Finding the Right Hashtags for Your Target Audience

Hashtags can be a powerful way to increase your reach, but when done haphazardly, they can do more harm than good. And hashtags perform differently on different platforms.

Today, we're talking about how to use hashtags effectively on Instagram. 

First, the logistics of how hashtags are used on Instagram: 

• You can use up to 30 hashtags on your IG post.
• To use a hashtag, type "#" before a word or phrase, eliminating any spaces that would normally be used. Add a space to separate the hashtagged word from the next one. 

• Many people add lines between the copy/caption and the hashtag bank for cleanliness, some adding an asterisk or period to each line so the lines don't disappear when it's posted. 

• Keep in mind, each character and space and new line counts toward your character count for your post. 
• Some...but not all... IG users follow specific hashtags so that relevant posts, even from strangers, will show up in their feed.
• Some...but not all... IG users will search for a specific hashtag one-off, using the search bar.
• Some...but not all... IG users will find a post they like and click on a hashtag in that post to see other posts with that hashtag. 
  
• The algorithm uses hashtags and groupings of hashtags to provide the most relevant content to individual users.​

The ONLY hashtags you should have on your IG posts are ones that are relevant to the topic at hand. On other platforms, hashtags can be used for added meaning and snarkiness, but for IG it can hurt your reach, because:

• If someone following a hashtag or searching for a hashtag comes across a super relevant post, they are going to pause, read, and engage. This is GOOD for developing your brand AND for the algorithm. However, if they come across a post that is not relevant, they will not pause, read, and engage. This is BAD for the algorithm. It's not just neutral and not helpful, it actually hurts your reach!
• Algorithms track all the hashtags. They know which ones fit together for the most relevant content for their individual users. Therefore, using relevant hashtags, even if they don't otherwise relate to one another, can find your target audience simply through math.  

You can just slap a bunch of hashtags together. It might work. And at first, that's absolutely fine as you develop your brand, your voice, and your social media skills. 

But to really improve your reach, you can optimize your posts by choosing strategic hashtags. You can hire someone out, and there's software to help you, as well.

But I highly recommend going through the research process yourself first, so you can better understand what you want as well as what you're looking for in hiring someone or signing up for software. Here is a free and more manual way I approach hashtag research when I first start working with a target audience. 

Step One: Brainstorm related words, topics, keywords, and phrases based on your target audience. What is your target audience interested in? What else are they interested in? Where is the overlap? (BONUS TIP: Keep this list for content ideas, too.)

Step Two: To start researching a potential hashtag, type it with the hashtag into the search bar on IG (don't hot enter). A dropdown will pop up with the hashtag you entered, how many posts that hashtag has, and related tags with their number of posts. (BONUS TIP: Write down the relevant related hashtags that have at least 1,000 posts for research later.)

Step Three: Click on the hashtag you are researching. You will be directed to a page that highlights the top performing posts with that hashtag and then the most recent posts with that hashtag. Check them out. Do these look like posts you would have? Do they seem relevant to your target audience? 

Step Four: Learn from those who have hashtagged before you. What types of posts do they have? What is the engagement on each of those (reactions, comments, conversations)? What other hashtags do they use (write those down and research them)? Visit their profiles and see how they are doing, what they post, how people interact with them, etc.

Step Five: Keep track of the hashtags, noting related hashtags, number of posts for each, types of posts found, etc. 

Step Six: Once you have a good selection of hashtags that have posts consistent with your content, select a handful of high volume hashtags, medium volume, and low volume to use on your posts. If you only pick hashtags with large numbers of posts, you're more likely to get lost in a sea of other posts. But if you also have more specific hashtags with a lower number of posts, you're a big fish in a smaller pond. (BONUS TIP: If you're using a spreadsheet, you can categorize each hashtag and use Concatenate to feed relevant hashtags into one string for easy copy and pasting.)

STEP SEVEN: Use, test, switch around. Don't use all the same hashtags all the time. Algorithms typically don't like copy and paste and other lazy tactics. Select a handful, then use different hashtags relevant to the post that will hit different sectors of the target audience. 

​Keep in mind, platforms are constantly changing. What is true in this article could be undermined next week. But in general, conscientious selection of hashtags are going to yield better results than cheap and quick fixes. Truly seek to serve your audience and you are more likely to reach them.