, and then use those as hashtags.
If you are unsure about which hashtags to use, our Hashtag Remix offers tons of researched hashtags for any given industry!
3. Using Overused Hashtags
If you noticed when searching for hashtags, that next to the name, there is usually a number following it. Try to avoid using too many hashtags that have over 500k uses, as it is unlikely that someone will see your post with those specific hashtags because they are so overly saturated.
Instead, we suggest using hashtags with around 200k posts.
4. Overusing or Underusing Hashtags
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post. Going over that number will most likely prevent your post from being seen, and you will risk being shadowbanned by the platform.
While using 30 may not be necessary, you also do not want to underuse hashtags. If you are trying to grow your page and want to be seen, using hashtags is the way to do so.
Other Things to Note
Instagram isn’t the only platform that uses hashtags for growth. Tik Tok users are seeing substantial benefits from using hashtags on their posts. As their platform is so new, it may be worth looking into for the continued growth of your business. If you are looking for more ways to grow your business with social media, click here!