How to Make the Most of Your Hashtag Strategy
Businesses have to contend with a lot to stand out in today’s fast paced world of online marketing and social media management. To really excel, you need to ensure that your Facebook and Instagram posts have the best hashtags to maximize how many people see your company’s post.
As of right now, a standard Instagram post can have up to 30 hashtags, and story posts can have up to 10. You can include additional hashtags but any beyond these numbers won’t be searchable, and as such won’t increase visibility. Just because you can have up to 30 in a post doesn’t mean you should do that every time, a solid number to aim for is 11 hashtags on a post. Statistics show that the average Instagram post only has 2 or 3, which means that most posts have a lot of room to grow visibility.
What tags to pick is the next thing to consider. You want to pick hashtags that represent you and your business, and also attract eyes to your content. This can be a tricky process that takes time to master, but here are some basic best-practices to keep in mind:
- See what competitors are using. You don’t want to copy their process whole-cloth, but knowing what tags are active in your industry can give you a good idea of where to start.
- See what hashtags your audience already uses. If you expand your posts to those that are similar to your audience, they’re more likely to follow as well.
- On Instagram Stories, use tags artistically. Most people cover the hashtags they use on their stories with stickers or text to help keep their images & video looking great.
- Don’t be afraid to save tags for later. Use tags that are related to your content, and keep ones you like for the best post they would fit with.
Remember to experiment! Check your insights to see what works and what doesn’t for your specific business.