By: Cree Jones
Keeping your Instagram hashtags relevant is important now more than ever. Users can now follow their favorite hashtags and getting in the “Top Posts” section for a popular hashtag is a pretty big deal. By using the right set of hashtags, you can expose your brand to targeted audiences, attract new followers and increase engagement. So how do you know if it’s time to change up your strategy?
All of your hashtags are broad with a high post volume.
It’s easy to get caught up in using the popular hashtags that have high post volumes. However, it’s difficult to yield results when exclusively using these hashtags because of the overwhelming amount of people using them. By using content specific hashtags, you can ensure that you are reaching a targeted audience that is searching for your type of content.
You don’t have any branded hashtags.
A branded hashtag is a hashtag that’s unique to your brand or business. It can be as simple as your company name, tagline or name of a campaign. According to Sprout Social, seven out of 10 hashtags on Instagram are branded hashtags, making them a great tool for collecting user-generated content. For example, our client The Little Italy Association uses #LittleItalySD as their primary branded hashtag and today it has more than 70 thousand posts on Instagram.
You are using the same hashtags on every post.
The Instagram algorithm actually punishes brands that use the same hashtags in every post by decreasing their reach. You’ll want to make sure that you are using a mix of branded hashtags, content specific hashtags and high volume hashtags.
Are you getting the most out of your Instagram hashtag strategy? Contact us today and we’d be happy to help: info@olivecreativestrategies.com