5 common mistakes we all make with hashtags on Instagram.

[Edit: this post has been updated in September 2021 to reflect Instagram’s new advice about hashtags]

The alogirithm may change, but some things stay the same: that’s hashtags, baby. The fact of the matter is, no matter how many changes Instagram makes to the platform, hashtags will always remain the best way to improve your post’s reach if you use them correctly. We’ve been aware of hashtags since the advent of Instagram in 2010, however to many of us, they still remain a mystery. But it’s really not that complicated at all once you get familiar with basic best practices.

So here are 5 common mistakes you may have made when chucking some hashtags on your latest post (all said with love… we’ve all been guilty of these one time or another!)

1. You're using hashtags that are way too broad.

Say you move into a new place and want to start a new IG account documenting your home decorating process. You throw up a few beautiful posts with the hashtag #interiordesign and… it gets lost within seconds, because #interiordesign has over 120 MILLION lifetime posts. You need to be using hashtags relative to your account's size - so unless you have millions of followers to help boost you, using hashtags with more than 2 million lifetime posts will be fruitless and you’ll be a very small fish in a gigantic ocean.

2. Or… you're using hashtags that are way too niche.

Sticking to our interior design example, if you decide to go the other way and use the hashtag #ilovedecoratingmyhome instead (which has less than 500 lifetime posts), you're not gonna see great results either. This hashtag isn't very active - seeing maybe one new post a week - and with the same few people using it. If you want your posts to get noticed, you want to make sure the hashtags you're using are seing regular activity from different users everyday. You need to find the sweet spot.

3. You're using the same ol' hashtags in every post.

Don’t be tempted to just copy/paste the exact same hashtags on a previous post. As Albert Einstein said: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” This applies not only to rocket science (or whatever Einstein did), but to social media. Because how can you expect to reach new people if you're always posting in the same hashtags?

4. You're using too many hashtags.

For a long time, Instagram experts have been telling people to utilise all 30 hashtags per post. After all, why would Instagram give us the ability to use all 30 if it wasn’t going to be useful? For a long time it was, but as of September 2021, Instagram announced that the prime number of hashtags to use are 3-5, and any more than that won’t actually increase your discoverability. So take a breath! And be glad that you won’t have to spend ages carefully curating hashtags anymore.

5. You're not engaging with the hashtags you're using.

Don't post and ghost when it comes to hashtags. If you're not interacting with posts under the hashtags you're using, you're less likely to get favoured in the algorithm - or be featured in the top posts of that hashtag - when you publish your own post. The more you engage with the hashtags you intend on using (as well as nurturing who’s already following you), the more likely the Instagram algorithm will boost your posts.

So, why am I telling you this?

Because I want you to succeed, friend! Instagram hashtags are a brilliant way to not only expand your reach, but to find communities of people with the same interests as you. But I know that finding new and current hashtags can be a pain, that’s why I’ve created the Hashtags Made Easy freebie, which takes you through the basics of hashtag strategy and the free tools I like to use when looking for new hashtags.

The freebie works in conjunction with my new digital product, the Inclusive Hashtag Collection. It’s a fun, inclusive, and diverse database of 2500+ hashtags from niches spanning LGBTQ+, sustainability, feminism, people of colour, disability, spirituality and more! What’s more, I’ll be updating it once a month, so you’ll only pay once for lifetime access to a hashtag resource that will always stay up to date! Just hop on over to my shop to check it out.

Are there any burning questions about Instagram hashtags or engagement would you like me to answer?