Hashtags nowadays have become an essential item when posting on Instagram, some might consider them a simple trend, however they are much more than that. As a school, agent or education service provider, using hashtags is an important way to expand your audience and get more reach. Those Instagram users who don’t follow you but follow the hashtag would still get your post on their feed, giving you an opportunity to expand your followers. But not just any hashtag will do: here are some tips and tricks to help you make the best use of hashtags for your brand.

Use Insights to see which tags work best

Each Instagram business profile has access to post insights that tell you how many impressions you have received through hashtags. Select the post, tap view insights and swipe to see the number of impressions from hashtags; this data helps you identify which hashtags are providing you the most reach.

Include hashtags on Instagram Stories

Hashtags are not only for posts, you can add up to 10 hashtags on your story. Each hashtag page has an Instagram Story icon that is available to all those who follow that hashtag. Add hashtags through the #HASHTAG sticker or simply adding text with the # in front of the word.

Avoid banned hashtags

Some hashtags may be associated with inappropriate behaviour, this results in the page only showing those top posts and no stories are available. Also using banned hashtags may result in reducing your engagement, attract bots and spammers and may cause your other hashtags to become less effective due to the algorithm. Always check whether a hashtag is banned before adding a new one to your repertoire.

Understand how hashtag pages work

Hashtag pages are a great exposure especially if you get featured in the Top section, the recent section will feature each and every post related to that hashtag based on the time it has been posted, even if you add a hashtag at a later stage this won’t bump your post up.

Don’t use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags

If you use the same hashtags for every post, your content will be penalized by the algorithm. So as easy and less time consuming as it may sound, avoid using the same hashtags over and over. When you create a post only use hashtags that make sense to that particular post. Hashtags are not simply about being seen, but to be seen by the right people; quality over quantity to lead to higher engagement and more followers.

Understand the hashtag meaning

Hashtags are often a string of words stuck together. That can create some problems when it’s not clear where one word ends and the next begins. Don’t just jump in on any trending hashtags as these might lead to a PR disaster, always check the context behind each hashtag.

Save hashtags for future use

Even if it is unwise to use repetitive hashtags, it is pretty useful to have them listed for future reference, it saves you time from having to type in each hashtag every time when instead you can copy and paste it. You can even separate these into groups and categories according to your content posting. Don’t copy and paste the whole list, but pick and choose the relevant ones and make sure there is a rotation.

Instagram hashtags are a great way for you to build an online community and more people are motivated to engage more with your brand. As we have highlighted above not all hashtags are relevant to your brand, don’t worry though, we will delve deeper on how to find the best hashtags for you in our next article.