Nowadays Hashtags are used across social media platforms but have become especially popular on Instagram. In reality, hashtags have become so popular that a hashtag cap has been introduced by Instagram to discourage users from overusing them. In order to promote their content, many brands and websites depend on hashtags and tend to gain momentum over time as users add more individuals to their # tagging friends lists.

Hashtags are an essential part of social media marketing— but they’re also easy to get wrong.

There are countless hashtags which can be used across multiple platforms — choosing the right ones for your company is where things get tricky.

Hashtags must be carefully thought out, well researched, and extremely engaging if they are used by your followers. Unfortunately, most companies on Instagram make some common hashtag mistakes. In this article, we’ll look at every common Instagram hashtag mistake and how to prevent it.

Common hashtag mistakes by marketers

Number of hashtags

One of the main hashtag mistakes that businesses make is to use the wrong amount in their posts.

According to research, 11 or more hashtags will have a higher level of engagement. Since there’s a natural correlation between the number of hashtags and engagement, you don’t want to rely on simply one or two. At the same time, it’s important to remember that platforms such as Instagram have a set limit on the number of hashtags permitted in a post caption — you can’t use more than 30 in one post. Many think that by using the entire slot of 30, you boost how many users view your post. Conversely, the exhausting number of hashtags can make your caption look undaunted — and worse, it can make your brand look undaunted. There’s a very small grey area where you must operate.

Ignoring topical hashtags

Hashtags help to find your content for those who don’t follow your account. Social media marketers should combine popular hashtags into the Instagram posts to reach new followers. It will help advertisers meet consumers seeking to see hashtags taking Instagram by storm.

While using trending hashtags, however, it’s crucial to remember the context under which they exist — do not arbitrarily tackle a famous hashtag for the sake of views. If the tag has nothing to do with your content or your brand, instead of increasing your scope, you will end up damaging your brand image.

Repeating the same hashtags

A few hashtags fit the image of your company perfectly, but that doesn’t necessarily imply you just can use those same hashtags in every post.

For several reasons this may hinder your results. The first will be to limit your range. Since hashtags are searchable and eventually help followers find content significant to them, using the same ones over and over does not attract new users to you.

Using the same hashtags again and again with your audience might also fall a little flat. The hashtags should be interesting , engaging and relevant. Users will avoid reading them, if you constantly use the same ones.

It’s better to use a range of popular hashtags through different posts — a number of post-relevant niche tags, along with a few popular ones.

Not developing a branded hashtag

A branded hashtag all over Instagram will help raise brand awareness. Brands can expand their influence beyond those who follow their Instagram profile by encouraging brand enthusiasts to use a branded hashtag.

Social media marketers should think about innovative advertising hashtags they want to use themselves within the target audience. Over time, users of Instagram can start using your organization’s branded hashtag organically.

Failing to optimize bios

Hashtags are most widely used in tweets and blogs, but in social media bios, branded hashtags should also be used.

To add a suitable hashtag to an Instagram bio is a perfect way to make your page more discoverable. Users of Instagram have the ability to check for keywords relating to pictures, locations, or “people,” the latter of which is another term for Instagram profiles.

Bios can also contain campaign-specific hashtags, in addition to generic hashtags. It’s best to add these hashtags to the bio for increased visibility and awareness when holding a user-generated content campaign, or promoting a hashtag contest.

It can also help generate more leads for brands that appeal to a certain demographic, including a popular hashtag in one’s own bio for that group.

Avoiding hashtag discovery platforms

It can also be difficult to know which hashtags to use when. A trending hashtag liberated from negative social or political connotations is often best used. To that end, a third party Instagram analytics or discovery platform can be used by social media marketers to identify trending hashtags that should be used to increase the reach of a specific piece of content.

Before uploading a new image or video onto the website, be sure to take a few minutes to see if the caption will include a common hashtag. This should be a part of your workflow to monitor your Instagram.

Not monitoring hashtags

The use of hashtags in social media posts is just one step in the process — how the tags perform needs to be monitored to understand what works. This involves tracking the hashtags that generate leads and enhance reach, and discarding those that don’t gain traction.

You can also search for the tags that people use when thinking about your brand — even if they don’t use your branded hashtags or tag your page.

Hashtag achievements and mistakes in a quarterly or annual report should be noted to ensure the whole team is on the same page. The monitoring process may take some time to perfect but businesses would be able to pick the hashtags which function best for their brand with regular tracking.

Mentioning on popular hashtags

While brands will gain more followers from Instagram by using trends and famous hashtags, these aren’t the only tags you can use.

There are two main reasons why — for one, so many accounts use these tags that your posts get crowded out. Perhaps, more significantly, Instagram’s algorithms are programmed to display the most popular posts at the top of search feeds associated with hashtags.

At the other hand, using niche hashtags with smaller follow-ups will give more attention to these posts — but the context should suit your company, and not be too elusive.

Conclusion

Instagram is becoming an ever crowded platform for social media. Over 25 million businesses use official Instagram Business pages, and a total of 800 million users use the site. Even then, the most experienced brands continue to make Hashtag mistakes — for startups, it can be a long and arduous learning process.

Instagram hashtags are a fundamental part of the platform. They are an important component of interacting with your target audience and generating a conversation that includes your brand. With some trial and error and constant monitoring, start-up marketing teams can find hashtag mixtures that improve their reach and build credibility.

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