The strategy behind #hashtags on Instagram!

We see hashtags everywhere, and we know that they boost interactivity and open up our content to a wider audience, but other than ensuring we include them, is there any strategy behind hashtags?

There is no clear outline of how the Instagram algorithm works in terms of where to place your hashtags (the caption or the first comment), but Socialinsider recently studied almost 650,000 posts and found that the placement is actually dependent on the size of the account.

Less than 5k followers – 6 hashtags hidden in the caption

5k-10k followers – 5 hashtags in the first comment

10k-50k – 2 hashtags hidden in the caption

50k-100k – 8 hashtags hidden in the caption

100k+ – 6 hashtags in the first comment.

Hashtags represent what people are talking about and any currently trending topics. It’s important that you keep up-to-date with current and trending news, and use hashtags relevant to this to make your brand look knowledgeable and credible. Researching each hashtag is key. You do not want to choose ones that have too many results as your post will be lost amongst them but, unless they are company-specific or new hashtags you are creating, you also do not want to be using ones that do not return many results as they won’t reach many people.