Learn more about the best hashtag strategies for your business.

Getting discovered on Instagram is tricky. That’s why having a sound hashtag strategy is crucial if you want to give your business more exposure online.

Read on to find out about the best hashtag strategies for your business and how you can beat the algorithm!

Why should you use hashtags on Instagram?

Hashtags on Instagram groups your content into relevant categories, matching it to the right audience so you can leverage on the exposure.

The first place you’ll see hashtags at work is the explore page. Every user’s explore page is different because Instagram works hard to only show you content that you’re most interested in based on your social interactions. 

With recent new updates, Instagram also shows users posts with relevant hashtags in their feed even if you’re not currently following that account. So using the right hashtag strategy maximizes your brand’s exposure and audience reach.

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Hashtag strategies for your business in 2022

1. Limit to 15 hashtags per post

Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags but that doesn’t mean you should use all of them. New upcoming updates will see Instagram pivot towards keyword search – that means the words you use in your caption will become searchable.

Posts with too many hashtags make it difficult for the platform to place content in the right categories. To help support this new update, Instagram will place a higher emphasis on your caption content.

2. Write meaningful captions

This point goes hand in hand with the point above. Since Instagram is moving towards keyword searchability, you’ll need to write meaningful captions that’ll pair well with your hashtags.

Take time to explain the benefits of your product. Or tell a story about how you started your brand. Using the right keywords will help to fuel visibility on Instagram.

3. Use a mix of popular hashtags and niche hashtags

Popular hashtags have millions of posts, while niche hashtags are more targeted. Niche hashtags can give your posts more visibility as they are less competitive. 

Look for hashtags that have around 10k-50k posts if you want to make your hashtags work for you. That said, you should still include 1 to 2 popular hashtags to broaden your discoverability.

Hashtags with fewer than a thousand posts tend to be a little too targeted. It suggests that not many users are searching for these hashtags and you might want to skip those even if they’re relevant to your niche.

See also: 6 Profitable Ecommerce Niche for Your Small Business 2022

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4.  Never use hashtags that have nothing to do with your content

Hashtags like #explorepage will not help to distribute your content on Instagram. In fact, it might even contaminate the searchability of your post. 

When tagging your posts, stick to these three broad categories:

1. What is your content about (eg. #homebakes, #homemadecookies)

2. Who is it for (eg. cookielovers #foodies)

3. What type of content are you posting (eg. #behindthescenes, #productlaunch, #newproduct)

5. Curate a few lists of hashtags to swap around

Instagram favors accounts that switch up their hashtag game once in a while. That’s because using the same hashtags for all your posts is recognized as bot-like behavior.

Researching new hashtags to post each time is time consuming. That’s why creating lists is so helpful. Have a list of 20 hashtags for each of the broad categories mentioned above and pick a few from the list each time you post.

6. Consider using analytical tools

This is optional but using the right analytics platform goes a long way. Social media  listening tools can give you further insights into how effective your hashtags are.

Here are a few analytics tools to consider:

1. Sprout Social 

2. Hootsuite

3. Buffer 

4. Iconosquare

Complete your business Instagram page with a website

Getting discovered on social media is great. But what really matters is nailing the sale. Start selling with Cococart now and put your website #linkinbio for higher conversions online!

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