Do you want to learn how to use those blue letters that you see all over Instagram? I've got you covered.
Today, I'm going to explain the benefits of hashtag usage for company owners and demonstrate how to identify the most relevant hashtags for your Instagram account.
What makes hashtags crucial for small businesses?
For any small business looking to expand its customer base and raise brand awareness, hashtags are an excellent tool.
Every small business should therefore have a list of the top hashtags in their toolkit.
How do you, however, compile the "best" hashtags?
Which hashtags are most effective for small businesses?
All of the top results for "Best hashtags on Instagram" on Google will be the same. Listings of the most popular categories are numerous.
Without a doubt, these are the most often-used hashtags for certain categories. However, they are unable to compete to be "the best."
These "best" hashtags have the flaw of being overused and too popular.
On Instagram, the hashtag #smallbusiness has been used in over 100 million posts. These hashtags are utilized by every company in the world, from online teachers to nail salons.
Will using this hashtag enable you to find additional followers for your post? No, after 10 seconds, your post will be hidden at the bottom of the feed.
Do you want your company to compete with thousands of many other small businesses in different sectors? I don't believe so.
You must be as particular as possible if you want to connect with your audience. For this reason, I believe employing those "best" hashtags is not the greatest course of action for a small business.
So allow me to share the advice I typically give to customers.
How can I locate the top hashtags?
Four components make up my algorithm:
1. Study your competitors
Competition analysis should always come first. Do you work as a baker? Great, now look for some accomplished bakers. examine the hashtags that they are utilizing.
Once you've absorbed as much information as you can from the experienced players, research your local rivals. What hashtags does the bakery next door use? Do you know them? Much better!
When it comes to making growth, researching your competition is crucial. I assure you that you will have much more helpful information than just hashtags once your study is complete.
2. Keep up with modern trends in your field.
You'll undoubtedly discover some similarities after researching your rivals. The identical irrelevant hashtags being used by two companies in different cities? That typically indicates that something is taking place.
It can be a holiday or some significant piece of news that everyone is talking about online.
Let's use the most celebrated holiday worldwide as an illustration. Every year, the conversation about Christmas begins somewhere in December. And many small enterprises start utilizing it to attract new clients and boost revenue.
You ought to do the same!
Do not forget that trends are your best friends. You must be conscious of them in today's online world.
Look for trends. Analyze them. And as quickly as possible, get on that hype train. You'll succeed because of it.
3. Utilize hashtags for your area and community
The most crucial hashtags for small businesses, in my opinion, are local ones.
I always advise my clients to use these hashtags to engage with their neighborhoods.
Is there a hashtag that all supporters of the city's football team use when playing? And did you know that the game on Saturday is the one that fans are most looking forward to? Use it!
Use the team's hashtag in the posts to connect with the fans by creating a special deal just for the supporters. Fans are passionate, keep that in mind. They will talk about you for days if they are pleased with your service.
Remember that you can alter trending hashtags to ensure they relate to your area.
For instance, the hashtag #bakery has around 24M posts. However, you'll only find 52.4k posts if you select a local hashtag (like #nycbakery). There is substantially less competitive pressure and the audience is far more interested. Exactly what you desire.
4. You could also use services available online.
There are instances when I feel both stuck and lazy. I employ automation apps during that time.
I usually use Inflact's hashtag generator. It is effective, easy to use, and accomplishes the job as intended.
Using the tool, you can make a list of hashtags that include:
a keyword,
a photo,
a URL for an Instagram post.
The other two alternatives aren't helpful, therefore I often simply use keywords (I know this from experience).
I'll give you an illustration of how to apply it.
All you have to do is select a keyword. Take "Instagram Marketing" as an example.
Consequently, you type in your keyword and click "Generate hashtags."
The service will then produce two sets of hashtags:
1. Similar Hashtags – hashtags with the same keyword
2. Related Organic Hashtags, which are hashtags frequently used with similar hashtags
Each set will also be split into the following three parts:
Frequent Hashtags
Average Hashtags
Rare Hashtags
However, you aren't able to utilize them all since Instagram only permits you to utilize 30 hashtags in a single post.
The "Smart Selection" feature comes in handy in this situation.
The program will combine the best elements from each of the six lists once you push the button and present you with the list to copy.
The list can be quickly pasted into the new post after you click "Copy."
But remember to double-check them before posting. These apps are not without flaws. I also advise tossing in a few regional and trending hashtags that you find here and there.
Really awesome, huh? There is, however, this one thing. Only five free uses are permitted with Inflact. The following step is to create an account and pay the premium.
However, if you want to keep using it for free, just use your browser's incognito mode. But I didn't say it to you!
However, there are other tools. I previously used the following:
Toolzu
Very identical to the one on the Inflact. The functionality is essentially the same (excluding the Smart Selection selection). There are no requirements for enrollment, no fees, and no time restrictions.
Best-Hashtags
With this tool, you just need to enter one hashtag. The service will use this information to generate several lists of hashtags with varying levels of popularity and will also display hashtags that are similar to your search terms. There is no cost to participate, either.
Sistrix
Yet another fantastic free resource. You are only able to run 25 queries daily before you can establish an account.
How Small Businesses may advertise their hashtags
Let's discuss something more distinctive when you've finally sorted through all the generic hashtags and selected the best ones for you. Let's talk about the hashtags you use.
Every small business ought to, in my opinion, have a unique hashtag. Why? Considering that a strong personal hashtag helps you stand out. It increases brand recognition.
A hashtag is simple to produce (you may utilize a slogan or your brand name), but how do you get people to remember it and start connecting it to your company?
Make them utilize it themselves, please!
Promote the use of your hashtags
You put in a lot of effort to attract the audience, right? Why not utilize it then? Really, it is quite easy.
Adding value is all that is required. People will use your hashtags if they believe they will benefit from doing so.
To encourage users to use your hashtags, for instance, you may provide a 10% discount or share others' photographs in your Stories that contain your hashtags.
Make use of all Instagram tools
Having said that, let's talk about Stories. Before that time, we only thought of hashtags as being used in posts. Who though claimed that captions were the only thing you needed to use?
Use your Stories to periodically re-emphasize your hashtag to your audience.
You might also simply paste your hashtags into the bio of your account.
Just start utilizing your unique hashtags as much as you can. However, try not to spam too much!
Don’t get shadowbanned
Remember that hashtags must be used with discretion if you do not want to lose months of hard effort.
These two guidelines are crucial:
1. Never spam
2. Never make use of hashtags that are banned.
I really published an extensive piece about shadowban because it is such a crucial and hazardous subject. If you're curious to learn more, which you should be, check it out.
How to determine whether your hashtags are effective
You surely want to check their effectiveness after utilizing your hashtags for a while, don't you? Although it is impossible to assess each hashtag alone, you can still see the effects of their cooperation.
The development of your account ought to be the initial indicator. Use several third-party applications to check for progress that is good.
Study Instagram Analytics as well, don't forget. If your hashtags are effective, you should observe a discernible rise in Impressions and Reach.
Now that you know where to look for the ideal Instagram hashtags for a small business, you can also figure out how to test them.
Also, if you're new to Instagram, let me know your niche in the comments and I'll personally put together a list of the top hashtags for you free of charge.
Don't pass up the opportunity; my clients typically pay me by the hour to do that.
Remember to follow me! This is the first in a series of articles regarding small business marketing.
This is something you will ensure you always have.