I’m sure you’ve heard all about the importance of using hashtags to grow your audience and engagement on Instagram and Twitter, right? Well, it’s not just hype.

Using hashtags truly can help you grow your reach and engagement if done correctly, despite Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm.

Today, I’m chatting with you about how to use hashtags to increase your Instagram engagement. Let’s do this, shall we?

1. Use niche-specific hashtags.

It is important to use niche-specific hashtags on your Instagram posts. Using super generic hashtags doesn’t always help increase your reach. In fact, you have a harder time appearing in the top posts section of those hashtags, because they have so many posts submitted that day.

Note: Tailwind has a cool niche specifying feature you should check out and Planoly counts your hashtags for you and helps you visually plan your feed!

2. Make multiple different hashtag sets.

Test out a few different hashtag sets on your photos. If you’re consistently using the same 30 hashtags, they will become stale, so make sure you’re rotating a few different sets to keep the Instagram algorithm on its toes.

3. Choose hashtags with fewer than 500,000 posts.

When selecting your hashtags, you’re more likely to perform better when using hashtags with fewer posts. Of course, you can still throw a few extremely popular hashtags into the mix. However, make sure those aren’t the only ones you’re using, or you’re going to be disappointed with your reach.

4. Analyze what your competitors are doing.

To make sure I’m always on top of my hashtag game, I always check out what hashtags others in my niche are using. It’s important to continuously work on your hashtag strategy. Otherwise, you’re leaving potential clientele on the table.

5. Create your own hashtags! Be unique!

Make sure that you also create your own hashtags to fit your brand! Once you start using your own hashtags, you will start setting trends. You can tell your friends, family, and clients to use your hashtag when speaking of your work on social media. This will get your brand publicity around the social media world.

Brands use hashtags on their posts to increase visibility and to encourage their social audiences to join the conversation. But hashtags are not just limited to brands; companies of all sizes can utilize them and benefit from their popularity and scope.

Hashtags are now supported by many social platforms, after first becoming popular on micro-blogging sites. It’s important to consider what platform you are using before you decide what hashtag to use—each platform is different, and you must remember that when posting hashtagged content.

Happy Hashtagging!!

Tijania Goodwin, MS, CEP is the Owner and Founder of Events 2 The Tee Event Planning. She also serves as an empowerment speaker and business branding strategist. Her mission is, first, to provide amazing service when planning events that will become unforgettable experiences and, second, to spread the word that with hard work and dedication all your dreams can come true.