Hashtags!

I highly suggest that you should always put the hashtags in the caption of your post because unfortunately a lot of people on Instagram don't realize the dangers which they could face when putting the tags in the comment section until after their engagement decreases.

The reason that I suggest doing this is because when you're using this extra option on Instagram to increase your reach, they want people to clearly see which hashtags that you're using and which ones you have picked to best suit the content in which you have uploaded.

Rather than hiding your hashtags in the comment section of your post, you should definitely position them nicely at the bottom of your caption with a tidy layout, so that people can still see which ones you have added and it will not cause you any problems

Quantity of Hashtags

This is a question which a lot of people struggle most with answering because there have been so many rumors going around about the 'correct' number.

If you have less than 10,000 followers, you will be fine using up to 23 hashtags (depending how you use them.) I definitely recommend not using more than 23 on any sized account.

If you have over 10,000 followers and your account is growing fast with a good amount of engagement on each post, then I definitely suggest keeping the hashtags between 10-15.

Instagram will normally focus more on the bigger accounts because they influence a lot more people on their platform which then makes certain things more limited such as using less hashtags.

The reason you should not be using more than 15 hashtags when your accounts growing fast over 10K is because your account will start being targeted by Instagram bots which have been designed to identify spam & other things such as bots which go against Instagram's guidelines.

Overusing hashtags on your Instagram can be classed as spam to Instagram & they will not give you any sort of warning before sticking your account in these certain bans.

Avoiding bans when using hashtags

Bans are a serious thing on Instagram and they can occur whenever you do something incorrectly. (Which is scary when starting out new). You can worry less when you have a smaller profile, as Instagram is more focused on the larger profiles who are creating content for a larger audience, but it won't hurt to keep safe by doing things correctly.

There are multiple bans which can get you stuck on your account if you use hashtags incorrectly. The problem revolving around hashtags is the fact that not many people are aware of the damage that they can cause to your account without even realizing until after.

When you use 'broken" hashtags, it can give you a bad look to Instagram and this can result in you being hashtag banned or even shadow banned. When you're hashtag banned, this means that you will not be seen in the hashtags even if you are using them correctly. Check your insights if you think you might be hashtag banned. If you use hashtags regularly but you have no impressions from them on your post insights, then you're most likely stuck.

A broken hashtag is a hashtag which you click into and nothing displays or only just a few posts show up. This usually happens when Instagram removes the hashtag for (inappropriate content, spam, bots or people just messing with the tags in a bad way).

Another way that possible bans could generate on your account is when you're trying to hide the hashtags and if you're over using them, as it can look like spam and because Instagram wants its users keeping hashtags visible.

How do I find the most effective hashtags?

Using and finding hashtags is usually pretty easy but have you ever thought about which ones would actually work best for your posts to help you get the most out of using hashtags? When you're using hashtags, you need to try aim to get a position on the "top posts" category which is located at the top of a hashtag when you click into it.

When you get one of the top posts, it helps you get more exposure because everybody who clicks into the hashtag will see your post first. A lot of people seem to get confused with getting into the "top posts", but it's actually pretty easy when you use the correct hashtags which are the appropriate size for your likes ratio.

If you don't get many likes and you're using hashtags with 10 million posts in them, then you're not going to get one of the top trending posts because your like ratio is too low and your post will get lost down the feed instantly. You need to understand which hashtag size suits you best. If you get under 300 likes per post within the first 24 hours then I suggest using hashtags around 250,000 - 600,000 posts.

If you're not aware, when you click into the hashtag, it will tell you how many posts are under that tag. If you get over 300 likes on average, try use hashtags which are 600,000 - to around 2,300,000 posts. The smaller the hashtag is, the more likely you will get a top post. If you're uploading viral content or a video/ photo which you feel will perform very well, try use some smaller hashtags but then add a couple bigger ones a bit out of your range in case the post blows up.

Changing Your Hashtags

Changing the hashtags which you apply to your posts regularly is a smart idea and definitely a suggested technique.

If you keep continuing to use the same hashtags for every post, it could look like spam and Instagram might detect your account as a bot instead.

Have a stash of 40+ hashtags which will work for your accounts content and change them up every couple posts, so that you're not frequently using the exact same ones.

Below I have attached a demonstration to show you how easy it is to collect a group of 20-30 hashtags for your account.

This makes it easier for you to pick a small group of hashtags from your collection each time you upload, rather than being put on the spot and stressing about finding the right ones.

Why should I use my Instagram story?

Using your Instagram story is a great way of engaging with your audience and keeping them updated with things.

You can use your story to bring in new followers or even increase your engagement if you're using your story to the best of its ability.

Using your story can also benefit you by keeping active and showing people how serious you are about the platform.

The story feature allows you to ask people questions which can help you get to know your followers more and understand which type of content they want to see most.

You can also express yourself in a more unique way rather than needing to actually upload something to your account.

How do I increase my story views?

If you want to increase the views on your story then I would definitely suggest using hashtags in your story posts. The best and safest way of using this feature on your story is by using 2 of the biggest hashtags which are similar with your post. Do not use more than 2 hashtags on each story post because sometimes none of them work when you push past 2 and they don't seem to be as effective. Try to think of the best hashtags for your story which the most people will be following, because that's how they usually find your story. For example, a lot of people enjoy/ follow #basketball so I used that as one of my hashtags when I posted a video of me playing basketball on my Instagram story. Tagging your location on the story can also help you increase your story views by showing your story on the location. Another thing which you can do to increase your story views is to ask your audience questions. This can be done by using polls. I have found that when you engage yourself with your followers by asking questions or provide voting polls, the views on my story usually increase.

How Does The Algorithm Work?

The algorithm on Instagram is what decides how your post performs.

If you want to 'beat" the algorithm then there is multiple ways to do so and that's what I am going to tell you about below.

The algorithm usually decides how well your upload is going to perform by looking at its insights within the first 40 minutes from it being uploaded.

If its engagement is above the rest of your recent posts, then it should perform better and be pushed further.

A large number of people on Instagram use engagement groups, including myself, which includes multiple accounts in 1 group which engage with each other when they first post. This helps "beat" the algorithm by getting extra engagement within the most critical time frame of the first 40 minutes.

Having large Instagram pages (accounts bigger than yours) engaging with your post can also help you beat the algorithm and push your posts further.

Post Insights

(This feature is only available for business pages on Instagram)

Insights are a very good way of understanding where your engagement is being generated from.

Some of the insights which Instagram provides business pages with are sophisticated and sometimes people don't understand what they all mean, so i'm here to explain.

One of the most regular questions which I get asked is "what does (other) mean on my insights?". This is a pretty confusing insight because Instagram doesn't explain its defi a nition. 'Other' means the impressions from people tagging others, people who have saved the post and looked back on it, people who have been sent the post and they have looked at it or if you don't get many impressions from the explore page or hashtags, it could just class itself in the "other" category.

'Explore page' obviously means the impressions from explore. 'Home' means the impressions from people who are following you and have seen your post by scrolling down there news feed.

'Profile" is the impressions from people scrolling through your profile and where they have clicked onto your post straight from your profile.

'Hashtags' is the impressions from the hashtags which you have used on your post.

Another thing which i must add which sometimes confuses people is the 4 little symbols on the top of your post insights means (likes, comments, forwarded, saved)