Feel like using hashtags to grow your reach and engagement on Instagram is a mythical unicorn?
If growing your business on Instagram feels like a constant game of ‘throw it to the wall and see if it sticks’ listen up because I am going to drop some major hashtag knowledge in this blog post!
What do you need in order to grow your business on Instagram?
You need relevant, on-brand, valuable content.
You need photos, graphics, a presence on your Instagram Stories, a great bio, captions, engagement, and hashtags.
And let’s be honest here – that is barely scratching the surface.
That doesn’t include a content calendar, going live, creating Reels, DM marketing, client outreach, launching… whether or not to outsource, the list goes on and on – and on.
We have this fascination with Instagram marketing as entrepreneurs because it brings with it this sense of instant gratification that is built right into the app.
Oh, look someone new liked my content, look a new follower!!! Oh, a DM!!
It’s super easy to get caught up in the semantics and lose sight of focusing on the bigger picture.
It’s hard to put aside the shiny object syndrome when it comes to Instagram and focus on real business growth.
Also, using hashtags to grow your reach and engagement on Instagram can also become super time-consuming.
Sourcing new hashtags for your business became an uphill battle and now, you could care less about spending another singular second on it.
I hear this all the time when working with my clients, so trust me when I say….. I hear you loud and clear!
Using hashtags to grow your business on Instagram is non-negotiable but it’s also an ever-evolving component of an Instagram strategy!!
No, you cannot create 3 sets of hashtags to use over and over again to infinity and beyond.
No, you should not keep pre-formatted sets of hashtags in your planning app for perpetual reuse and then wonder why your engagement and reach has not increased.
Hashtags contain the sole power of improving the reach and engagement of your content.
What does improved reach and engagement on your Instagram content do for your business?
Improved reach and engagement brings in a new audience and connects you to potential clients.
Hashtags can become super easy to ignore when you get into the flow of posting. But they need serious attention if you are using them as a growth tool!
Not sure where to begin with hashtags?
Or do you feel like you’ve been at it for quite some time and you are now entering the ‘bangs head on wall’ and the ‘throw all the hashtags away’ part of your Instagram Marketing?
I’m going to give you some of my go-to tips when it comes to using hashtags to grow your business on Instagram!
Go Through Your Current Hashtag Library!
Any hashtag with over 2m uses on Instagram go in the virtual trash bin, never to be used again!!!
Hashtags with high volume usage bury your content among the other slew of content using the same hashtag, also begging for attention.
Not the way to improve your reach, visibility, and engagement on Instagram!
Hashtags with high volume use also come with the added bonus {sarcasm} of attracting spammy bot comments, spammy bot followers, and spammy bot DMs.
No spam-k-you!
I’ve been patiently waiting for the Instagram spammers to back off since 2014. 7 years later, there is no sign of it happening yet.
I can also guarantee you, that your client is not searching #girlboss for your #squarespacedesign business!
So leave behind your reservations of thinking those high volume hashtags are giving your business the best chance of being found.
A Niche Hashtag is a Good Place to be
Folx that are searching Instagram for the thing they need or want to buy are savvy, savvy folx!
They know what to type in that search bar in order to find you, and the hashtag or search term that they key into the magnifying glass is going to be just as niched as your business.
So you are a #squarespacedeveloper, but you are worried about using that particular hashtag because it doesn’t have 100s of thousands of uses!! Andddddd you heard on a YouTube video that your business needs to use hashtags with a specific volume of use.
Bull!!
If your end client is savvy enough to know that they are in the market for a Square Space Developer, they are savvy enough to search that hashtag despite the lower volume of uses.
In fact, they’ll be even happier to start there because now they don’t have to sift through 100s of thousands of posts waiting for your electric brand to pop out at them!
Remove pre-formatted sets of hashtags from your planning apps
I want to take the time to formally elaborate on this because point that I mentioned earlier in this post.
Creating a few different sets of ‘ready to post’ hashtags and dumping them into your planning app for perpetual re-use is hurting your business.
Reusing the same sets of hashtags over and over again actually decreases your reach on Instagram!
Chances are that the easy peasy pre-formatted sets of hashtags that are ready to go in your planning app are not relevant to your content every.single.time you create.
“But the social media manager I purchased them from sourced them specifically for my business!”
I’m sure they did, and I’m sure they spent heaps of time on it.
But how could they know that you would use them for the next 3 years?
Your hashtags have to be specific to your content, with every single post you create!
Your hashtag sets should to contain:
- Tags that are relevant to your content speaking points, graphics, and imagery
- Location-based hashtags (if your business relies on locally-based clients)
- Tags that are relevant to your potential client’s search
- Hashtags that your client would use {this is for B2B business models only}
- Tags relevant to your brand values
- And tags relevant to the current year, if applicable for your business {for example #2021bride!}
