The use of Instagram hashtags is an essential part of every Instagram marketing strategy. When used correctly, they have the power to improve the visibility and engagement of your posts. You can generate more buzz around your brand by using a good hashtag strategy. However, using them incorrectly can have consequences. In addition to the risk of annoying your followers, you may be penalized by the algorithm. If you have questions about the right way to use Instagram hashtags, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll cover everything related to Instagram hashtags, from the right number of tags to use to the right way to include them in your post.
What is the purpose of Instagram hashtags?
Hashtags are commonly used to categorize content on social media platforms. They start with a “#” symbol, which is then followed by a combination of numbers, letters, or emojis. Instagram tags are used to make content more discoverable because they are essentially clickable links. When someone searches for a hashtag or clicks on a hashtag under someone’s post, they are taken to an explorer page that shows all the posts with the same tag.
Hashtags can greatly help content creators to expand their brand’s reach and gain the attention of Instagram audiences. Whenever you add a hashtag to your post, it will automatically appear on the explorer page for that particular hashtag. Even if you add a hashtag to your Instagram Story, it will make its way to the hashtag page. Many Instagram users follow certain hashtags that deal with their subject of interest. Even if they are not on your following list, they will be able to see your post if you have used hashtags they follow. Hashtags also prove to bring more Instagram likes toward your post. Instagram hashtags are also great for building a community on the platform, as they can encourage people to engage with your brand.
Instagram hashtag types
Here is a list of common tag types that can be used on the platform:
1. Hashtags for a product or service
These hashtags carry the general theme of your product or service. Excellent examples include shoes, # shoes, # carpentry, and # contentwriting.
2. Hashtags for specific topics
Niche hashtags show how your content fits in with the rest of the industry. They basically express the uniqueness of your business. Although not as popular as industry hashtags, they can definitely help increase your Instagram engagement. Great examples of niche hashtags are #travelvlogger and #foodphotographer.
3. Industry hashtags
Industry hashtags tend to have a lot of competition since they are used by many people. Historically, they have been tagged on millions of posts. Although they are highly competitive, they can definitely help increase the visibility of your posts on the platform. You can combine them with niche hashtags. Industry hashtags include # photographer # vlogger # esthetician # beauty.
4. Community hashtags
Community hashtags can be great for building your tribe on the platform. They are generally more specific than brand or niche hashtags, but they have a competitive advantage. You can add 3-5 community hashtags along with other hashtags to increase your visibility. To research the keywords for community hashtags, all you have to do is determine the hashtags that your followers use most often. Great examples of these hashtags are #mytravelgram and #instagood.
5. Hashtag for a seasonal or special event
These hashtags are great if you want to be part of a larger movement. They are also great for generating viral engagement. Seasonal hashtags can refer to holidays such as # St. Patrick’s Day or events such as # Superbowl or # Coachella.
6. hashtags for websites
These hashtags are great if you want to increase the visibility of your post in a specific location. Location hashtags come with high specificity and low competition and can be used in conjunction with geotagging. You can combine these with industry and niche hashtags. Here are some great examples of location hashtags: #NYaesthetician, #NJhairstylist, #TexasPhotographer.
7. Daily hashtags
They can relate to daily comments and phrases that are commonly searched by people such as #MondayBlues #TransformationTuesday #SundaySweat etc.
8. Hashtag abbreviation
These hashtags are based on popular acronyms used by millennials and GenZ these days. One of the most popular acronym hashtags is #TBT (throwback Thursday). Other great examples of these hashtags are #OOTD, #FBF, #YOLO, and #TGIF.
9. Relevant expressions:
These hashtags combine elements of multiple types of hashtags, including niche hashtags, product hashtags, and community hashtags. They are based on the phrases that Instagram users use to connect with the communities that are on the platform as an insider. Relevant hashtags to consider include # shewhowanders and # amwriting.
10. Hashtag Emoji 10
These hashtags have emoji attached to a keyword or phrase, or they can be simple emoji hashtags.
How many tags should you use on Instagram?
Instagram allows users to put a maximum of 30 hashtags on a post and about ten hashtags on an Instagram Story. If you try to include more than 30 hashtags in your post or story, the platform will not allow you to post it. Although Instagram allows you to add a fairly large number of hashtags, the question remains how many tags are best to increase engagement?
While some Instagram experts say that using 1 to 3 hashtags is enough, others suggest that using 11 hashtags is a better strategy. Also, Instagram recently recommended that creators add 3 to 5 hashtags to their posts. This is different from what we have heard about hashtags so far. However, Instagram has recently been focusing on the use of SEO and keywords. It is also introducing “recommended” feeds, which would require an easier categorization method. Since fewer hashtags are more reliable, we can understand why they might be advising fewer hashtags.
In purely objective terms, there is no “right” number of hashtags for Instagram. However, we will try to answer whether you should use more hashtags or whether it is a better option to go with a few tags. In an online study of more than 18 million posts, the number of hashtags used in each post was compared to the posts’ reach rate. The reach rate is the reach of an account as a percentage of the number of followers. It was found that as the number of hashtags increased, so did the access rate.
Hidden Instagram hashtags
Although hashtags are essential to finding your target audience, a post or story filled with a large number of hashtags may seem cluttered. There are some easy ways to hide them in your stories and posts. In the following sections, we will provide step-by-step methods for each of them.
Instagram hashtags are hidden within the caption.
There are ways to include a large number of hashtags in the caption of your post without them being visible to the viewer. Here’s how you can hide hashtags in the header:
- Step 1: After you’ve written your post title, click Enter (or “Return” if you’re using iOS).
- Step 2: Add ellipses or some punctuation marks like bullets or dashes, and click Enter again.
- Step 3: Do the second step about 3 to 4 times, and then add your hashtags below that.
Instagram usually hides any part of the caption that comes after 3 to 4 lines. To view the rest, the user would have to click on “more.” This means your hashtags will be effectively hidden from viewers. Since they will be visually separated from the caption, they will not distract the viewer from your post.
Instagram Hashtags are hidden in the comments section.
Another way to include hashtags in your post is to include them in the comments section. Here’s how you can do that:
- Step 1: Without using any hashtags, add your title to the Instagram post and publish it.
- Step 2: After the post is published, click on the section where you can add comments.
- Step 3: Add all the hashtags in the form of a comment and click “post,”
When you enter the hashtags in the form of a comment, they will not be visible to the audience until they try to see all the comments. On the desktop, however, the comments would appear as is. However, it is a great technique because the majority of users browse Instagram on their mobile phones.
Hashtags hidden in Instagram Stories
There are ways to hide the hashtags in stories as well. One way to do it is to reduce the size of the back tags by pinching them to make them small. This way, they will be less visible. Another way is to change the background color of the hashtag sticker to make it semi-transparent. If you want to hide your hashtags completely, you can consider pasting a sticker, emoji, or GIF on top of them to hide them.
Conclusion
With this, we hope that we have given a satisfactory answer regarding the correct number of tags to use on Instagram. While tag quantity is an important determinant of your marketing success, it is equally important to consider tag quality. You won’t be able to generate more engagement by just using generic hashtags. It is important to research the right tags for your brand and use a combination of different types of tags to expand your reach. Something that will help you a lot in this regard is the Hashtag Research & Profile Optimization Service offered by buy Instagram followers Canada. By using this service, you can find niche-specific hashtags for your brand, thoroughly researched by our Instagram experts. We, at our service, offer many other premium services on Instagram, like free Instagram followers, likes, comments, comments, and more. If you’re interested in boosting your Instagram engagement, contact us today!