Tag: Instagram hashtags

Choosing the top Instagram hashtags

On Instagram, do you know what the top Instagram hashtags are?

Do you know how to find out which Instagram hashtags are most popular?

Today you are going to learn how to identify the top Instagram hashtags and how when used, can help increase your visibility for your brand.

Should you include Instagram hashtags?

One of the biggest debates is if you should use hashtags or not.

It depends on the social network you are on.

Facebook hashtags haven’t quite caught on.

On Twitter, using hashtags helps increase engagement 2X; however, if you include more than two, your engagement drops.

With Instagram, when you use 11 or more hashtags, you tend to have higher interactions.

So for now, on Instagram use as many hashtags as you like.

It helps increase interactions and allow your posts to be discovered in search.

But what are the top Instagram hashtags and how do you figure out which ones to use?

Let’s take a look at the current Top 50 Instagram hashtags and how you can identify if a hashtag is popular for Instagram of not.

Top Instagram hashtags

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5 Tips to create a successful Instagram strategy

Does your business have a presence on Instagram? Do you have an Instagram strategy in-place to help you use the popular photo-sharing tool?  While it is one thing to be on Instagram and to occasionally share photos, if you are a business, Instagram is definitely a place you want to consider creating a presence. This is because Instagram brand engagement has grown 350 percent year over year (tweet this | source). So how do you go about leveraging Instagram and its 150 million users? It starts by having an Instagram strategy.

Why you need an Instagram strategy

Anyone can get started on Instagram in just a few minutes. With the abundance of mobile devices available, business owners can begin taking photos and sharing them with the popular social network as well. While that works to get you started, if you truly want to tap-in to the growing user base, it helps to have a strategy in-place. This way when you are going about your day, you can be thinking about the different types of content you need to curate for the different social networks that you have a presence on. In doing this, you can plan ahead and begin thinking about the bigger picture for your social media marketing strategy and how to make Instagram a part of it. To help you out, we have put together five Instagram strategy tips to help you learn what types of content you want to be creating to help your business develop a dominant presence on the growing social media platform.

5 Instagram strategy tips

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Maximizing reach with Instagram hashtags

Instagram hashtags

How many of you include hashtags with your Instagram photos?

If you have been avoiding using hashtags on Instagram, it is time to re-consider.

Why you need to be using hashtags on Instagram

For those of you who need a refresher on how hashtags work, if you do not include them, photos you share are limited to the size of your network.

This means that while you may have a great photo, if you have a small following, not many people are going to see your photos.

When you include hashtags on Instagram, you increase your chances that someone else following the same hashtag will see your photo and engage with it.

Hashtags are to Instagram what blood is to the body.

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Do hashtags really work?

While using hashtags on other social networks like Facebook do little to help with exposure.

Instagram users see higher engagement and get more interactions when using hashtags.

For example:

Instagram accounts with less than 1,000 followers and 11 hashtags receive 78 interactions.

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Source: Buffer

Instagram user stats:

While Instagram triggers higher engagement and more interactions, they also have a very active social network.

This means if you are looking to get more exposure and to grow your brands presence, this is a good way to go.

So how do you know which hashtags to use to increase your interactions on Instagram?

While some users will use random hashtags for giveaways and specific social media campaigns, it is best to try to stick with the more popular hashtags.

These include: #food, #beauty, #makeup, and so on.

This is so that you can insert your photos into the larger conversation and increase visibility with other Instagram users.

To help you get started, here is a list of some popular Instagram hashtags.

I have also included tools you can use to help identify the right hashtags to use.

Identifying relevant Instagram hashtags Continue reading Maximizing reach with Instagram hashtags

Minding your manners with hashtag etiquette

Hashtags seem to be everywhere these days. For example, there are Facebook hashtags, Twitter hashtags, Instagram hashtags, and even Google Plus is using hashtags. This is great because you can begin to incorporate hashtags into all of your social networks. Before you do though, you need to be aware of the proper hashtag etiquette.

Otherwise, you could be doing more harm than good when using hashtags on your favorite social networks.

What is a hashtag?

Oxford dictionaries defines a hashtag as a word or phrase preceded by a hash or pound sign (#) and used to identify messages on a specific topic.

To sum this up, when it comes to social networks, hashtags are clickable links that bring together posts from that network that are also using that hashtag.

This can be useful because it lets you see who else is talking about a similar topic on your favorite social network.

Hashtag evolution

The hashtag has evolved quite a bit throughout history though. In fact, it wasn’t always used like how it is today. There is a rich, storied history of the hashtag.

Common hashtag mistakes

While hashtags seem like they’re very easy to use, here are common mistakes you want to avoid when using hashtags.

  1. Stringing together too many words in a hashtag.
    • For example, using #hashtaqetiquettetips when just #etiquette will suffice.
  2. Tagging every word in a post with a hashtag.
    • Not only is this unprofessional, but doing this can make it difficult to follow a post or tweet.
  3. Using hashtags that don’t relate to your business or brand
    • This is a big no-no when using hashtags. An example of this is using a hashtag and including a link to a product that doesn’t relate to the hashtag. You can be seen as a spammer if you use this technique.
  4. Using hashtags when they are not needed
      Just because you can use a hashtag doesn’t mean you need to. Make sure you’re selective on when you should include a hashtag.
  5. Picking the right network for hashtags
      While Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Pinterest all include the option to use hashtags. Be sure you know your audience. If they don’t understand hashtags, you could be pushing them away by including them.

If you want to see hashtags in action, Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon created a hilarious video on using hashtags in real-life that also does a great job illustrating why hashtag etiquette is so important.

While it seems that hashtags are ubiquitous, remember, there is a right time and place for them. The team at Gremln put together this infographic on hashtag etiquette. There are also some great tips on how to use hashtags to get your message across and reach your target audience.

Tips on proper hashtag etiquette

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