I have been going through a little bit of a love hate relationship with Instagram over the past year and I wrote all about it here. If you are struggling with your Instagram feed, follower count, engagement rate, etc. I recommend taking a pause and reading my last post. 

Alright, now that we are on the same page about how Instagram can give us the opportunity to grow and connect with new people let’s get into the nitty-gritty of hashtags. 

How do hashtags work?

Hashtags function as keywords on Instagram. By putting a hashtag sign before a word, it allows that word to be searchable. For instance, if someone types in girlboss on Instagram they will see your post that used #girlboss. 

What makes a good hashtag?

This is a tricky question, but you want hashtags that are niche-specific. This means it pertains specifically to what your account and specific post speak to. If you are a travel blogger talking about travel then don’t use food blogger hashtags. The next thing to look at is how often your hashtag is being used. You can do this by typing in the hashtag on Instagram and it will pop up at the top along with a number of times used. I recommend having a wide variety in sizes, here is a recommended guide.

• 5 hashtags between 500 and 1k
• 5 hashtags between 1k and 3k
• 5 hashtags between 3k and 5k
• 5 hashtags between 5k and 10k 
• 5 hashtags between 10k and 15k 
• 5 hashtags above 15k 

Stick to this rule to be sure that people can actually find you! If you are only posting hashtags that have over 500k uses, it is likely that your content will get lost, and fast. 

How to find good hashtags?

I get this question a lot and the answer is really easy. Spend 15 minutes a week on Instagram going through similar hashtags. On Instagram, let’s say you search #thenativecreative then below it you will find “related” hashtags. Start clicking through and finding similar hashtags, accounts, and content that fits your posts. Now copy and paste those into a document that you can reuse. 

How often do I need to find new hashtags?

I recommend switching up your hashtags every other week. There are going to be a few hashtags that stick around for a while, but testing out new ones opens you up to finding brand new people. You can easily create new hashtag groups by using Planoly.com, they also make it easy to copy and paste them into your daily posts. 

To help you get you started, here are 10 hashtags in three different niches. 

Hashtags for the creative entrepreneur 

#therisingtidesociety #creativeheart #creativebusinessowner #createlounge #smallbizlove #mysmallbiz #smallbusinesshelp #businessgrowthstrategy #solopreneurlife #goaldiggersociety

Hashtags for mom bloggers

#themotherhoodcorner #motherhoodraising #lifedailymoms #simplymamahood #mamahoodinsquares #magicofmotherhood #lifeasmama #honestmommin #lifewithtoddlers #travelingwithbaby

Hashtags for travel bloggers

#documentyourday #girlaroundtheworkd #mustvisitplace #traveldiaries2019 #travelmode #travelplaces #wetravelgirls #travelcolorfully #fillourworldwithcolor #takemeanywhere