Updated: May 2021

Discover one of the easiest way on how you can use hashtags to get more impressions that lead up to more targeted followers and dreamy clients. 

Hashtags play a big part on Instagram.

Why are they so important? Simple, Instagram is known for them and they play a big role on Instagram. Posts with hashtags have 12% more engagement than those without.  

Hashtags are like SEO + they give you a boost of engagement. 

They allow you to target a specific audience, which also tells the Instagram algorithm what your post is about and where they should rank that piece of content… Not only on hashtags but the explore page as well.  

So, if you are looking for what’s NEW with Hashtags, keep on reading.

NEW Hashtag updates.

If you have a business account you are able to see the type of impressions you currently get. It’s all broken down into —

✨Home

✨Profile

✨Location

✨Hashtags

✨Other

There’s this new update that might allow you to see which hashtags are performing the best for each post. Although the feature hasn’t rolled out to everyone yet, once it does is going to be a game-changer! It will allow you to see which ones are giving you the most exposure and which ones you need to keep in order to see major growth. 

Which is a good reason why you should be focusing on Hashtag research moving forward.

How do you do Hashtag research? 

One of the easiest ways to start is to open the app and go to the search bar and then go to Tags. From there start typing. I actually started with #savvybusiness, if you look below you’re able to see a list of potential hashtags. You’re able to see exactly how many posts they each have, which is super convenient.  

As you type, Instagram auto-populates even more possible hashtags you can use. This is great if you’re just starting out and if you’re new to Instagram. However, just because you typed a word it doesn’t mean that’s the best hashtag… remember that it’s only giving you possibilities. That means you have to go deeper.  

I always tell my clients that if a hashtag has over 800,000 posts then forget about using that specific hashtag. If it has less than 2000 then don’t use it either because people aren’t that active yet. So a good balance is between 2000 and 800,000. At least that’s what’s worked for me.  

Any general hashtags like — #love, #fit, #like etc won’t be good to use because there are millions of posts out there and your post is likely to get lost in the masses…

Are they other ways of doing research?

Yes, another way of doing hashtag research is to look at a specific hashtag and Instagram will give you “related ones” to use like the picture shown below. By the way, I’m currently doing research for a client… so you get to see what I’m doing. YAY!!

I’m using the #cosmicconnection and it’s showing me other potential ones I could use. I click on the ones showing and I can see how many posts they each have. By clicking on one of them, I get other related hashtags and the process is almost never-ending… I’m kidding… The point is, you can see that Instagram gives you loads of hashtags to check.

Also, I forgot to mention that you can only do this type of research via your phone only.

The third way of doing hashtag research is to go to your competition and see which ones they are using. You can find those on their caption or as the first comment. Now, one really good tip I can give you is to pay careful attention to certain ones because some people have no clue of why they are using those hashtags… they just think are good.

Some hashtags could be marked as spam or be completely irrelevant which can cause you to get shadowbanned!

Before adding that hashtag to your little portfolio, make sure that they don’t have anything that includes nude, hate, etc because that’s considered spam. 

Building your Hashtag list.

Now that you know how to do hashtag research, I do want to say that you have to use hashtags related to the content of your post. Otherwise, everything you have learned would go to waste. And I know you’re a smart one. 

Okay, let me share with you why you need different lists. 

Any list isn’t going to help you. You have to be more Strategic. Think of hashtag lists as your real estate investment. They all have different ranks: some low, some medium, and some high. 

We know that some hashtags can be spammy. But you also need to know that if you keep using the same hashtags every 24 hours, you can get shadowbanned!! Some of you may ask… What is shadowban? That’s when your account/images no longer rank in hashtags.  

Another thing I want to mention is that you CAN use all 30 hashtags. However, I like to be safe and only use around 27-29 of them. Here’s a good mixture —

💥Try using 9 different hashtags between 2000-10,000 posts

💥Then try 9 different hashtags between 10,000-100,000 posts 

💥And then try 9 different hashtags between 100,000-800,000 posts

This way you can rank on different levels. The low set can help you rank to the medium set, and the medium set can help you rank to the High set. 

Each set builds from the last. Which is super helpful.

Summing things up.

1. Hashtags allow you to target specific audiences. 
2. Avoid using General ones especially those that are overpopulated.
3. Use 27-29 different ones that relate to your content.

That’s it.

Want to learn how to create your own hashtag lists then read this blog post now.

Ready to grow your tribe with less than 5000 followers? Download this free guide below!