They did it again. Just when you were getting your head around culling your hashtags from (the maximum of) 30 to 8-15, Creators dropped a bombshell in their recent post that we should actually limit it to a maximum of 3 - 5!!! #WTF
Do hashtags even matter? In short, yes they do - #s are designed to help users find posts or accounts to follow based on the content associated with keywords. It also helps the algorithms to identify content and send it to those who would be interested in it.
Hashtags can be based on:
Industry
Interests
Niche
Location
Will culling our hashtags cull our reach? Or should we all jump on the 3 - 5 bandwagon?
Not necessarily. There’s no cookie-cutter answer, on when’s the best time to post, the best type of content to post, and this goes exactly with the number of hashtags you should use.
Logically - yes, using the maximum number of hashtags could increase your reach but limiting the hashtags could also define who you are reaching, so it is targeted to your ideal audience.
The best thing you can do is to experiment with a different set of hashtags & varying amounts, test (again and again), and see what works best for you.
My top tips for hashtags:
Put your hashtags in the caption - Instagram has confirmed that putting your hashtags in the first comment is not ideal
Don’t use basic, saturated, and generic hashtags e.g. love or eat. It is too competitive for your content
Do use a mix of hashtags, all that relates to your audience and the post itself
Don’t use hashtags that are completely unrelated to your post, account, or audience
And finally...remember that the content is just as important as your hashtag strategy - if the content is sh*t, no amount of hashtags will help you
Stay tuned, our next few posts will delve into hashtag strategies, tools you can use and so much more.