I’ve yet to find an app that gives you the secret to a successful hashtag strategy but there are a few things you can do and should be doing to improve your hashtag game in 2022.
- Create a document or use the notes on your phone to set out your hashtags into different categories according to what you are going to be posting about – (content pillars) then they are there and ready to use.
2. Think about your copy, what are you talking about, do the hashtags relate to your copy or are they just really general hashtags – ie: #socialmediamanager think about using more niche hashtags according to what you are talking about in your post.
3. Think about using location hashtags even if you are a service-based business and not a bricks and mortar, I often use hashtags like #womeninbusinessedinburgh, it helps to build a local as well as the general Instagram community. We like to connect with and support other businesses in our local area.
4. Descriptive hashtags – say you are a product-based business and you make candles – think about using descriptive hashtags for these #vegancandles ( I don’t even know if that’s a thing!) #pinkstarcandles or #vanillascentedcandles .. you get the idea but please, for the love of god don’t use #candles it’s too broad and you’ll never be found.
5. Use the search function within Instagram to find hashtags – what I mean by this is go into search and type in the hashtag – say candles if you’re a candle business and you will see all of the alternative hashtags you can use, more specifically, you can even go into a few posts and see what others are using in your industry to give you some ideas.
It’s definitely still worth using hashtags and something you should be doing on a regular basis to help others find your content. Trying these super simple methods is an easy way to find and take note of the right hashtags for your business. But I’d love to know how you find your hashtags? Do you have a fail-proof method, or are you just winging it? In which case, it’s time to look at a strategy!