Hashtags

Are you a little confused by hashtags?

Well you’re not the only one!Hashtags are one of the key strategies in social media marketing especially on Instagram.

Let’s break it down.

The point of being on social media is to be found by your ideal client, right? Help them find their way to you using hashtags:

• The pound sign,#, is the first character in a hashtag denoting that the word or string of words to follow is the tag. For Example: #shopsmallbusiness. There are no spaces in a hashtag. When you apply hashtags to your posts they are then searchable and live within those hashtags. If you don’t use hashtags, your posts won’t be searchable. Don’t waste your efforts by not using hashtags.
• A hashtag serves as a repository of all posts that have used that hashtag. You may have noticed when you are in the search function of Instagram that you can search by a hashtag. Why would someone follow a hashtag? Because the posts curated within that hashtag are appealing and relate to the hashtag being used.
• The hashtags you use should relate to your caption and photo. If the photo is of a person wearing a sweater and sitting by a fire, you don’t want to use #poolside or #summervibes.
• To find the most relevant hashtags to your business and products, use the search function (the magnifying glass) in Instagram. You’ll want to use hashtags that people are searching for, following, and generally interested in. As a small business try using hashtags with about 50k to 500k posts. You have a better chance of standing out in those than in ones with hundreds of millions.
• Next, look inside the hashtag photos. Do they represent your ideal client? Is it somewhere she would be hanging out? If so, you have a winner!
• You can use up to 30 hashtags in a post, so use 30! It means more chances of being seen or found. You don’t have to use the same hashtag over and over. Remember they should relate to your posts and you don’t post the same thing over and over. Always be on the lookout for relevant hashtags when you are scrolling through Instagram.

Happy Hashtagging!