Smart Tagging: Instagram Tagging “Do’s and Don’ts”

December 20, 2021 Read time 2 min

Hashtags are crucial for any business looking to get more visibility on Instagram. Carefully selected tags will ensure good outreach and promote your account inside the social network.

All Instagram hashtags can be roughly divided into 3 major groups: 1. The so-called “selling” tags (eg. #forsale, #4sale, #igshop, #shopmycloset). These are used to mark pictures with items for sale. 2. Relevant tags that describe the item itself (eg.#dress, #earrings, #vintage). 3. General popular tags (eg. #fashion, #cute, #girl). The other way to divide tags is according to their popularity. There are highly popular tags that were used over 500 thousand times and less popular tags with 5-50 thousand results. Hashtag usage can be easily checked on websites like www.iconosquare.com

To ensure the best outreach, choose several tags from each of the above mentioned major groups and make sure there is a nice mix of highly popular and less popular tags. Using the more popular hashtags will get you fast results immediately but your posts will soon be lost in the archives of that popular tag. Less popular hashtags may not produce quick results but your posts will live longer in search queries and produce longer-term results. Maximum number of allowed tags for one photo is 30, but the optimal number varies from 10 to 20. Using more tags might make your post appear like a spam.

Choosing the right hashtags is only one of the many Instagram tagging strategies that can significantly improve the outreach. Below you will find the top 5 most effective tactics: 1. Use specific brand hashtags: Include your business name in some of your post tags. Also use unique tags for particular marketing campaigns. For instance, if you are hosting a photo contest on Instagram, make a unique tag just for that campaign. This will promote your contest and give your followers a way to connect with other participants. 2. Use trending hashtags: Trends on Instagram can happen at lightning speed and fade away quickly as well. So, if you spot a trending tag, make sure to use it quickly. 3. Use industry related hashtags: For example, #artisan, #crafter, #onlineseller, #fashionboutique. Check what your competitors or others in the industry are using and if some tags work well, include them in your posts. 4. Use location tags: Instagram users search location hashtags frequently to identify with the place they are in or where they are going soon. Don’t just use the name of your city, use regional hashtag variations that are popular. 5. Use modified #forsale hashtag: Combine it with location (eg. #forsalenewyork) or with your product (eg. #jewelryforsale).

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