In a sea of over 800 million active monthly users, it’s hard for your content to stand out. However, there are a few ways to help you get noticed, including using the right hashtags.
Asking the question of whether hashtags still work in 2022 is a bit like asking if your car still works after it’s only caught fire once!
The short answer is that yes, hashtags do still work and can play a very important role in growing your Instagram account.
The long answer is more complicated and more fun for us social media geeks!.
The hashtag has undergone many transformations over the past few years, from being the perfect tool to engage with new accounts through to being used as a means of ranking in the Explore Page.
According to Later, by using the right type of Hashtags, you can still get more visibility and engagement on your Instagram posts in 2022.
But firstly, let’s go back to basics and look at what they actually are and why do you need Hashtags.
What are Hashtags and Why Do You Need them in 2022?
Hashtags can do a lot for you and your business, but first you need to understand what hashtags are and how they work.
Hashtags are searchable labels that help people find messages about a certain topic. They are words or phrases preceded by the pound sign (#).
For example, if you’re running a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption, you might include relevant hashtags like #adoptdontshop or #spayneuter.
The pound sign tells Instagram or algortithm of other social media platforms that whatever follows is a hashtag. It also makes it easier for people to find your posts because it creates clickable links that lead to all other posts under that category.
Hashtags help people discover your content in their Feeds, Search & Explore results. If a few posts go viral with a certain hashtag, that hashtag goes viral too.
A popular hashtag can show up on the Explore page and in Trending Hashtags. By using relevant hashtags, you increase the chances of being found by potential followers.
In a recent response to one of the story questions asked by his audience, the head of Instagram- Adam Mosseri, made the headlines when he said that Instagram hashtags really don’t help with views.
To be honest, there is so much more to just using hashtags when it comes to growing your IG account. Your niche, your audience, content quality, your uniqueness and engagement also factor in when it comes to increasing your reach.
In my experience as a social media manager, I have seen time and time again that hashtags really do help to get more reach and views for people. Especially when you’re very specific and use relevant hashtags for your content.
I’ve been in the Instagram community long enough to know that we don’t always agree on everything. But there is one thing we all do agree on: Instagram is better with hashtags!
You use them to find new people and things you love. You connect to communities of people around the world. And you recommend things to your friends—things they might not have discovered otherwise. As a result, millions of people discover new accounts and new content every day from around the world!
Can we agree to this?
What are the right hashtags that you can use irrespective of your business or niche?
This is a brilliant question that has two parts to it- one what are the right type of hashtags to use and two, do your hashtags need to be business or niche specific?
So, to answer the first question, I have compiled five lists of common types of hashtags that you can use on your posts or Reels.
These are the combinations of hashtags, I have used with my 1:1 clients and they have delivered great results in terms of reach and engagement on posts—
- 1. Industry Based Hashtags– Industry based hashtags are a broader part of your niche. For example, this hashtag #fitness is a industry hashtag versus #yogaforwomen is a niche based hashtag. Similarly, #socialmediamarketing is a broad hashtag versus #instagrammarketing is a niche based hashtag. An industry based hashtag has over a million followers on IG. Use these sparingly (2-3) on your post especially if you have under 1000 followers on IG.
- 2. Niche or Business based Hashtags- You need these hashtags to set you apart and help you build a focussed community. Now if you are a photographer, using #photography is an industry based hashtags versus using #wedding photography is a niche based hashtag. Niches may have over a million followers or may have between 25k -50k followers or over 50k and under 1M followers. Use these hashtags more often to attract the right set of audience.
- 3. Target Audience based Hashtags- Often small businesses fail to recognize how important these target audience based hashtags are. They put your posts right in front of people who would want to see them and be genuinely interested in your business. Hashtags such as #womenover30, #marriedmen, #menover40 #luxuryshopper etc are target audience based hashtags. That is why, it is so important to understand deep down your target audience whom you are trying to serve. Use these if you content is directed towards them.
- 4. Location based: If you are a small business owner in suburb or the city, location Hashtags help you target your local audience. For example, use cities, suburban areas like #sanfrancisco #napa #sacramento #california #bayarea #sanjose #oakland #santarosa #sacramento #losangeles on your posts to get local eyes on your IG account.
- 5. Event / Trend based: These hashtags work best when there is an event or a situation. During the pandemic, Hashtags such as #working from home, #remote working, #womenhistorymonth, #covidengagement, #lockdownstruggles were used immensely on Instagram.
There you have it. All these five types of hashtags can really help you amplify your reach to the right people.
Now, do your hashtags need to be business or niche specific ?
My answer is- a combination of both.
Given, the size of your IG account (if it is under 10k followers), I suggest that you use more niche or business specific hashtags rather than industry based hashtags.
Should the hashtags go in your caption or in the comments?
Hashtags are one of the best ways to get your content in front of new audiences, and they’re also helpful to keep track of your own posts. However, it can be tricky to figure out where they should go: in the caption or in the comments.
Hashtags should go in your caption because they won’t get lost in the comments.
How do I know? Because hashtags that are in the comments don’t appear on top of posts that people are searching for while they’re looking at a hashtag page. If you want them to see your post, you’d better put your hashtags right in your caption.
Hashtags are meant to be used in the caption of your post. Because their purpose is to help users find content relevant to them, they’re most effective when they’re part of the post itself. However, many users use them in the comments for a few different reasons- one of the reason being the aesthetics.
To conclude here are four tips to effectively use hashtags on Instagram in 2022.
- Be specific. Don’t just say #food, but #italianfood or #vegan, #weddingphotographer or #UXdesigner .
- Less is more! When it comes to hashtags, it’s best to use only 8 to 11 relevant to your content at a time instead of 30, as it used to be the case prior to 2022. Too many can look messy and readers will be turned off from your post!
- Make sure that your hashtag is relevant to the content in your post and that it’s being used by other people on Instagram.
- Use both popular and niche hashtags: A popular hashtag will help get your post out there, while a niche one will ensure that the right people notice it. For example, if you have an Italian restaurant in Portland, OR, you could use #italianfood (popular) and #portlandrestaurants (niche).
What are your thoughts on using Hashtags on Instagram? Let me know in the comments.
