How To Do Instagram Hashtag Research

Hashtags play a very important role in growing your page and every Instagram user should know that in order for them to increase their engagement and their following. With all the information available around, it is so easy to get lost and still not get the results you are aiming for. So in this blog post, we’ve rounded up the best Instagram Hashtag Research guide that will save you a lot of time and get you the results you want (given that you’re willing to put in the effort, of course!).

Before anything else, here are 5 things you should remember before starting your hashtag research.

1. Vary the hashtags you use

Do not get tempted to copy and paste the same hashtags for each of your posts. A good tactic would be to switch it up and vary the hashtags you use for every post you upload so you can reach out to different types of audience every time. Match and combine different hashtags too and monitor the results. An easy way to do it that will help save you a lot of time is creating a list of 100 popular hashtags in your niche and use 30 relevant hashtags on that list when you upload something new. Creating different sets of hashtags for different kinds of posts can help as well.

2. Skip the generic hashtags

Using generic, gimmicky hashtags such as #follow4follow #like4like #love #life is so generic and will not help you get the right engagement and results that you seek for your page. It also makes your post look spammy and the worst part is, you might end up getting spam comments too!

3. Use up to 30 relevant hashtags for each post

Yes, you read that right. You can use up to 30 different but relevant hashtags. Using these will get you more reach and engagement for your Instagram page.

4. Utilize your Instagram Stories and use invisible hashtags

You can be as creative as you can for this one. This technique will help you get more reach by utilizing this cool Instagram feature.

5. Make your posts look neat by adding hashtags in the comments!

Just to be clear, hashtags work the same way when you add them on the comments section of your posts. Doing so will help your viewers feel pleased while looking at your posts without the quite disturbing list of hashtags they have to read on your captions. Adding the hashtags on your post’s comment section will maintain a clean and non distracting look for your feed.

How To Do An Instagram Hashtag Research

Now that we know how important it is to use Instagram hashtag, let’s learn how to use it properly by conducting a thorough research:

Step 1 - Conduct Research About The Most Popular Hashtags In Your Niche

The first and foremost step is to conduct a bit of research in your niche and see what the juggernaut brands are using as the hashtags. If you are just starting out and are a beginner at this then using the same hashtags as the bigger brands can help attract a good amount of traffic to your post.

Step 2 - Follow Hashtags Of Influencers 

Follow the hashtags that are relevant to your brand/business. When you follow a hashtag, you will see relevant posts in your feed. In this way, you can follow multiple hashtags and see which one are trending.

Another tip is to follow niche based tags. If you’re running a shoe business then keep your tabs open on the popular brands and follow the hashtags that they are using. Use at least 8-10 of these.

The last tip that will help you research about the most popular hashtags in your niche is to chase location based hashtags. Follow at least 10 location based hashtags that are relevant to your business.

Step 3 - Use Google

Well-established Instagram business pages often post blogs to increase engagement. You will find a plethora of niche based hashtag blogs on the web where owners have listed some of the most popular hashtags. You can make a list of them.

Step 4 - Prepare A List of All the Hashtags You’ve Accumulated From The Previous 3 Steps

The hashtags that you have collected from the previous 3 steps, filter them some more. Type in each of the hashtag one by one and see the top 10 posts. See a pattern of hashtags in those posts. There might be some repeating ones that are giving the posts a boost. Use them once in your post

Make sure not to keep repeating the hashtags in every post. Mix it up.

Low Density And High Density Hashtags - Which Ones To Use?

Hashtags With Low Competition (Low Density): Low density hashtags are ones that have less than 500,000 posts results. When you type in a hash sign and write a word next to it, it will tell you the number of posts available under the hashtag. This way you can figure out if it is a low density hashtag or a high density one. These are more specific and relevant tags that serve as a funnel. The competition for these hashtags is low.

Hashtags With High Competition (High Density): If the posts results are beyond 500,000 posts then the particular hashtag is supposed to be a high competition and high density tag. Brands and companies use high density hashtags, therefore, using only these can make your post struggle to get a good reach. 

Hashtags such as #Party, #Blogger, #Apple, #Football are considered to be high density hashtags.

Which One To Use: Whether you’re a pro or a beginner at Instagramming, there might be a few things that you don’t know yet. Some people think that targeting low competition tags will give their posts a huge boost. It would but that’s not wise. 

Experts recommend to use both High and Low density hashtags in your posts. It helps to increase the reach and get relevant audience to your page.

Importance Of Targeting Hashtag Groups

It is vital to know about hashtag groups as well. They aid in categorizing Instagram posts. 

There are several hashtag groups that you need to know about, for instance:

Community Hashtags: These are low competition hashtags that target a relevant community. For example, #CrazyForFood.

Brand Hashtags: Businesses who start out on Insta often use branded hashtags such as #Apple, #Nike. It’s a feasible strategy to boost audience in the initial stages.  

Audience Targeting Hashtags: These are important! It involves targeting the type of audience that is relevant to your brand. In other words, filtering out the audience. 

#Gamingenthusiasts, #Gamenerds etc.

Descriptive Hashtags: You will see a lot of Instagram business profiles using these. Such hashtags have descriptive words in them and they help in engaging with very specific people.

#cafeonthesix etc.

Niche Hashtags: As the name suggest, these are niche based hashtags. However, they have a higher competition, therefore, beginners should not solely depend on them.

#Technology, #Sci-fi movies etc.

Location Hashtags: These are one of the most important hashtags because they help in targeting a country, city, location or even a street.

Event Hashtags: To grasp the attention of your followers, use popular event hashtags such as #Fifa, #LaLiga etc.

Do’s And Don'ts To Follow

Don'ts

• Do not use high density hashtags in abundance.
• Do not use location based tags that are not relevant to you.
• Do not use any hashtag that has less than 100 post results unless it’s a branded hashtag.
• Do not use irrelevant tags or you’ll attract an audience out of your scope.
• Don’t repeat same hashtags in every post. Switch it up!

Do’s

• The total limit of hashtags is 30, use all 30 spots.
• Use niche based hashtags.
• Use hashtags in the comments.
• Use hashtags in stories you post.
• Follow popular hashtags.
• Use hashtags that are clickable.
• Organize the hashtags in an excel sheet and track which ones are performing better.
• Use longer hashtags that are relevant.

Conclusion

Instagram is a huge platform to attract a large audience and with features such as hashtags#, you can do it easily. All you need to do is follow the steps, pick up the right hashtags and use them wisely to boost your post and increase engagement.