Love them or hate them, Instagram hashtags are a nifty way grow your Instagram. So it’s time to make the most of them! Adding just a few tags can help people discover you. Plus, they lead to better engagement and a stronger community. Sounds good, right?
The question is: how to hashtag without looking spammy? We asked these expert Instagrammers for their top tagging tips.
Develop a Instagram hashtags strategy
Using Instagram hashtags strategically can really pay off. I use 5 – 10 tags for every post that are relevant to my account and match my type of content. So mostly in the field of plus size fashion and body positivity. Targeted Instagram hashtags like #effyourbeautystandards and #beautybeyondsize are really effective. They allow you to get discovered by a truly engaged audience and help to define your niche.
“Using hashtags strategically allows you to get discovered by a truly engaged audience and helps you define your niche” – @NerdAboutTown
Create customised Instagram hashtags
I began a bespoke hashtag when I was travelling the world. I wanted to show that travelling isn’t all mojito sundowners. After a few months of sharing the ‘peak’ and ‘pit’ every day as we travelled through New Zealand, Indonesia and Thailand, I started a hashtag for anyone who wanted to join in: #thepeakandpitcollective.
“My hope is that, in some small way, the hashtag inspires other people to see tiny positives, even in the most awful days” – @disastersofathirtysomething
To this day, I love reading about other people’s highs and lows. As well as mulling over each of my days and taking stock to consider the best and worst moments. It’s really helped with my reach too. Ultimately, my hope is that, in some small way, the hashtag inspires other people to see tiny positives, even in the most awful days.
Keep it unique
Instagram allows you to use a maximum of 30 tags per post so I like to make the most of them — #noshame! I’m careful to avoid ‘high density’ tags (#love has over one billion posts…and counting!) or gimmicks like #followforfollow because you’ll end up with a bunch of unengaged followers who quickly drop off.
“To find relevant Instagram hashtags, check the bios of accounts you want to be reposted by” – @lizandlavender
So I mix it up with more unique tags so my content is more likely to surface amid the noise. I add a block of Instagram hashtags as a comment on my post to avoid messing up the caption.
To find relevant hashtags, check the bios of accounts you want to be reposted by — #WorthSaying by L’Oréal Paris is a good example. Explore other accounts in your industry and take note of the tags they use. It’ll help you find your tribe. Trending tags work well too, just check out Instagram’s Explore page for inspiration.
Get involved in updates
Instagram hashtags have developed rapidly with several updates from Instagram in the past year so it can really help to stay on top of the latest developments.
I love that you can now follow tags. Just click on any hashtag then tap ‘Follow’. Its photos and videos will now appear in feed. It helps me stay up to date with topics I enjoy, plus my posts can be discovered by others who don’t follow me.
“It can really help to stay on top of the latest [hashtag] developments” – @rosannafalconer
You can add hashtags to your Stories too, and to your bio, so there’s plenty of ways to use them to get your content out there. For me, these updates mark a renewed importance in using hashtags effectively. It’s a personal choice in exactly how you use them, but there’s no denying they have their benefits.
