The New Rules for Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags have been a hot topic on Instagram lately. Do they still work? Do I need to switch them up? Do I use five or 30 hashtags in my posts? Should they go in my caption or in the comments section?
Lots of questions and quite a bit of confusion. So I thought I would address these issue to hopefully clear things up and get you on the right path.
First of all, yes, Instagram hashtags still work. In fact, they are the best way to increase your visibility and engagement on Instagram. But why are so many people still not seeing results with hashtags?
Well, it probably has to deal with your strategy. Cramming a bunch of hashtags in your post without really thinking about it isn’t going to do you much good.
I’d like to give you my four hashtag rules so you can create a winning hashtag strategy of your own!
Rule #1
Choose hashtags based on “density” (how much they are used).
When you search for hashtags, you’ll notice there is a number associated with each one. This number indicates how many other posts are using this particular hashtag. The number changes from day-to-day, but it shows us the level of competition for each hashtag.
It’s normal to think, “If this hashtag has millions of posts linked to it, my post will be seen more!” But that’s not the case. If the hashtag is really popular and has a higher density of users, the less likely your post will be seen in crowded stream of posts using that same hashtag.
It’s helpful to categorize your hashtags according to density. This gives you a visualization of what hashtags to use and how high the competition will be for visibility.
Very High Density: 500,000 - 2 Million
High Density: 100,000 - 500,000
Medium Density: 20,000 - 100,000
Low Density: 5,000 - 20,000
So how many of each hashtag grouping should you use in each post? That leads us to my next rule…
Rule #2
Make sure you hashtags are relevant.
Think about hashtags as a filing system for Instagram. Hashtags direct us to the correct file directory to find what we are looking for.
If you just use a bunch of random hashtags just because they are popular, you’ll turn people away. But even worse, Instagram can flag you.
The first thing you want to do is consider your ideal reader - what kind of content are they looking for? What interests them? What conversations can you start with them? This will not only help you create relevant content to share but it will also help you to research relevant hashtags that will make your posts discoverable by your ideal reader.
What I suggest you do is create a spreadsheet that will help you organize your hashtags and have them handy when you need them. Take the topics that your ideal reader is interested in and create separate tabs/sheets for them. Then create columns that indicate the density for each category.
Researching hashtags might take some time, but it is worth it! In the end you will have a growing list of relevant hashtags that you can refer to time and time again.
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Rule #3
Be very strategic with how many hashtags you use.
Now that we have our hashtags organized, we need to be strategic in which hashtags we use in each post and how many from each density category.
Here’s the formula I would suggest you try:
Small Density: 5 hashtags
Medium Density: 10 hashtags
High Density: 3 hashtags
Very High Density: 2 hashtags
Instagram allows you to use 30 hashtags in each post, but remember that the keyword here is relevance from rule #2. You don’t necessarily have to use all 30 to get your posts in front of the specific people you’re trying to connect with. In fact, if you are using a bunch of irrelevant hashtags, Instagram’s algorithm might flag your post as spam and not show it in fewer users’ feeds.
Rule #4
Switch up your hashtags.
Hashtags are definitely not a “one and done” thing! Yes, you can have a set collection of branded hashtags that fit with your brand as an author, but don’t simply use the exact same 20 hashtags over and over again on every post.
It’s important to do a little digging from time to time to see what new hashtags there are, if your hashtags’ “densities” have changed, and to keep your list fresh. Once every month or so I’ll spend 10 minutes looking through hashtags to update my list or refresh it a bit. It’s not labor intensive and it is well worth the time spent!
One more question I want to address before we wrap things up: Should I put hashtags in the caption or in the comments?
I’ve done quite a bit of research on this and the universal answer is this: It doesn’t matter. It all comes down to a matter of preference. Many people don’t like the look of hashtags in their captions so they put them the comments. That’s fine! Instagram doesn’t favor one over the other.
But if you do put your hashtags in the comments section, do so right away. You want to get that initial boost right when you post!
Getting your collection of hashtags researched and organized does take a little bit of time, but it’s well worth it in the end! Apply these rules four simple to your strategy and you’ll see it working in no time.
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