The Ultimate Guide to Using Hashtags – Yes, you need to use them!
If your businesses social media hasn’t really been taking off– ask yourself whether you are using #hashtags appropriately. A hashtag is letters and numbers that follow the # symbol. Hashtags are hugely popular on Instagram but are also becoming relevant on other social media sites like Facebook.
Using the right hashtags are essential to engage your target market. They categorise your content making it easier for people to see your posts. In Instagram’s latest update they even made it so users can now follow hashtags like they follow users. Hashtags are an absolute must. Here are key things you need to do as a business owner:
Keep hashtags relevant
Your audience needs to be able to find you through hashtags, therefore your hashtags need to match your page. You can use up to 30 hashtags each post, but around 9 is the magic number for maximum engagement. If your cafe business was posting a photo of a coffee, you could use the hashtags #coffee #coffeeloversofinstagram #coffeeshop #coffeehouse or #coffeeart.
When you type in a hashtag it shows you how many times that hashtag as been used e.g. #coffeeholic 2,689,972 posts. The higher the number, the more popular the hashtag is. Make sure you use popular and relevant hashtags to engage the maximum amount of people, but don’t just use popular ones.
To get better engagement, use more specific hashtags. For example if your cafe was in Ocean Grove, you could use location hashtags like #oceangrove or #beachcafe. It may be a less popular hashtag, but it will attract a specific audience that is more likely to be interested and engaged in your business.
Using a combination of different hashtags each post is key. Try to avoid the generic #like4like or #followme hashtags, they tend to attract bots and people that won’t actually interact and be interested in your brand.
Use hashtags your competitors use
It’s important to keep an eye on your competitors or other people with similar instagrams. You should be engaging with their posts and noticing if any hashtags seem to be popular. Find influential people in your industry (people with large followers) and use their hashtags.
Look at what posts are getting big likes and comments, and use the same or similar hashtags in your own posts. Support similar users to you by liking, commenting and using their hashtags. It will attract other people to your account through theirs. Even consider re-posting other people’s posts that are particularly inspirational. If you’re lucky, people will even start to re-post yours, attracting even more followers!
Hashtags are not just for posts
Hashtags and comments go hand in hand. One trick many businesses use is to comment their hashtags in the comment section of their photo. This leaves the caption of the photo just for the caption. It makes your posts look less forced.
You can also leave comments on other people’s posts with hashtags. This will attract more people to the post where they can see your comment and click through your page. Be sure to also use hashtags in your Instagram story. You should only use one or two in this case, but they will increase engagement.
Create your own hashtag
Coming up with your own brand hashtag can be tricky. It won’t bring in any followers to begin with, but after awhile they can really take off. Make your hashtag specific but catchy. It should be short and sharp as well. For examples if your business was called Mike’s Morning Cafe Ocean Grove you could use the hashtag #mikesmorningcafe or #morningswithmike as a brand hashtag. Keep using the hashtag on your posts and eventually you’ll notice other people using it too. It may take a while to take off, but be persistent and creative. If your social media looks good and posts regularly, it will help you generate business.
