Great for Growth or #Canceled: Are Hashtags Still Relevant?

When hashtags first became a social media frenzy, everyone and their mother were using them. Whether you were #hungry or #listeningtomusic, people used the power of hashtags for every post. Later, hashtags trickled down to brand campaigns, then to social media challenges, and finally, to spammy content. And it begs the question, are hashtags still relevant today?

Hashtags used to be every creator’s secret weapon for getting more likes and followers. And little by little, as social platforms evolved, more promotional strategies started overshadowing these buzzwords. Do people still use hashtags today, or are they old news? And more importantly, can they still help you grow on Instagram? Keep scrolling to find the answers!

Are Hashtags Still Relevant on Instagram?

Absolutely! Don’t let those pretentious influencers, highfalutin social media guides, or websites selling likes and comments tell you otherwise. Hashtags are still the bomb dot com when it comes to boosting reach and engagement for your social media posts.

But here’s the catch. Today hashtags only work if you use purposeful, niche-specific tags to reach a specific target audience.

Hashtags are awesome for categorizing Instagram content according to lifestyle topics and niches. This helps the algorithm push out certain types of content to people according to what they’ll enjoy best.

For example, let’s say a user likes and comments on lots of fashion content. Instagram then makes a mental note that they might enjoy all things fashion-related. The algorithm might then push out content with tags like #summerdress and #fashionweek to their Explore page.

So basically, hashtags are awesome if you go the extra mile to find relevant hashtags for your target market. Doing research to find the best hashtags for your niche and target audience is key for this.

But are hashtags still a thing if they aren’t targeted and niche-specific? To be honest, not really. If you use the same old, cliché, spammy hashtags like #instadaily or #love, you might be fighting a losing battle. These tags are incredibly generic and have no real audience. They won’t help you achieve your goal of reaching your target market.

Go ahead and look up those tags on Instagram now. We bet the content you see is super random and spammy, not at all related to those topics. Yikes! You don’t want your high-quality content to be lumped in with those kinds of posts. So, go for relevant, niche-specific hashtags instead.

Do Hashtags in Comments Work?

There are two ways to use hashtags on Instagram. Most people will add tags at the end of their post’s caption. The other way is to publish a comment underneath your post and add the hashtags there. But some might scratch their head and wonder, “Do hashtags still work on Instagram if they’re in the comments?”

Yes, they do. Hashtags in a post’s comments work pretty much the same way they would if they were in a caption. They still help the algorithm categorize your content and boost your visibility to your target audience. So, if you don’t feel like adding tags to your caption, go ahead and add them to a comment. It’s the same thing!

Is It Better To Put Hashtags in Comments or Captions?

So, comments or captions—where is it more effective to place your hashtags? What’s better for your social media strategy? Well, there’s no clear-cut answer to that one. It all depends on your goals and how many followers you have.  

One study found that hashtags in the caption increased the average reach rate for posts by smaller accounts. However, accounts with over 100,000 followers drove higher reach when their hashtags were in the comments. So, it seems like micro-influencers might benefit from tags in the caption. Meanwhile, mega-influencers should experiment with tags in comments.

Of course, at the end of the day, it all comes down to your preference. If you’d rather have a clean, minimalist caption, add your hashtags in the comments instead. This also works if you want to tell a story in your caption and don’t want tags stealing its thunder. Meanwhile, you can include hashtags in the caption if you find it tedious to write comments for the tags later.

4 Tips To Elevate Your Hashtag Strategy

Not quite sure how to conjure up the best hashtags for your social media posts? Here are four golden rules to keep in mind to make sure your hashtags are working hard for your content.

1. Combine Popular and Niche Hashtags

When choosing hashtags to include in your post, make sure to add some popular hashtags and some niche ones. This is a terrific hashtag strategy, given that popular and niche hashtags play different roles in pushing out your content.

Popular tags are high-traffic hashtags that give you a quick boost in reach and visibility. However, because they’re so popular and well-known, posts using those tags tend to get drowned out by other content fast.

To make up for that, you need a few ultra-specific niche tags. These hashtags aren’t as popular. However, they give you a fighting chance at staying at the top of the tag’s page.

For example, fitness influencers posting workout videos might include popular fitness hashtags like #gym and #workoutmotivation in their content. However, to ensure their content reaches a more specific audience, they might also include niche tags like #HIITcardio or #prenatalfitness.

We recommend adding 1-2 hashtags on the more popular end and 3-5 hashtags on the niche side per post.

2. Create a Branded or Community Hashtag for Your Fans

One creative way to utilize hashtags and make them feel fresher and more relevant is through branded hashtags. These are unique, personalized hashtags you can create for your fans to encourage them to post content. It also helps you build a stronger community of supporters on the platform.

Let’s say you’re a baking influencer and want more user-generated content from your fans. You can create a tag like #BakingTimeWith[YourName] and ask them to post videos of them baking desserts with your recipes. It’s a fun way to engage your fans and get extra exposure to their followers who don’t know you yet.

3. Rotate the Tags You Use To Avoid Repetition

The Instagram algorithm is always looking for sketchy behavior that comes off as spammy and inauthentic. One of their known triggers is when people use the same hashtags again and again in their content.

When you use the same tags over and over, it doesn’t seem genuine. It seems more like you’re just copying and pasting a string of words that have no meaning. If the algorithm flags your behavior as spammy, your account can suffer.

So, try to rotate the hashtags you use in your posts. Sure, there’s no harm in having your favorite tags that you use often. But try to make your string of hashtags more tailored to every unique post.

4. Don’t Overdo It; Stick With 10 or Fewer Hashtags per Post

Lastly, don’t use too many hashtags in your post. Instagram allows its users a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. But we don’t recommend maxing this out, as 30 tags can look too distracting and overwhelming in a caption. Instead, go for way less than that. Anywhere between five to 10 hashtags is the sweet spot you’re looking for.

PSA: There are talks of Instagram lowering the hashtag limit per post to around five tags only. Keep an eye out for this roll-out, as it can heavily impact your hashtag strategy!

Don’t Stop at Hashtags; Grow On IG With Other Promotional Strategies, Too!

Hashtags are still super effective at delivering your content to more people, boosting your content’s visibility and discoverability. The trick to using them properly and seeing results is picking tags relevant to your target audience. So, having a deep understanding of your target market and doing proper research on trending tags is non-negotiable.

So, are hashtags still relevant? Definitely! But while hashtags still have a place on Instagram today, it’s still important to look for other ways to grow.

One way to do that is by using a trusted growth service like Path Social. We use other organic promotional strategies to make sure your target market sees your content. This boosts engagement, increases your followers, and catapults you to virality and fame!

Brands like Hailey’s Clothing have gained almost 20,000 fans in just a year with our help, and you can too! Start building your army of Instagram followers with Path Social.

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