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Lattes for Lunch

Instagram Coach for Badass Womxn

Using a Custom Branded Hashtag for Your Business on Instagram

November 14, 2019 by Nicole

Curious about whether or not you should be using a custom-branded hashtag for your business on Instagram?

The answer to that question is really, ‘it depends’…… super helpful I know!

In this blog post, I’ll break down the benefits of using a custom-branded hashtag for your business on Instagram and I guarantee you that you will have your answer by the end of our time together, ok? Ok!

What is a Custom Branded Hashtag?

First things first, what in the ‘hey is for horses’ is a custom branded hashtag? A custom branded hashtag on Instagram is a hashtag that is a unique identifier to or for your business! For example, mine would be #lattesforlunch – straight forward and matches my business name, easy peasy.

Your custom branded hashtag can also be a fun descriptor of your business! Instead of using a hashtag that directly relates to the name of your business ex #yourweddingplanner, you can choose a tag that will pique the interest of those who come across it and instead use something like #planningninja! If your business is centered around a community or following that you have built up, a custom branded hashtag can also be a tag used as a descriptor for that group, ex #communityovercompetition

What’s the benefit of creating a custom branded hashtag for your business on Instagram?

Behind door number one, a few amazing benefits await! Kidding, there is no door!

Having a custom branded hashtag for your business can be an amazing easy to use tool to have at your disposal. It adds an element of fun to your brand, and it is also a great tool for shareable content!!!

This new (or old) hashtag also serves as a touchpoint for your brand. End consumers need to experience your brand a total of at least seven times (the rule of seven) before committing to an action.

The end desired action could be anything like signing up for your mailing list, downloading your pricing guide, buying a product, or sending you an email that expresses interest in your services!

Having a custom branded hashtag in place that is highly visible to your ideal client helps to build your brand’s know, like, and trust factor!

Here’s my favorite reason – your custom branded hashtag can be used by your clients when showcasing the work that you have done for them!

If you finished up building a brand new website for the hottest cafe in town and they shared that excitement by dropping in your custom hashtag, #awesomewebdesign, they are now spreading your branding to their audience which increases your reach, your engagement, and oh YEAH – brand touchpoint!

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Who is a custom branded hashtag for?

A custom branded hashtag can be for literally any business. 

It is especially effective for a business that has a visible product!! Keep in mind that your visible product doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical product. In other words – if you are a web designer, photographer, etc. you still have a visible end product that can be showcased to potential clients, though it cannot be ‘touched’ the same way a physical product can be touched.

A business selling physical products (handcrafted or boutique) should definitely have a custom branded hashtag! But, take care not to create multiple tags if you have multiple lines of product. The goal is brand recognition, not confusion.

If you are a shop that sells planners, jewelry, and mugs – do not create a custom hashtag for each singular product. I

Instead, think of the products as part of one cohesive line and create one custom branded hashtag! A tag that quickly identifies that the line ties back to your business!

As mentioned above, a custom branded hashtag is also effective for a business that is centered around a community or membership.

That gives the members the chance to readily and easily identify themselves on Instagram.

Where do you need to use your business’s custom hashtag?

Now that you have an idea of a custom branded hashtag that you’d like to use for your business, where does it go?

Anywhere and everywhere, sprinkle it around like confetti, throw your hashtags in the air like you just don’t care! Ahem…. What I really mean is let’s be strategic!

First, make a commitment to when and how this tag will be used on Instagram and other social media outlets. Every single feed post? Only at the arrival of new products/services? Just for your clients or community? On IGTV? (PS: there is no wrong answer here)

Once you have chosen your custom branded hashtag and you now have an idea of the type of content that it will be popping up under, the next stop is in your Instagram Bio.

Why?!

Hashtags in your Instagram bio are clickable. Don’t send your potential clients and followers away from your brand but instead to a bite-size portfolio of your brand.

If a potential client is lurking Instagram and comes across your bio and they can click the custom hashtag from within your which redirect them to a sort of mini portfolio that consists only of the content that you used the hashtag under.

This feels like a less invasive way for others to get to know your business. And they won’t have to scroll all the way back in your feed and feel like an Insta-Stalker.

Now that you have a scope of the benefits of using a custom-branded hashtag for your small business on Instagram, will you begin using one?

Ready to work 1:1 with an Instagram marketing strategist? Click the >> contact button << and let’s chat!

Filed Under: Instagram Tagged With: Branded Hashtag, Business Hashtag, Custom Hashtag, Instagram, Instagram Hashtag

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📲I help badass entrepreneurs up-level their biz on Instagram with any size audience
#️⃣Hashtag Strategist
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Nicole | Instagram Coach
▷Struggling to create high-value content for you ▷Struggling to create high-value content for your audience without giving away the farm? 🐮🚜
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▷Remember, The 'what' and the 'why' of your content is the info you give away for free 📲
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▷The 'how' of your content is what your clients pay you for 💸
▷Hashtags Myths - Let's do this!! ▷Hashtags a ▷Hashtags Myths - Let's do this!!

▷Hashtags are such a polarizing topic on Instagram!

▷I'm breaking out the top Hashtags Myths I hear in the DMs and when I work with my clients 😯

▷Typing out Hashtags will improve my reach...

▷There is zero difference in how Instagram reads your hashtags, as in whether you copy & pasted them 

▷Waiting to post hashtags will do [this magical thing]

▷Your feed posts are sorted in chronological order by the time that you hit the post, not by the time that you added in hashtags.

▷If you wait to post your hashtags you are just pushing your content to those tags at a later time, which is hurting your reach

▷High volume hashtags will amplify my insights

▷This one.... <le sigh> if you are using high volume hashtags purely to boost your numbers - you  are providing your account with false metrics

▷Hashtags work better in the caption/comments

▷They work in both! It all depends on how you want to format your user experience and catch your audience before you lose them to the scroll hole

▷I've been shadowbanned because my insights are low

▷I could write a novel on the term 'shadowban' - what it meant when we first saw it in 2016 and commonly and misused the phrase has come to be.

▷Low insights do not equal a ban. If you feel that your content is not populating under the hashtags you used 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 the hashtags from within your content to check, you will get a false reading.

▷Check from your personal account by typing your chosen hashtags into the magnifier and scrolling to find your content, or have a friend do the same from their account!
▷Can any of my other parental unit friends relat ▷Can any of my other parental unit friends relate to this? 😂
▷Just sip & scroll, sip & scroll 😂 ▷Just sip & scroll, sip & scroll 😂
▷𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞!
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▷I love writing Instagram Captions, but not everyone has the same zest for maxing out their character length as me 🤷🏻‍♀️
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▷Here's a quick guide that you to refer to when putting together your IG Captions 👇🏾
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▷𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡
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▷Your caption length only needs to be as long or as short as it takes for you to get your message across
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▷If writing a mini-novel is not your thing, that's totally fine!
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▷If writing a mini-novel 𝙞𝙨 your thing [ahem🙋🏻‍♀️] that's totally fine!
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▷𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
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▷When I read your captions, I need to feel like I am sitting across from you having a conversation with a friend
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▷I also need to trust that what you're saying is a reflection of your brand's values & the experience you provide through your business!
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▷Not sure about your messaging? Here's a tip: If you wouldn't say it out loud, don't write it in your captions!
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▷𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝
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▷What unique high-value, actionable tips, tricks or info are you providing me with, that I cannot get anywhere else? 😲
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▷If you want to position yourself as an industry leader, make it happen in your captions!
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▷𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝
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▷You have such a short amount of time to catch the eye of your reader before you lose them to the scroll hole!
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▷Big chunks of text that are not broken out will make eyes glaze over 😴
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▷Make it an easy read 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 with your content!
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▷𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐔𝐩
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▷Edit yourself!
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▷I love writing my captions in Planoly on Chrome from desktop, with the Grammarly extension so that I can easily catch any errors!
▷A big part of me really wanted Instagram's anno ▷A big part of me really wanted Instagram's announcement this week to be that they were rolling out the Swipe-UP feature across accounts of all sizes 🤷🏻‍♀️
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▷I can't tell you how much I dislike that IG incentivizes larger sized accounts by providing them with an additional tool that is not readily available to others
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▷But please hear me when I say 👇🏾
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▷𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝟭𝟬𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀
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▷𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟭𝟬𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀
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▷If you cannot sell to a smaller sized audience
[where, honestly, you have much more room to build genuine connections] or generate referrals, create leads, build relationships, or, form collaborations then....
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▷Amassing a large following is not going to solve your sales problems!
▷I'm too damn stubborn to quit 👏🏾 ▷I'm too damn stubborn to quit 👏🏾
▷⚡️ How to 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐲 ▷⚡️ How to 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 with any size audience 👇🏾
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▷Create content with an audience-first mindset
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▷Create high-value content that compels your audience to save & share it {without even being prompted to do so 😯 }
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▷CONSISTENTLY maintain the level of high-value content that you create on your account {this does not = posting every single day 😏 }
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▷𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 through the lens of your mission and your brand values; all while using your personal voice! 🗣
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▷I'm hosting a live workshop this coming Monday, February 22nd at 7 pm EST called 𝗔𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀!
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▷Can't make the live workshop?
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▷Your ticket comes with a copy of the recording and the worksheets, which will land straight in your inbox the day after the workshop 💌
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▷Grab your ticket for just $37 via the link in my bio!
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▷Or send me a DM!📲
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▷Tickets will be up for grabs until Monday at 12pm EST 🎟️
▷Instagram has exploded in growth over the last ▷Instagram has exploded in growth over the last year with new ways to distribute content 🎉
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▷Some of us are sipping coffee and diving right in
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▷Others are sipping coffee and feeling overwhelmed at the thought of trying to pile on 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 way to create content for our business 🙄
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▷You don't have to be present on every content outlet of Instagram if it doesn't serve your business
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▷𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗜 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 & 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲!
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▷𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Building reach & impressions
Connecting with new followers
Solving a problem
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▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Behind the scenes
Audience feedback {polls, questions}
Building your 'know, like, trust' factor
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▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 {𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗜𝗚𝗧𝗩} 👇🏾
Launches
Q&A
Building your 'know, like, trust' factor
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▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Entertainment
Education
Building Visibility {the algorithm still loves Reels!}
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▷𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 - 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 👇🏾
Resources
Education
Affiliate Marketing
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▷Want an in-depth PDF version of this post with quick tips to maximize growth on each of these outlets?
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▷Send me a DM and it's yours!
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