Every type of business needs to know the best hashtags to use on Instagram and how to improve social media marketing. In today’s online marketing plans, it’s important to keep up with trends and use hashtags in a way that increases organic business and revenue. With the recent decline in brand engagement reported by businesses throughout Instagram, it’s even more valuable to understand organic algorithms by knowing the most used hashtags on Instagram.
Social Media Marketing – Instagram Engagement Dropped
Rival IQ recently revealed that engagement has dropped about 30% on Instagram since last year across 14 different industries. These accounts and content creators included Alcohol, Fashion, Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty, Higher Education, Home Decor, Influencers, Media, Nonprofits, Retail, Sports Teams, Tech & Software, and Travel brands. The first step is understanding how social media works and defining the elusive Instagram algorithm when it comes to such diverse content on Instagram.
What is the Instagram algorithm?
Simply put, Instagram does not use one algorithm. Instead, it has an automatic process that consists of multiple algorithmic systems to individualize the social media experience. This means that your account will look different than your friend’s account, and content creators need to post content that targets their desired demographic. Instagram’s system analyzes how long a person spends on a post, if comments are left, if people click the like button, if content is shared by users, and if users get curious enough to click on the profile itself. This is where hashtags come into the strategy.
What is a hashtag?
You’ve probably seen the “pound sign” or “number sign” used without a space next to a word or phrase online before. This coding system allows users to follow topics and content creators that fit their interests best. The computerized systems of the platform analyze these interests to create the newsfeed experience for each user. Posting and using a combination of popular and niche hashtags really allows the proper funnel of users to see your Instagram posts, stories, and reels. In theory, your content matches the interests of your target demographic on Instagram.
Best Hashtags to Use – Most Used Hashtags on Instagram
The best hashtags for your individual business goals are the generic words of your industry: #restaurant #music #localbar and things that describe what you are and do without any fuss. Then, you need to identify your niche hashtags, which can be tricky: #casualrestaurant #rapmusic #localbarwestorangenj and other specific qualifiers will be the way to go here. One of the most used hashtags is your generic industry with the phrase “of Instagram” in the hashtag: #chefsofinstagram #singersofinstagram and other versions have very large followings. You may want to search for acronyms and check out Gen Z content for fresh ideas about modern hashtags that could apply to your industry and appeal to a younger customer base.
Social Media Marketing – Finding Hashtags
Google can be your friend when it comes to finding the secondary layers of hashtags to use on Instagram. For example, you can search for “national holidays today” daily to use the hashtag of whatever National Donut Day or other odd “holiday” is happening in trends. Your geographic location provides many awesome hashtags, because sometimes special nicknames for neighborhoods and cities are a great way to generate engagement near your place of business. You can also Google search for the different days of the week to discover hashtags like #MusicMonday or #ThrowbackThursday that generate massive volume of content online. The goal is to have a few hashtags of each type when posting, sharing stories, and making reels.
How to Find the Best Hashtags
- Identify your target topics and audience first.
- Look at the current day, week, and month of holidays and special dates.
- Open Instagram and search for the potential hashtags to see search volumes.
- Create a mix of very popular (trending) hashtags and niche (low number) hashtags.
- Post a consistent mix of the same hashtags, but don’t spam the same content each time.
If you have a business or organization located in the Essex County, NJ area and wish to get assistance with how to find the best hashtags to use on Instagram, Techdesigno in West Orange, NJ is here to help. The Techdesigno Team is located in West Orange, NJ, and is available to evaluate and discuss your social media marketing needs. Contact them by calling 973-736-7973 or via email. Click below to schedule an appointment to discuss how to improve social media marketing in the Essex County, NJ area.
