How To: Using Instagram Hashtags Like a Pro in 2022
by Josh Biggs in Digital Marketing on 14th February 2022Instagram is one of the most popular apps currently and not just in the social media niche. It won’t be wrong to say that it has taken over the internet with a force. Also, with the updates and most importantly reels, Gen Z is practically living in it.
Besides, it has also become a career choice of many who have chosen to influence people with their art or talent or maybe just by being themselves.
But, getting a good engagement is not a cakewalk as the algorithm is pretty challenging. So, the like counts, view counts matter a lot.
One way to generate likes is through hashtags.
Tips and Tricks for Using Instagram Hashtags Like a Pro
Just vaguely using hashtags for the sake of using them won’t serve your purpose. One needs to keep notes on how things work in the bigger aspect.
So for that, it matters that some tips and tricks are taken care of so that there stays no confusion in the bigger picture.
There is a lot on the list and we will talk about the important ones here.
Those are:
- Numbering of the hashtags
- Popular hashtags
- Hiding hashtags in the caption
- Vigorous research
- Good combination
- Maintaining list
- Mix it up
Let us elaborate on each one of these in detail.
- Numbering the Hashtags
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While looking forward to using a hashtag, it is important to know if the choice that has been made has been numbered properly or not.
Keeping a record of the trends and what has been going on these days is important as trends change in a jiffy.
- Popular Hashtags
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While using hashtags, is another very crucial need. The user has to choose a niche and keep in mind the popularity of the niche and the hashtags that are more relevant concerning that context.
Choosing a popular hashtag can go a long way and thus it becomes a niche to study in detail about the hashtags of your concerned niche.
For example, if the post is on nature, just make a search of the hashtags that come to mind. Also, apart from the numbers, it is crucial to look at the hashtags that tend to appear more on the feed.
Detailed research is the key to greater engagement.
- Hiding Hashtags in the Caption
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We know that this sounds a bit funny, but our subconscious mind works in different ways. We tend to like or get along with posts or profiles for that matter, which do not look clumsy.
Now, to maintain that, the work need not be done only on the post or the bio of the profile, but captions have to be kept in mind as well.
Now, with a lot of hashtags the space looks untidy and there is no option of using a lesser number of hashtags, nor is there any option or space of using hashtags in some other place.
The caption is the most preferred slot for hashtags. The comments space is sometimes taken into account, but mostly it is the captions,
Now, the trick is to bring line breakage in the middle as it will hide the caption, and that way it will not exceed the word limit as well.
With this trick, the hashtags will be shown in the “show more” part and the post will have all the hashtags, not making it look extremely chaotic.
- Vigorous Research
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We have said it before and saying it again. There is no alternative to research. To be honest, the term “organic engagement” is a hoax.
The algorithm is not an easy thing to crack. Sadly, on the ‘gram, we cannot say that talent is enough. The talent can only be appreciated if they are brought to the notice of the consumers. You can also boost your post with Megafamous.
With an uncountable number of users and folks who are out there on the app, trying to make a mark, standing out is not a cakewalk.
The hashtags play the biggest role in getting engagement. So, it is on the part of the user to take that into consideration and research on what is the “need of the hour”.
Now, this is not to know where it stands in terms of numbers. This is to know if the hashtags hold relevance in context to the niche or not.
- Good Combination
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A good combination or smart combination of hashtags can get the desired engagement faster. Now, what does that mean?
When we talk of a good combination, we imply the popular hashtags with the semi-popular ones, as this combination will drag the optimum number of audience.
Only using the popular ones can hide the post in the bunch, but a combination of both types of relevant hashtags is exactly the need we have.
- Maintaining List
Source: Pinterest
Sounds like a boring thing to do. But, if the user wants things to work out, there should remain no hesitation in working towards the goal.
Maintaining a list can definitely prevent one from doing a lot of work every time a post comes up.
All the hashtags that hold substance or have been fruitful to the user in the past are compiled so that those can be reused.
But, along with that, the research should not be stopped to keep an eye on the trend.
- Mix It Up
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The above tips and tricks can undoubtedly make the hashtag space of the IG more fruitful.
But, it is also necessary to bring some change. Just because something has worked out well in the past and has made it to the list of hashtags.
Experiments can bring the user across some new hashtags that can work better. On the other hand, not to forget, folks tend to search hashtags to find the post of the niche they like.
So, keeping it updated and mixing it up brings the user to more and more audiences with each post.
7 Popular Types of Hashtags to Generate More Engagement
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Generating engagement or likes is not an easy task as we have already mentioned. Hashtags play a great part in it and they are distinguished in some types and those are:
- Industry hashtags
- Niche hashtags
- Brand hashtags
- Community hashtags
- Location hashtags
- Event hashtags
- Celebration hashtags
Well, the main reason that they are categorized is that folks follow hashtags of their choice and if the same comes to their feed, they are more likely to double-tap.
- Industry Hashtags
For a page that is related to industries, this makes the most sense and likely so.
Here, one can mainly find names of some popular industries that are mostly in talk and sometimes the relevant equipment that is used in the process.
Relevant to your industry, you can select the appropriate hashtags. This will enable you to increase your reach to your followers.
- Niche Hashtags
Here, the concern is general. That means that we are talking of relevant hashtags to the niche, whatsoever it is.
From small businesses to any page that is used to showcase any talent or art, they are always supposed to use hashtags following their theme.
- Brand Hashtags
The hashtag for brands is one of the best ways to increase engagement.
They use their brand name and sometimes they also make hashtags of any collaboration they do with some influencer so that they get the direct reach of the said influencer’s followers.
- Community Hashtags
These are the hashtags that showcase some sort of community and mostly they are used by communities who are working for a good cause so that they get some more engagement and promotion.
- Location Hashtags
These are mostly used by influencers or travel vloggers because they keep on visiting places.
But, apart from that the popular cities and places have quite popular hashtags and if one digs into this, they will get posts that enhance knowledge about the said place as well.
Location hashtags, when used properly, will also help the accounts get featured in the “Explore tab”, along with getting likes.
- Event Hashtags
There are a lot of events that are organized and posts related to the same are uploaded on Instagram, we are talking about the same here. So, relevant hashtags make their way and too.
Different events focus on different matters, and hence the hashtags differ too. But, they are generally known as event hashtags and some of those are popular and have been used frequently to enhance engagement.
- Celebration Hashtags
These are very common hashtags that are used mostly to indicate celebrations mainly as birthdays and weddings. These hold quite a lot of popularity. So, whenever you are opting for a celebration, don’t forget to add all the relevant celebration hashtags!
Conclusion
Over the years the growth of Instagram has been in front of the eyes of its users and the way it is expanding is uncanny. Likewise, the competition has increased manifolds too.
Sadly, making a mark on social media and especially on Instagram cannot be sufficed with just talent but one has to work on making the profile visible to the public and bring in more audiences and the rest depends on how the user keeps them hooked.
But for the first step Instagram algorithm has to be followed. The most common one amongst the list is hashtags and that is our concern in the given blog. We have talked about how the same can be used like a PRO.
These tips and tricks, if followed, can give the post the much-required acceleration.