The attention you get on Instagram is nice when you’re posting just for pleasure. If you’re using Instagram to promote your business double-taps get a new significance.

There are 1.16 billion Instagram accounts fighting for attention, getting into the spotlight is getting more challenging. What are you able to do to stand out?

There are plenty of ways to boost your Instagram visibility including making use of Instagram hashtags is just one of them. If they are used correctly hashtags can attract more attention and increase engagement for the content you post.

To help you develop a successful hashtag strategy I’ve prepared this guide with short tips, tricks and templates. I’ll also provide my personal story of how I grew my following. In the final section of this guide, I’ve included an exhaustive list of 500+ popular Instagram hashtags you can paste to your posts and get discovered by a new audience on Instagram!

What is the function of hashtags?

Hashtags help organize content according to topic and help Instagram understand what the content is about. An overview of the history of hashtags: in 2007 Twitter users complained that they had over-content. In an attempt to solve the issue, American blogger and consultant for product Chris Messina suggested:

Although Twitter has allegedly replied to the tweet with “these things are for nerds” A series of events saw the first widely-used hashtags that let users quickly monitor updates. As of the 2000s, hashtags were being put to use in most social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and YouTube.

What is the reason why brands are using hashtags in such a large amount? Hashtags serve as a filter for the huge amount of content published on the platform every day This filter assists users find interesting and relevant posts. Let’s examine how the content gets sorted.

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How does the Instagram algorithm work?

As we’ve previously discussed, hashtags allow users to share content about certain topics. To understand the reason behind using hashtags on Instagram, let’s zoom in on the mechanics briefly, beginning with the algorithm.

The Instagram algorithm is an algorithm that determines what content is displayed on the app. If you visit your Instagram feed the content you see is a mix of all of your Instagram behaviors. In particular, there are six factors that affect the Instagram algorithm:

  • Interest: If a user interacts with an account, Instagram will boost the posts from this account
  • Relationship – the Instagram algorithm favors the posts of brands or individuals whom the user is connected to the most
  • Time to post: Instagram wants to provide its users with new content, therefore it will keep track of how long ago an article was published
  • Frequency: Instagram checks how often the user logs into the app. For frequent scrollers their feeds will be more chronological, while for those who use the app for a short time, it will be curated according to what the system thinks they’ll enjoy the most.
  • Following–If a user follows several Instagram accounts Instagram has a lot of content and won’t show all the posts on the feed.
  • Utilization–The longer a user spends using the app, the more efficient Instagram is at finding relevant content based on user preferences

All of these factors come into play when you’re promoting your content on a hashtags website. The more prominent your post is higher, the better as it’s more visible by those who haven’t followed you on Instagram yet. In order to be a follower on Instagram you must go to the Explore page (the small magnifying glass icon), section Tags, enter the hashtag you’re interested in and follow it. You’ll start seeing top posts with this hashtag on your feed.

If you’re an online store owner, here’s one more reason to sign up for Business Accounts–the in-app Shop feature. Connect your account to an existing Facebook catalog and begin adding products to your pictures and stories. If a user clicks on the product on the picture you’ve uploaded, they’ll be directed to your Facebook shop to learn more about it.

It’s all about experiments and analysing your account’s performance, and the Business Account helps you do this. Engage, connect and interact with your other Instagram accounts, take the most action you can using Instagram pods and DM groups. You can also track the overall performance of your account.

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