“Hashtag strategy on Instagram, what a load of bullshit”, many will think. «What you have to do is put the 30 hashtags that Instagram allows you to put in each publication, so that as many people as possible can see them. The more hashtags, the better. And to something else.” Oh, if only everything were so easy…
But is not. It’s actually stupid to do this. a mistake as big as believing that light products do not get fat. Ask the nutritionists. Dear friends, dear families, today we are going to see how to cook a rich, rich and well-founded Instagram hashtag strategy. The sprig of parsley is optional.
Some basic principles of Instagram
Before even heating the stove, we have to know the ingredients. What has been knowing some basic things about Instagram so that your recipe does not become one of those inedible pastes that are sometimes served when someone invites you to eat and on top of that you have to be courteous and say “it’s good” while you feel if you have some Almax on you. Let’s go there.
a) Instagram has an algorithm
And like all algorithms in the world, its exact composition is secret and changes very frequently. That algorithm is what determines what your followers will or will not see of what you post. Just like on Facebook, your followers don’t see everything you post, no posts, no Stories or Reels, but what the algorithm decides they see. And the algorithm, like cotton, is not fooled.
b) Instagram is an advertising platform
So, its purpose is that it is not easy for a business to get many followers or reach many people without paying for it. Although it is not the subject of this article, if your Instagram strategy does not include advertising investment, it is more difficult than trying to make a meringue cake in a toaster.
c) Better quality than quantity
If you go blind on greasy buns filled with pastry cream, even if they are a pure delicacy created by the best pastry chef in the world, you will get fat. And if you do it every day you will probably die of diabetes, heart attack or both. If you occasionally eat a tiny one, nothing will happen to you.
It’s not about posting 20 stories and 5 photos a day. It is about creating attractive content that makes people stop scrolling with which they are browsing Instagram and see what you want to tell them. It has always been about that, quality content, capable of generating interactions, on this network and on any other. In the case of Instagram, that content is visual.
d) Hashtags are not a complement or an embellishment. Instagram is the paella of , because it is made of remnants: the Stories are a copy of Snapchat, the Reels of and Twitter hashtags, to name a few examples. As in Twitter (what am I saying, much more) the function of hashtags is to tag a publication so that people who do not follow us but who do follow that hashtag or perform a search can see it. It is not an “adornment” that we put on it to look cool or a way to write a very long sentence without spaces. Using hashtags correctly is vital for your brand to grow on Instagram.
Now that we have the ingredients clear, we heat the stove, prepare the pots and get to work.
Basic principles of an Instagram hashtag strategy
We talked about creating a strategy. Strategy=reflection=work=written document. If you are not the reincarnation of Einstein, do not pretend to have this or any other strategy in your head. Even the best chefs have to consult the most complicated recipes, and that they have written them. Let’s go by parts:
I. Decide what kind of Instagram hashtag strategy you are going to have
You have two alternatives: go for the most competitive hashtags and with the largest number of publications and followers (examples: #fashion, #bags, #trends, #shoes…) or use a . That is, if you sell bags, use things like #bolsos2021, #bolsosdecuero #bolsosrojos #bolsosdetela #bolsosartesanos, etc, etc. Yes, just like in the keywords for or advertising on Google. Obviously, if you can’t compete with the big names (Manolete, Manolete, if you don’t know how to fight, what are you getting into) because the power of your brand doesn’t allow it, you will have to resort to the . It’s more work, but it will give you better results.
II. Study your competition
The one who does it well, of course. If they continually repeat hashtags, they are NOT doing it right. See what hashtags they use, how they do it, how often they repeat them, how many posts there are in those hashtags, what is published… Decide, in short, which ones are interesting for your own Instagram hashtag strategy and copy them miserably and without remorse. This copying in marketing is called, very finely, benchmarking. That you know
III. Look for the influencers (I have taken a liking to the Roman numerals, how cute)
Repeat the previous step but with . But not cheap, please.
IV. Create variations from a word
In an undisguised tribute to Instagram, we are going to take the hashtag #paella as an example.
As you can see, the hashtag #paella has over 3 million posts. It would be interesting to see how often images are published there, but if you choose it for your publication you will probably not get much visibility, since it will hardly be among the outstanding ones and it will disappear from the top positions of the most recent ones very quickly.
But Instagram itself offers us help, since it shows us a list of hashtags containing that word, with fewer publications but that can give you much more visibility. From this list I would stay in the first place with #paellalovers, because we Valencians are very much our own when it comes to calling any freak Valencian paella, but that depends on you. And although it seems like a joke, it is not, we will see it later in the list of things that you should not do.
How far down below? It depends on the size of the market niche you want to reach. A hashtag with 200 posts in principle is a whirlwind of a hashtag but beware, it can be very useful if it is something very focused and that we know is in demand. That said, a hashtag that a) has less than 5,000 posts and especially b) has very infrequent posts should make you think 3 times before using it.
V. Create groups of hashtags and rotate them
To avoid the shadowban, which I will tell you about later, you should not repeat the same hashtag in more than two or three posts in a rowand in any case, assuming you post daily, no more than twice in the same week. This forces you into rotation.
And that’s why you shouldn’t use 30 hashtags on every post, unless you have an army of CMs working just for Instagram. It is practically impossible for you to use hashtags correctly if you use 30. I would not put more than 5-7 in each publication, because a simple application of the combinatorial theory that we learned in high school will make you see that the chances of screwing up if you use 10, 20 or 30 hashtags are astronomically high.
SAW. Use different types of hashtags
There are many types, so it is convenient that in your strategy of hashtags on Instagram you do not focus only on those referring to the product you sell (because you do not limit yourself to posting photos of products… right?). Here are some examples/ideas:
- Related to the product: #paellalovers, #paellavalenciana, #vivalapaella #paelleros #ilovepaella, #paellamadness, #instapaella #recetasconarroz…
- Of trends related to your product or where it fits: #realfood #foodie #foodlovers #comidareal #sinaditivos #comidacasera…
- Geographic: #valenciamola #vivavalencia #viscavalencia #valenciatrends… but you will notice that I have NOT put #valencia because it is one of those that have too much demand. If your business is on a smaller site, this is an option. Remember that you also have the possibility (more than recommended if you have a physical store) of geotag each post with the location to which it belongs.
- Good vibes or with a sense of humor (eye, as long as yours fits. If you sell coffins, why not): #vivalavida #elveranomola #feelgood…
- Current: These depend on the moment, and you have to fine-tune to identify when they arise and how long they last. For that, following the people and brands that create trends is essential.
VII. Hashtags are not eternal
This is obvious for current affairs, but not so obvious with more neutral ones. Hashtags do not last forever, they have their moment and then they are abandoned, so it is very important that you verify the validity of the ones you are using, looking at when the last publication was made, what and who is still publishing, etc.
VII. Create your own hashtags? With 1,000 followers you will not go anywhere
Creating your own hashtag is super cool and very tempting, but the worst thing in the world is that it is a hashtag in which only you publish. You have to master Instagram very well and have a critical mass of followers willing to follow you (forgive the redundancy) the game. Of course you can encourage them with a promotion, a contest or a giveaway to use it, but when the promo is over the hashtag will be over. What critical mass are we talking about? It’s hard to say, but in my opinion if you don’t go over 15,000 followers and/or your posts don’t reach 15,000 people, don’t even try.
Some things you should NOT do
In addition to the ones I’ve already dropped along the way, here are a few more things that will doom you to Instagram hell if you do them:
- Use your brand as a hashtag. I refer to point VIII. If you don’t meet those requirements, your brand doesn’t have the power to encourage people to publish their own photos including your hashtag. And if what you want is to gain visibility in Instagram searches, for that your brand is already your username, right?
- Getting into hashtags that have nothing to do with you. Example: #madridbarça if it is a match day for both teams. Ok, many people will be using it and following it, but is that public really going to pay the slightest attention to the photo of your paella? Another thing is that you get creative and be able to cook a paella in the shape of a football field, but try to think about it three times.
- Using stupid hashtags that no one follows. One is a little tired of seeing things like #new things #we don’t love it #newseason #lonuevodemodapepe and things like that. Banish them, burn them, put them in a chest, bury them under 2 meters of concrete and throw away the key, but DO NOT use them.
- Do not follow up. The statistics, now called insights (which must have sounded super cool to someone) are for something. Use them to check which posts are performing best and identify correlations with the hashtags you put on them.
- Do not verify posts with a certain hashtag. An error that is easy to fall into if you use applications to identify relevant hashtags on Instagram. It is not bad that you do it, but never use a hashtag, however innocent it may seem, without first verifying what type of images are being published there. Could you…
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