In this article we offer you an easy and complete guide to use Instagram hashtags strategically in posts, stories and on IGTV. You will learn how to choose your hashtags, how many to use and where to put them in your posts to get the best results.

The Basics of Using Instagram Hashtags for Business

Many people have problems with Instagram hashtags. They don't quite understand how it works and, therefore, they don't use it strategically. Which can be fatal for those people who want to use Instagram professionally.

What is an Instagram hashtag?

A hashtag is a combination of letters, numbers, or emoji preceded by the # symbol, for example, #pets or #????. They are used to categorize content and make it more “discoverable”.

Hushtags are clickable. If you click on one of them or do a search with that hashtag, you will see a page with all the posts that have that hashtag.

In addition, a person can follow a certain hashtag without necessarily following you. In a nutshell, using hashtags is in your best interest to boost your business.

Why are hashtags so important on Instagram?

The reality is that they are the key to success. Since Instagram's search capabilities are very limited, one of the best chances for your content to be discovered and get more visibility is to use hashtags strategically.

In a nutshell, hashtags allow you to appear in the searches your target audience is doing and help people find more of your content.

Using hashtags in Instagram feed posts and IGTV content can help that content show up in search results.

Using hashtags in Stories can help people find more of your content.

How many hashtags can you use on Instagram:

Search results by Instagram hashtags

Now that you know that you can use Instagram hashtags and that you want to put them in all of your content, it's worth noting that there's no guarantee that you'll actually show up in a specific search. IG's algorithm sorts all search results by hashtags.

To see the result of a hashtag search, tap the search icon (the magnifying glass) and type the hashtag you want to search for in the search box. Next, tap the Tags tab to see the content of hashtags related to that word or phrase.

In the search results, you will see two tabs: one for top performing posts (Top) and one for recent posts (Recent).

Everything that appears in the “Top” tab is algorithmically ordered based on who you are and the type of content you interact with. For example, if you really like cats, you are more likely to see content with kittens in a search result. If you really like self-help content, you're more likely to see that in a search result, regardless of the type of content you're looking for.

Instagram's algorithm knows what you're looking for and will sort search results based on your behaviors. As a result if, for example, two people search using the same hashtag, they will see different results because these are selected for each person individually.

If you switch to the “Recent” tab, the content is sorted chronologically, with the most recently shared post at the top of the results feed. This list of results is still associated with an algorithm and there is no guarantee that your content will appear with all the hashtags, or even with any of the ones you use specifically.

But there's always a chance that your content will show up in search results, and when it comes to hashtags, it's a matter of "use it or lose it."

If you don't use hashtags, there is no chance of appearing in the search. If you do, there is a better chance that more people will find you. So use them and take advantage of the opportunity to get more people to see your content.

Now that you understand the basics of how hashtags work on Instagram, let's dive into how to use them strategically in your content in different areas of Instagram.

#1: How To Use Hashtags In Instagram Feed Posts

Your Instagram feed posts are your best chance to appear in search results for various hashtags. But not all hashtags will work the same way. You have to be strategic about which ones you use and how you combine them.

Next, I will share with you my super secret recipe to not only get your content found more often, but also get more followers and sales.

Let us begin,

How many Instagram hashtags should you use in posts?

You can use up to 30 hashtags, and any hashtag above that number will not appear in search. But your first 30 you can use as you want. But should you use 30?

I recommend using at least 15-20. In general, more is better here. If you use them right, you can use all 30. Include as many as you can that are really relevant to your business.

For some people, thinking of so many hashtags can be a difficult task. Maybe you can think of three or four, but where do you get between 15 and 20 hashtags? That's where the super secret recipe comes in.

You'll want to combine a variety of hashtags from different popularity categories. To see the popularity of a hashtag, go to Instagram search and type your hashtag into the search bar. Tap the # tab to see how many posts are associated with hashtags relevant to your search term.

3 Tips to get maximum exposure with your hashtags:

This way you will already have 12-15 hashtags without even thinking about it, so you can easily get to that number of 15-20 total hashtags.

Tip: Avoid using IG banned hashtags. When a hashtag is associated with inappropriate content, IG could ban that hashtag, which is a strong reason not to use it.

The only way to know if a hashtag is banned is to check it before using it. This is a good practice that you should put into practice every time you add a new hashtag to your repertoire. Using banned hashtags can cause a drop in engagement, as your use of legitimate hashtags could also be less effective because they could be removed from the algorithm.

Even if they are not banned, you should avoid hashtags that blatantly solicit likes and followers. Some examples are #followme, #like4like, #follow4follow, #tagsforlikes, etc.

Using them will attract bots, spammers, and other Instagram users who have no intention of engaging with you in a meaningful way. They also show your followers that your brand is okay with engaging in spammy behavior. And that doesn't look good.

You can also use some apps to find hashtags like:

Hashtagify.me

Hashtagify is helpful in finding the best hashtags for your brand. It will show you how popular any hashtag you type into the search box is.

Rite Tag

RiteTag generates trending hashtag suggestions based on your content. You will see the best hashtags for your post to be seen immediately, as well as hashtags for your post to be seen over time. Click “Get Report” to get a detailed analysis of the hashtags it displays.

Fatherhood, it's an idea. To everyone whose taught another how to light a charcoal grill. To those who preach respo… https://t.co/HIvtqMMqy0

— President Joe Biden (So-Called) Mon Jun 22 02:02:33 +0000 2020

Toolz

Toolzu generates hashtags from a keyword that you enter in the search box. You can also generate it by entering a url or a photo. I find it very ductile and useful.

What hashtags should you use in your Instagram posts?

It is not enough to add a long list of hashtags to your Instagram posts. The key is to find relevant hashtags for your business.

Again, don't use super popular or trending hashtags because those hashtags aren't specifically related to your business. Instead, choose hashtags that are very specific to your industry, the content you're posting, or what you offer as a solution.

The reality is that most people do not choose the right hashtags for their audience. They only think about their business and the hashtags they want to be found by.

You have to think strategically:

Let's look at the example of car insurance because it is likely that nobody goes to Instagram to look for car insurance, because that is what Google is for. The only ones looking for #carinsurance or #car insurance are competitors who sell car insurance. Using this hashtag will not attract your target audience.

In this example, the public is made up of people who have cars. And people who have cars search for things like #dreamcar, #lamborghini or #newcar. And if someone is buying #myfirstcar, guess what they need? A car insurance. By using the hashtag that audience is on, you can show up and offer them quality content that is valuable to them.

Some sectors may use hashtags directly related to what they do, such as #photografodebodas. Yes, if someone searches for a wedding photographer, they will go to Instagram and search for that hashtag specifically. So those industries can use those industry hashtags.

But you also have to think about people outside that realm. If all you do is wedding photography, that's great, but people are only going to come looking for you in a very limited amount of time. In addition to those wedding hashtags, you can also search for hashtags related to the geographical locations where you work (#caracasfotografodebodas, for example) and other ways to serve your audience outside of that very specific moment in which they are looking for your services.

How Instagram Hashtags Drive Business Results?

Using both a variety of hashtags from different popularity categories and hashtags that your audience actually spends time on will boost your business results.

How? Let's see what happens in a usual sequence:

The most popular hashtags will provide you with an initial flurry of activity from non-followers. However, in a very short time (seconds or even minutes), your content will be buried in the archives of those popular hashtags.

Moderately popular hashtags will keep your content active for hours and days among non-followers.

Meanwhile, your existing audience of followers is engaging with your content as they connect to Instagram.

Instagram's algorithm looks at your content and determines that your followers are consistently liking it and non-followers are seeing and liking it. These are positive signs for Instagram. You are creating great content that people really like.

And then, on those niche-specific hashtags, you start to position yourself as a high-performing post.

Top-performing posts can stay in those top positions for months, meaning if someone searches for that specific hashtag, in that search result, you'll be one of the first they see in that top-performing hashtags tab.

And what happens when they see that? They go to your content. They are now on your profile. They may follow you because they think you are relevant to them. You have a product or service that is valuable to them. They might even email or call you if you've enabled those action buttons on your Instagram profile. You can really close sales with this tactic.

Where should you put your hashtags on Instagram?

Now that you know what and how many Instagram hashtags you are going to use in your post, where do you put them? Caption or comment? Does location matter? Not really. Some studies say that it is slightly advantageous to put them in the caption. Some people prefer to put them in the comment to hide them and not look like spam.

The algorithm does not judge your content based on where you put the hashtags. The location of the hashtag will not affect the search results. In reality, its location is more of a matter of personal preference.

Warning: If you're using very popular hashtags, location does matter. In that case it is preferable to put them in the caption.

Are your posts appearing in Instagram hashtag searches?

How do you know if your Instagram hashtags are working? Do they show up in searches? Did people find your content?

The easiest way to find out is by reviewing the information on the post itself. Below your post and above the caption, you'll see the "Insights" link.

Tap View Info to open a small information screen. Scroll up that little menu bar to see a full screen of information that tells you how that post is performing. Keep scrolling and the bottom of the screen will tell you where your impressions are coming from, including how many impressions are coming from hashtags. You won't be able to know which specific hashtags produced how many impressions, but you will see the overall performance of the hashtags.

You may not rank for the hashtags or have very little exposure because of them. Sometimes this is because your content is not that great. And if it doesn't perform well with your followers, Instagram is unlikely to show it to non-followers. It's also possible that your content is in a very crowded environment, where it's just not a good time to show up in those results for specific hashtags.

Not all posts will perform well on hashtags. Review and view multiple posts and check how your hashtags are performing on each of them.

Consider questions like:

Take a look at the details of your posts to help determine which content is performing best for you.

Note: If you don't see the View Info option, you are most likely still set up as a personal profile. The information is only available for company and creator profiles. You will need to update your profile to access these features going forward.

#2: How to use hashtags in Instagram Stories

If you're putting a lot of effort into creating fun and engaging Instagram stories, you want more people to find that content. The good news is that in addition to your feed posts, Instagram hashtags are super useful for your Instagram stories.

If you're comfortable with using hashtags in Instagram feed posts, I've got news for you: Instagram stories are completely different.

Below we will see which hashtags you should use to get your business to show up in more searches, how many hashtags you should use in your Instagram stories, and the difference between Instagram hashtag stickers and text boxes.

What hashtags should you use in Instagram stories?

When it comes to your story hashtags, it's best to use your own branded hashtag. Why? Because when someone taps on that hashtag, it will take them to the results of posts from that hashtag, and you want them to see more posts from you, not from others.

The exceptions to this rule are if you are at a live event or running an Instagram contest that has a very limited time frame. Using a narrower hashtag specifically for that event, venue, or contest actually works in your favor because people only search for it in that specific time period.

Where should you place the hashtags of your Instagram stories?

You have two options for creating hashtags in Instagram stories: the hashtag sticker or a text box.

To use the hashtags sticker, tap the sticker icon (the square smiley face at the top of the screen) and select the hashtags sticker to add it to your story. Start typing and now you have a clickable hashtag sticker.

For the text box, tap the Aa icon on your story and then type a series of hashtags using the hashtag symbol, followed by the text for that hashtag. Make sure the hashtag is underlined when you post that text box. If it's not underlined, it's not clickable, which means people can't tap on it to see more posts with that hashtag.

To complicate matters, Instagram has limits on the number of hashtags you can use for each of these options.

With the hashtags sticker, you can only use one hashtag. And you can only use one hashtag sticker on each story post. Once you've added that sticker to your story, that will be your hashtag. If you try to add another hashtag, the one you already have will open and you will end up writing over it with the new hashtag.

In the text box, you can put up to 10 hashtags. I recommend using one to three hashtags.

Remember to keep your hashtags visible and legible, large enough for someone to read them with the naked eye.

#3: How to use hashtags on IGTV

If you're creating high-quality IGTV content that's engaging for your audience, using hashtags in your IGTV video descriptions is a great way to get more people to find you and your content.

For IGTV, you're going to use a similar strategy to what you would use for your Instagram post. As described above, it will be a combination of three types of hashtags: popular, moderately popular, and niche specific.

You can use up to 30 hashtags just like you would in a feed post. Again, it's a "use it or lose it" mentality. The more hashtags you use, the more chances you have.

Where to put IGTV hashtags?

The process of uploading to IGTV is relatively simple. Tap the plus sign and select IGTV Video from the popup menu. Next, select the video you want to upload from your camera roll.

Once you have done this and have chosen the cover image, you will reach the screen where you must enter the title and description of the video. You have to add a title for your video or it won't load.

The description is optional, but this is where all the good stuff goes. You can explain what's happening in the video, and regardless of your account size, you can add a clickable URL. This is also where you put all your hashtags. There are no post comments, so put all those hashtags right in the IGTV video description.

IGTV videos in hashtag searches

Once your video has been uploaded to IGTV, it will be scanned for hashtags in the caption and potentially appear in the results of those hashtag searches.

Like all other content, there's no guarantee that your IGTV video will appear in those search results.

However, if you have a high-performing post that performs well with your audience and is ideal content, it has a better chance of being selected for that target audience to see in search results.

Additional exposure on IGTV

When you upload a video to IGTV, you have the option to share a 1-minute preview to your Instagram feed. By doing this, it shows up in your followers' feeds and stays on your profile like a regular post.

When someone views that video, they'll get a little notice at the bottom to watch the full video. If they watch the full 1-minute preview, they'll get another prompt to keep watching, sending people to IGTV for more views and hopefully more conversions.

Conclusions

Hashtags really are the key to success on Instagram. To reach more people, grow your audience, and get more engagement on your content—across all components of Instagram—you need to use hashtags.

The strategic use of hashtags allows you to be found, thus reaching the people who most need (or want) to see it.

Take a good look at the hashtags you are using right now and try to find better ones. Find out what other brands are using for their hashtags. Look at the list of "similar" hashtags on Instagram when reviewing a hashtag search.

Collect the hashtags on your mobile, separated by type of content. This way you can easily access them when you need them in future posts.

Have these tips helped you? If so, please remember to share them on your social networks.