When you hear ‘Instagram’, you might think that it’s just an app that you can use to
share pictures and videos with your friends.
But as an entrepreneur, it’s a powerful platform that offers a HUGE opportunity to
help grow your ecommerce business.
If your business already has an Instagram account, but it’s not driving sales, it’s
time to revisit that strategy.
And today, we’re going to show you how to utilize a secret weapon – carefully curated
hashtags.
Hey guys, it’s Jessica Guzik here with Oberlo, and today I’m going to be talking about
Instagram hashtags, what they are, and how you can find the best hashtags for your content.
You ready?
Let’s go!
[Title Card - What is an Instagram Hashtag]
Before we dive into the nitty gritty of using Instagram hashtags to grow your brand’s
reach, let’s quickly cover what they actually are.
A hashtag is a singular word, or phrase, with a hash symbol in front.
If you’re a frequent social media user, you’ve likely already seen them in action,
but if you aren’t, they usually look something like this…
Jessica pointing to an animation of #Oberlo on screen.
So, what’s the point in using a hashtag?
Well if you post a picture or video on Instagram without a hashtag you’re only talking to
your existing audience.
But you probably want your posts to reach the largest audience possible - and THAT’s
why you need to add relevant hashtags to every single Instgram post.
Hashtags will open up your content, and your brand, to tons of new, engaged users to like
your content, follow your account, and potentially even purchase something from your store!
If you don’t add any hashtags to your content, you’ll be relying on your existing following
to engage with your new post.
This isn’t as much of an issue if you already have a huge following.
But if you’re just getting started on Instagram, it’s likely that your content won’t have
a large reach, and you might struggle to achieve any decent results.
[Title Card - How to Find the Best Instagram Hashtags]
Now that I’ve explained how Instagram hashtags can help you to generate more likes, more
followers, and ultimately more sales, I’ll show you how you can find the best hashtags
for your brand.
It’s super important to understand that the hashtags you use HAVE to be relevant.
If you sell backpacks, hashtags about unicorns and candy canes aren’t going to bring you
the right kind of attention.
Thankfully, there are a couple of online tools which you can use to curate a list of hashtags
that are perfect for your business.
My favorites are TagBlender, Instagram Tags, and Seekmetrics.
Each of these tools are free, easy to use, and they’re great for finding lists of hashtags.
We’ve left links to each tool in the description below – check them out and let us know what
you think in the comments.
[Title Card - Instagram Hashtag Limit]
OK, so now that you’re convinced that Hashtags are important, and you’ve even found a few
to test out… there’s one thing to keep in mind: DONT OVER DO IT.
A lot of people get carried away with hashtags and want to put hundreds, even thousands of
hashtags on each Instagram post.
Sorry guys, there’s a limit of 30 hashtags per post.
Instagram doesn’t just put this rule in place to be jerks - they want to ensure that
hashtags aren’t taken advantage of and the content on Instagram is relevant to its users.
At first, 30 hashtags might seem like a lot, and you might feel like you won’t need that
many hashtags.
However, I do recommend that you take full advantage of the full 30 hashtags that you’re
allowed to use.
Remember, every hashtag that you add, gives you an opportunity to draw in more engaged
users to your content.
[Title Card - Measuring Your Progress]
As with all marketing activities, it’s important that you can measure the success of the hashtags
you use.
If you analyze the performance of the hashtags, you’ll be able to validate your choices
with data, and it’s always a good idea to be data-informed.
You’ll also be able to identify any hashtags which aren’t performing well, which can
help you to improve your future content by removing the poor performers.
There are tons of tools which you can use to analyze the performance of your Instagram
content.
Try SumAll, Simple Measured, and Icono square - they’re all great places to start, and
they’re free!
These tools will analyze the average number of likes and comments which you receive using
different Instagram hashtags.
I put links in the description below - check them out if you’re interested.
[Title Card - Instagram Top Tips]
Before we finish up, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite Instagram marketing
tips.
Combine these tips with your carefully curated hashtags, and it’s only a matter of time
until your following skyrockets.
ONE - Engage with your followers….
This is a great way to solidify your relationship with existing followers, and build trust for
your brand.
Whether it’s answering a comment on your post or liking a followers photo, it doesn’t
take a lot of time, but it can mean the world to your audience.
After all, it’s called social media for reason… socialize!
Look after your followers, and they’ll look after you.
TWO - Remember to post frequently!
Building a following on Instagram is tough, and it’s even tougher if you don’t post
very often.
Try to post at least a couple of times every week – it’ll help you to keep your following
engaged.
THREE - Check out the competition!
Take a look through your competitor’s feeds and note down everything you like, and think
about what you could do better.
Take the good ideas and leave the bad.
Learn from your competitors.
As Pablo Picasso once said: “good artists copy, great artists steal”.
Thats it, thats our guide to using Instagram hashtags for your business..
And here’s our question of the week: what do you think about Instagram marketing?
Do you think it’s a sustainable way to grow your business?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below, we can’t wait to see your
thoughts.
And, if you liked this video, be sure to hit that subscribe button and turn on the notification
bell.
We’ll be adding new videos each week where we’ll be sharing some of our best secrets
on running a successful dropshipping store
And until next time – learn often, market better, sell more.