Werk Wednesdays Series: Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags are awesome for growing your Instagram account. Hashtags only work if your account is public.
Hashtags are associated with spammers.
Aka #followforfollow or come to my site for XYZ
Use hashtags to find dope accounts and for even doper people to find all your awesomeness.
Use relative hashtags to what you're posting.
Some people use popular & unrelated hashtags thinking that will work. That usually just annoys people. Rule #1 online: don't be anonying yo!
Instagram will allow you to use 30 hashtags. That's a lot so get creative so your ideal person can find you.
There's a science to selecting hashtags. It can be time consuming but the rewards are worth it.
Hashtag # needs to be in the range xxx,xxx. You want to choose a hashtag that people are interested in and searching on a regular basis, but it isn't overly saturated. Popular hashtags are usually in the range xxx,xxx,xxx and above. Your picture will be lost in seconds. 60 million photos are uploaded to instagram daily.
Look below to see how to select a hashtag based upon the numbers:
See how many people are using happy
changing the wording the numbers are decreasing but still too large
And even though the spelling is way off this hashtag would be perfect for happy posts.
I used to use #kimberleeonline but no one cares about that tag. Let's be real. However on my other account: #blackgirlseatclean is a tag I created and others contribute. So think about that too when creating hashtags.
I save my hashtags centered around what I'm posting in my iphone’s notepad app. I mainly post inspirational posts surrounding going after your dreams and how to be the best person you can be. However, I also use fun hashtags like #hashtagkilla or #lameiknow If I have a local event, I'll use my area code as a hashtag and local cities.
You can type http://instagram.com/yourscreenname [enter your screen name though] into a computer browser (mobile doesn't allow for copy + paste) and just copy hashtags that you’ve used before. You can paste on the new post if you want to use the same hashtags. Note: add some variety as you want to increase your reach so not the same people who searched the same hashtags earlier or yesterday…
Instagram also allows you to delete old hashtags and enter new ones on older posts. I'm not sure how effective this is or how many times it can be done. Test it and let me know. :)
Hashtags aren’t the holy grail of instagram, but they definitely help. A like means nothing, you want to engage with your community. Ultimately you want the people you follow and those that follow you to essentially be a community.
Search hashtags and like pictures and comment. Commenting goes further than just liking. Remember some spammers just go through certain hashtags double tapping. Lames. Don't comment just for the sake of it. Comment if the pic resonated with you.
Post regularly (1-3 times a day) so they can continue to consume your content. Post things relevant to your biz or account. Review your stats with Iconosquare to track when the best times are for posting and engagements.
