If you are winging your hashtags every time, you’re making a huge mistake.
But I use to be the same way. I had a basic understanding of each hashtag and understood the basic strategy. However, there was a lot of guestimating.
Do not guestimate your hashtags and then complain about your insights!
Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags in your posts; therefore, you need to make every phrase count. You want to maximize your reach and engagement by incorporating the right hashtags.
In #Hot Tip: The Complete Guide to Hashtags, we discussed hashtags’ placement and positioning. To briefly summarize, hashtags can be placed at the bottom of your post or buried as the first comment. Most Instagram marketers are choosing to bury their hashtags in the comments due to the increase in engagement.
However, there is a downside. By placing your hashtag here, you cannot prepare the first comment when planning your content with a social media scheduling tool.
To combat this issue, I have a few solutions.
Copy/Paste in Notes
Using the Notes App on your phone, you can create a list that makes copying and pasting hashtags easy. Creating a group of hashtags that are readily available eliminates guesswork and saves a ton of valuable time. You can organize how you see fit: by keyword, industry, niche, etc. This method allows for flexible posting, whether you’re posting the terms in the caption or comments section.
However, the Notes App isn’t ideal for maintaining a large variety of hashtags. It can become overwhelming, scrolling through hundreds of them. Also, rumor has it, the algorithm doesn’t like copy/paste or repetitive hashtags.
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are a girl’s best friend. This is my preferred method of hashtag organization. It may take a little more time than those mentioned above, but it is worth it for two reasons: color coordination and searchable terms.
Using Microsoft Word, Excel, or a Google Sheet, you can create a long list of hashtags. You can categorize this list into easily found keywords. This helps to identify the topic of your post. From there, you can color-code each hashtag. Using 3 different colors, you can breakdown the size and saturation of each term. For example, blue for smaller hashtags, orange for medium ones, and red for the largely saturated group.
This method works for me; however, it does have its drawbacks. Each time you post, you have to manually type the hashtags, which we all know takes time and leaves room for fat fingers to add a typo.
Worth Mentioning
I have used Later for content planning and scheduling. This tool has a “Saved Captions Feature,” where you can create multiple hashtag groups based on keywords or categories. Instead of trying to remember or find relevant hashtags, or open and sort through your excel spreadsheet, this feature keeps your hashtags organized and in a convenient location.
Other scheduling tools are starting to introduce this feature as well. Have you used it? Let me know how it works!
Optimize your hashtags and cut out the guesswork! With the above tips, you’re able to organize and store your hashtags into an easily identifiable and accessible list to maximize reach, increase engagement, and gain more followers.
