How to use Instagram Hashtags in 2021
Posted on 16/01/2021
Even in 2021, with all the algorithm changes happening recently, using targeted hashtags is still highly important in being discovered by new users on Instagram.
Using hashtags that your target audience are browsing can place your posts right in front of them. This opens you up to the opportunity of gaining new high quality followers.
Follow the below hashtag guide to use hashtags to increase your reach and discoverability.
Research your target audience.
You need to find out what hashtags your audience are looking for. A good way to know this is to look at what hashtags your top followers are using in their posts.
Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags on posts, and up to 10 on stories. Many people actually follow specific hashtags too, which means your post could appear straight on their feed. When typing hashtags into the search bar, you can see if users that you follow are following that hashtag. This can give you a good idea if it is a popular hashtag in your niche.
Research your competitors.
What hashtags are admirable accounts in your niche using on their posts? If you really want to up your hashtag game, put aside 30 mins each week to research which hashtags are high engagement generating posts.
Keep in mind you don’t want to simply copy all of a competitor’s hashtags as they’ll probably be a different size account to yours with differing content and what gains them reach might not work for you. This step is more to give you ideas on the types of hashtags to use and discover new hashtags to add to your repertoire.
Determine if you can rank in the top posts of a hashtag.
The most important thing to get on to the top posts is engagement. If Instagram sees that people like your content posted, they will try to show it to more people.
To determine if you have a chance at ranking on a specific hashtag, enter that hashtag into the search bar and look at the top 9 posts. Average out the number of comments on each post. You likely have a chance of performing in that hashtag if you get a similar amount of comments on your posts. For example, if you know you get 100 comments in the first hour, and all of the posts in that hashtag have about 70 comments - you will rank. Keep in mind that getting onto the top posts is not only about the engagement you get, but how quickly you get the engagement.
Organise your hashtags.
Create groups in your notes with a list of hashtags that you can rotate. I’d recommend creating each group with 20-25 hashtags so that you can make up the remaining ones with post-specific hashtags.
I personally have 5 hashtag groups saved on my phone that I rotate. I also make sure to do this process once every couple of months so I’m changing up my hashtag groups regularly and gaining maximum exposure from hashtags.
Analyse your insights.
Dedicate time to analysing the performance of hashtags that you used in previous posts. Find out how much of your reach came from hashtags. Take a few minutes each month to see which posts are getting the most reach from hashtags and see which ones work best.
I really hope this guide has helped you gain understanding on how to to use hashtags to gain higher reach, improve your engagement and gain new followers!